Dear oh dear!

andy p · Dear oh dear!

Come on Boggo for God's sake!

Presumably the lack of updates on this site mirror the fact that there is currrently not alot to say about the state of Boggo's tennis.
More to the point what is there to say about British men at all at the moment. Having just logged on to the atp scoreboard I noticed that Boggo lost to Ouanna in straghts in Belgrade today. It looked like it was going to be a great season for him after Noumea chall. But I think upon reflection his inability to beat Mayer, despite Mayer's undoubted quality, highlights the fact that if Boggo is going to break into the top 100 he has to win those kind of games. Similarly at oz qualies, great start followed by crushing defeat to a player outside the top 250. Bleak. It looks to me that at this rate Boggo will amount to no more than a journeyman on the challengers which is a real shame because he IS capable of so much more. Maybe he should think about working with Rusedski on his first serve?

Jono

Remarkably Boggo keeps his ranking intact, but he must start winning. I think although he is not selected for Davis Cup, he should train with the lads as a practice partner. Until Boggo accepts this,he will not progress. Andy is a world class winner. And Ross is a top 50 doubles players. This is not made up. This is fact. Boggo needs to eperience the good vibes in British tennis again.

Jac

Hi Guys, 1stly i apologise for no updates recently, i have been busy with other things, and as you correctly point out Boggo hasn't done too much of note recently. i hope to get a report up later today/tomorrow.

i am still not sure how Alex's season will progress, he is trying a different approach this year, cutting back the number of events he plays as well as trying to minimize long haul travel. last year he did a lot of both and was totally gone by the end of the season as well as playing a number of event during it that he just wasn't fully fit for. Having followed Alex for years this is something i have wanted him to do for a while so i think its a good idea. Hopefully it will pay off as the year progresses.

Also the challenger calendar for this year, well the early part at least, is pretty bad, so far Alex has only been able to play in Wroclaw and Belgrade, both of which he only just scrapped into. He is down to play Wolfsburg next week (where he should be seeded) and then Bergamo, which is another tough one but Alex has played well there in the past, winning it a few years ago.

For these reasons i cant agree with you Jono that he skips these events to hit with Murray prior to the DC, i think a break from the DC and its environment is what Alex needs at the moment. Whilst its obvious that hitting with a player of Murray's calibre is always going to be beneficial, he does occasionally get to hit with other top players, i know for instance that over xmas he got a session in with Blake. I'd agree that the general level of players Alex practices with are below his standard, but that’s more of a problem with the UK as a whole having such slim pickings at the moment.

Hmm this is turning into a long post – sorry for the essay Smile

Onto the specific matches, whilst its obviously disappointing when Alex loses I cant be too upset with any of the matches Alex has lost. Only De Chaunac was ranked lower and he seems to be on the form of his life at the moment, reaching the 2nd rd of AO and the QF’s of Johannesburg ATP – beating Granollers in the process. In the other matches he lost (Mayer, Beck and now Ouanna) he was 'in' them all, against Ouanna it was very tight, my only criticism of that match was that when he got a look at one of Ouanna’s 2nd serves on a big point he didn’t get it back in play often enough, otherwise he played well, didn’t get broken, and kept his nerves when he was BP’s and MP’s down, unfortunately the net cord came to Ouanna’s favour on several occasions, saving him BP’s and then winning the match when Alex’s shot flicked off it and out.

Hopefully in the next few events he will get some kinder draws and be able to play himself into the season. I am also awaiting the start of the outdoor hard events, in the past indoor always seemed to be Alex’s best surface, but over the last few years it appears to have changed and his best results are coming outdoors.