US Open 2013 qualifying

[Steven]

BRITS IN US OPEN WTA QUALIFYING

http://bit.ly/162BDkv

QR1: (q8) Johanna Konta WR 112 v Olivia Rogowska (AUS) WR 152 (CH 108 last Oct)

First meeting. Other seed in section - (q18) Koehler (POR)

QR1: Tara Moore WR 208 v Catalina Castaño (COL) WR 176 (CH 35 in 2006)

First meeting. Seeds in section - (q9) Zanevska (UKR) & (q17) Dushevina (RUS)

QR1: Samantha Murray WR 190 v Arina Rodionova (AUS) WR 220 (CH 157 in 2010)

H2H 1-0, 4 & 2, Bendigo 25K 2011. They've got both Rodionovas down as AUS, this one is usually RUS. Seeds in section - (q11) Birnerová (CZE) & (q29) Bratchikova (RUS)

QR1: Elena Baltacha WR 244 v (q23) Melanie Oudin (USA) WR 133 (CH 31 in 2010)

H2H 1-0, 0 & 1, Carlsbad WTA 2011 - something tells me it won't be quite so easy this time! Other seed in section - (q12) Larcher de Brito (POR)

I have mentioned the seeds in the Brits' sections but there are dangerous players lurking around every corner, it seems.

[Steven]

BRITS IN US OPEN ATP QUALIFYING

http://bit.ly/162KF0U

QR1: James Ward WR 175 v Jonathan Eysseric (FRA) WR 243 (CH 202 in Jun)

H2H 1-0, 4 & 2, Santander Fut. QF 2010. Seeds in section - (q27) Bachinger (GER) & (q6) Devvarman (IND)

QR1: Dan Evans WR 179 v Peter Polansky (CAN) WR 220 (CH 149 last Sep)

First meeting. Seeds in section - (q18) Reynolds (USA) & (q13) Kavcic (SLO)

[Steven]

All in all, then, not too bad - only 1 out of 6 playing a seed in QR1 and all three Brits who have played their QR1 opponents before beat them when they did so.

There are some very good players in the Brits' sections, but that is to be expected - it is grand slam qualies, after all! They all look to have at least some chance of qualifying or at least getting QR2 points, which is particularly important for the girls because the QR1 loss - QR2 loss - FQR loss - qualification points go 2 - 40 - 50 - 60 for the women compared to 0 - 8 - 16 - 25 (+10 main draw R1 points) for the men.

That doesn't mean I expect lots of GB qualifiers, just that none of them look to have virtually no chance, as is sometimes the case. No qualifiers would be extremely disappointing, 1 would be par (given that JoKo is the 8th seed and none of the others are seeded to reach even the final qualifying round), 2 would be excellent and anything more than that would be brillant.

[Jan]

James Ward has just won 6-3 6-1
well done James! :cheer:

[Linda]

Well done James! :clap: :clap:

[traveller7]

Great news for James!

[DaveArneRiise]

LS link for qualies?

[JAMES4578]

Well done James and Elena! Unfortunately Jo went down in straights though. Live Scores (http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/index.html?promo=subnav)

[Reef]

Dan playing at 11. Good luck, Dan!

[patmoren]

Jo is still very much up and down with her results, really thought she would qualify. Well done Elena and James

[karanga]

Good luck to Dan. Well done James and Elena. :thumbup: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

[Reef]

Dan playing 21.30 our time.

[Helen40]

Sam won. Tara 4-5 down.

[scrapaddict]

PLeased to see Samantha Murray made it through the first round of qualifying

[Reef]

Dan has taken the first set 6-2

[Linda]

Tara :crying:

Allez Dan! :swingin:

[Reef]

Dan 6-2 6-3....

[Steven]

This is only the first time since 2007 (Bloomers and Baker) that two GB men have made QR2 at the USO and the first time since 2009 (when all 4 were women) that 4 Brits in total have made QR2. The last time more than 4 did it was way back in 2000, when 7 Brits managed it.

However, at least one of them needs to win their QR2 match to avoid this being the first time for 11 years that we don't get at least one into the FQR. I hope more than one of them manages it, obviously!

QR1: (q8) Johanna Konta WR 112 lost to Olivia Rogowska (AUS) WR 152 (CH 108 last Oct) by 5 & 4
QR1: Tara Moore WR 208 lost to Catalina Castaño (COL) WR 176 (CH 35 in 2006) by 6-4 1-6 6-4
QR1: Samantha Murray WR 190 beat Arina Rodionova (AUS) WR 220 (CH 157 in 2010) by 4 & 1
QR1: Elena Baltacha WR 244 beat (q23) Melanie Oudin (USA) WR 133 (CH 31 in 2010) by 6-1 3-6 6-2

QR2: Samantha Murray WR 190 v (wc) Taylor Townsend (USA) WR 334 (CH 332 in Jun) - 5th on Court 17
QR2: Elena Baltacha WR 244 v Olga Savchuk (UKR) WR 173 (CH 79 in 2008) - H2H 1-1 - 1st on Court 6 at 16.00 BST

On the men's side, we are still waiting for Dan's QR2 opponent to be decided.

[Steven]

QR1: James Ward WR 175 beat Jonathan Eysseric (FRA) WR 243 (CH 202 in Jun) by 3 & 1
QR1: Dan Evans WR 179 beat Peter Polansky (CAN) WR 220 (CH 149 last Sep) by 2 & 3

QR2: James Ward WR 175 v (q27) Matthias Bachinger (GER) WR 143 (CH 85 in 2011) - 2nd on Court 8
QR2: Dan Evans WR 179 v Flavio Cipolla (ITA) WR 159 (CH 70 in 2012) - 5th on Court 11

[Jan]

Bally's won the first set 6-3!
Go Bally!

[Jan]

Bally is 5-0* up in the 2nd, play suspended

[Reef]

Bally 6-0! Unfortunately James lost first set 2-6...

[DaveArneRiise]

Wardy bounced back to win 2-6 6-4 6-4!

[Steven]

@BenRothenberg: "Dan Evans playing a night match on a show court at a Slam and not a single British reporter in sight mob.li/_wDe7C " and later ... "With a shout of "Allez, Evo, Allez!" that echoed through Grandstand, Dan Evans is through to the final round of qualifying. #usopen"

QR2: James Ward WR 175 beat (q27) Matthias Bachinger (GER) WR 143 (CH 85 in 2011) by 2-6 6-4 6-4
QR2: Dan Evans WR 179 beat Flavio Cipolla (ITA) WR 159 (CH 70 in 2012) by 7-5 1-6 6-3 (at 00.53 NY time)

FQR: James Ward WR 175 v (q6) Somdev Devvarman (IND) WR 113 (CH 62 in 2011) - 2nd on Court 7 after 16.00 BST
FQR: Dan Evans WR 179 v Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras ESP WR 184 (CH 169 in 2012) - 4th on Court 8 n/b 22.00 BST

Devvarman won the Lexington Challenger 5 years before James did, i.e. in 2008. The Indian also qualified and reached the QFs at Washington ATP this month, upsetting Dolgopolov on the way.

AMM upset Kavcic and reached the semis of three hard court Challengers last month, so he won't be easy to beat, but as slam final qualifying round opponents go, Dan couldn't really have asked for more. (doesn't mean he'll win, but still)

This is the first time we have had a man in the US Open final qualifying round since Jamie Baker in 2007 (also the last year we had 3 players in the men's and women's FQRs combined) and the first time we have had more than one man making it this far for 13 years - in 2000, Barry Cowan beat Martin Lee in one FQR match and Jamie Delgado qualified too.

[Steven]

QR2: Samantha Murray WR 190 lost to (wc) Taylor Townsend (USA) WR 334 (CH 332 in Jun) by 4 & 5
QR2: Elena Baltacha WR 244 beat Olga Savchuk (UKR) WR 173 (CH 79 in 2008) by 3 & 0

FQR: Elena Baltacha WR 244 v (q12) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) WR 118 (CH 76 in 2009) - 1st on Court 6 at 17.00 BST

Bally beat the Portushrieker twice last year, both in straight sets - that crucial 2 & 3 win in Fed Cup in Israel and then 4 & 2 at Nottingham 75K.

After today's win, Elena is provisionally back to GB no. 5 ahead of Tara, just a few places outside the top 200.

[JAMES4578]

Well done James,Dan and Elena! Hope for the best in the final qualifying rounds!

[Linda]

Vamos the Brits! Dan's match looks the most hopeful one - Allez!

[Caro]

Oh I really, really hope Dan gets into the main draw. Obviously hope they all do but Dan's my fave!!

[traveller7]

Great news for the Brits vamos!

[pabbers]

Dan's my fave too and the one I feel has the game to go far if he knuckles down.

[banskogirl]

Hope all the Brits do well :)

[Helen40]

Bally 4-3 up with a break :-)

[Reef]

Bally one set all & James one set down....

[traveller7]

Bally 0-3 down in 3rd
James on serve in second

[Reef]

Bally pretty much down & out - James one set all

[traveller7]

James takes second set 63
bally 4-1 down

[traveller7]

Bally lost :(

[Jan]

and so did James :sad:

[Reef]

All down to Dan now - oh the pressure.

[JAMES4578]

Such a pity for James and Elena:crying: Hopefully Dan can do it!

[DaveArneRiise]

Shame for Ward as he had a lot of chances in the match. Only converted 4 from 12 break points. Bally faded away in that 3rd set, she could have won in straight sets. Maybe one of them will still get in as a lucky loser? Never know!

On to Dan, he's got a chance that's for sure!

[Linda]

Two down :sad: One to go. Allez Dan! :swingin:

[traveller7]

Match delayed til 22.45 was supposed to start 22.00

[Linda]

They are saying 23.00 now :sad:

[traveller7]

And herein start the late nights
:sleepy:

[Linda]

Liz Curran ‏@lizcurran 1m

On court8 waiting for Dan Evans. #allez

[Linda]

2-0 :)

3-0 :)

3-1

4-1 :)

[DaveArneRiise]

Up a break early on.

[traveller7]

Was 3-0 up now been broken and back on serve

[Linda]

4-3 :sad: broken back

4-4 Come on Dan!

5-5 Ditto

[DaveArneRiise]

Crucial hold there for 5-4. This set should be wrapped up already though.

[Linda]

6-5 Come on!

6-6 tb :sofa:

[traveller7]

Tiebreak eek

[DaveArneRiise]

Down 4-2 in the TB

and the Spaniard takes it 7-3

Threw that set away really

[Linda]

Lost the first set :sad:

Come on Dan, you still only need to win two sets! :swingin:

[traveller7]

Which he lost 6-3
Should of won that set half hour ago!

[Linda]

Should have! (Sorry to be pedantic but it drives me mad :shamed:)

[traveller7]

Like having a teacher on my shoulder lol
I get lazy on tablet cos of touchscreen not very good with them so dont bother proof reading posts

[Linda]

Oh, I understand that. On my phone I don't bother with capital letters or punctuation at all as it's too much trouble. :shamed:

[Linda]

3-1 Vamos!

[traveller7]

Oh, I understand that. On my phone I don't bother with capital letters or punctuation at all as it's too much trouble. :shamed:
yup I hear that, tiny buttons fumble fingers stupid technology! Makes me lazy though hate it.

Come on Dan!

[Linda]

5-3 Vamos!

[traveller7]

Yay 2nd set to Dan 6-4

[Linda]

Vamos Dan! My computer is no longer responding satisfactorily. :sad:

[DaveArneRiise]

Breaks opening game of the final set.

[Linda]

Come on Dan!

2-0 :cheer:

[DaveArneRiise]

Pressing here for the double break, 3 BP's have just come and gone but he has another here for that all important double break.

And he succeeds in getting the double break! Will now serve for a 4-0 lead in the decider. Must admit I doubted Dan's credentials after that first set meltdown but he's come back in stunning fashion! CMOON

[Linda]

3-0 :cheer:

[traveller7]

3-0 come on dont lose this advantage again

[Linda]

4-0 :cheer:

[traveller7]

4-0 :cheer:

:cheer: :cheer:

[Linda]

4-1

5-1

[traveller7]

5-1 woohoo

[Linda]

Match point saved . . .

5-2

[DaveArneRiise]

15-0 CMON 3 more points

30-0

30-15

30-30 squeaky bum time

40-30 MATCH POINT for a birth in the main draw

Deuce Spaniard not lying down

Adv Evans - 3RD MP can he take it this time?

HE can !! Evans wins 6-7 6-4 6-2 :yahoo: :yahoo: :clap:

[Linda]

Remember the old days watching Andy on live scores like this?

Match point again!

Then deuce, then another match point . . .

[Linda]

He wins! :cheer: :cheer: :yahoo:

6-7 6-4 6-2

[traveller7]

Yay well done Dan so pleased for you!
:phew:

[Helen40]

GSM. Whew, though I'm not fond of Evo, as he was pretty homophobic when he was in Wrexham - as reported by one of the drivers, and a lazy blob (Greg had to phone him to get out of bed after he ie Greg had already been to thte gym!). I am glad another Brit has got through to the MD.
Roll on Monday!

[hfwardhouse]

Evo won!!!!

[Steven]

So, all of the FQR matches with Brits went with rankings in the end - but they were certainly exciting! Here's a round-up plus the odd stat:

FQR: Elena Baltacha WR 244 lost to (q12) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) WR 118 (CH 76 in 2009) by 4-6 7-5 6-1

FQR: James Ward WR 175 lost to (q6) Somdev Devvarman (IND) WR 113 (CH 62 in 2011) by 6-3 3-6 6-4
FQR: Dan Evans WR 179 beat Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras ESP WR 184 (CH 169 in 2012) by 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2

MAIN DRAW L128: (Q) Dan Evans WR 179 v (11) Kei Nishikori (JPN) WR 12 (CH 11 in Jun)

This is the first time Evo has qualified for a slam (having only won 2 matches in slam qualies in his career before) and he is the first British man to qualify at the US Open for 7 years. Only 4 have managed it since two Brits qualified in 2000:

2004: Alex Bogdanovic
2005: Andy Murray
2006: Josh Goodall
2013: Dan Evans

Dan's win today (assuming he at least turns up for R1!) should take him to around his career high, with a better than even chance that he will take it out by a place or two.

Updating the Best 18 lists, I've just realised that at the end of the US Open, Dan will have gained more than half of his ranking points total since the start of Vancouver on 29 July! (155/298 as things stand at the moment) Now, what follows is very dodgy extrapolation, I know, but it gives an idea of how well he has done recently: if he kept scoring at the same 6-week rate over 36 weeks / 18 tournaments, he'd have enough points to be top 50.

[Reef]

So pleased Dan is really starting to fulfil the potential we all knew he had! Can't have been easy after seeing his fellow Brits fall at the last hurdle. Be interesting to see how he fares against Nishikori, but great experience at the very least. Hope we get to watch this one.

[patmoren]

Another win for Evo, making excellent progress. I hope he can keep it going but has certainly changed himself around.

[pabbers]

Well done Dan!! I just feel he has soooooo much potential and guts too. Problem is all these quali matches tire these guys out before they even get to the main draw - he really could have done with winning that in 2.

Now......do I change my dream team?

[Reef]

Well done Dan!! I just feel he has soooooo much potential and guts too. Problem is all these quali matches tire these guys out before they even get to the main draw - he really could have done with winning that in 2.



He should have won it in two having been a break up in the first set...BUT he turned it around and that's the main thing. There are counter-arguments for the time spent in qualifying - the positives being plenty of match-play experience and getting used to the conditions but obviously fatigue must be a problem especially when facing best-of-five sets. Hopefully Dan is maturing and is now prepared to put in the hard graft in order to further his career.

[Jan]

so pleased for Dan!

[JAMES4578]

Fabulous Dan qualified,even it fit was a tough route and hopefuly another confidence boost! Nishikori is a tough draw but hopefully he won't feel too much pressure.

[harriet]

this is the beeb (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/23818601)take on qualifying, context for matches you all have been posting, in the early hours too!