Nightmare Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Well that's not true at all. Ward raises his game for Britain. Big crowd behind him, he's easily got a chance any of the Aussies. They're all either young, temperamental or aging. Yep, Australia have nowhere near the quality in depth that France have as a team, so Murray (hopefully) won't need to do it essentially by himself this time. Ward has proven himself in big matches in the Davis Cup, and I don't think there's any shame in the way he lost to Simon, who has always been a pretty good player and just happens to be having a really good 2015. Would love it to be in Glasgow again. Brilliant experience watching GB beat the States there, and the atmosphere would be even better for this one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky88 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 BBC seemed to think it was a toss-up between Birmingham and Glasgow for SF... later September will be too late for grass, and during hard period. Big opportunity but same issue again i.e. Ward unlikely to beat Aussies - so Murray must play 3 ties, 1 week after a grand slam, and gets knackered. GB played Ecuador on court1 at Wimbledon the equivalent weekend 15 years ago.biggest argument against grass is that it suits the Aussies games. They even built an outdoors grass court in the middle of their winter to suit their games, which tells you something. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 That was sensational... pure guts won that second set for Murray yesterday - his level was so low (energy and tennis) but just refused to go two sets down. Animal performance. We are going to win this thing... Magnificent stuff from the Brits. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true_rover Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The only potential problem with Glasgow as a venue is the need for 8,000 seats as a minimum for the semi finals. From memory it was around 7,000 for the game against the States but I don't know if they could fit another thousand in there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The only potential problem with Glasgow as a venue is the need for 8,000 seats as a minimum for the semi finals. I thought maybe the Hydro? Depends if they have a concert on that weekend.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Actualy, BBC claims that the Emirates was 7,700 - that might be enough. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faddythedaddy Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The NEC in Birmingham apparently a front runner with Glasgow. Grass a no no I'd imagine, Aussies best surface arguably 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Yep, a pumped James Ward against Kyrgios could be tasty. The Aussie is guaranteed to lose the head. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Underdog yes. Huge no. Agreed. I'd give Ward a very decent shot at winning one of his two matches. Ward is top 100 in the world now. Top 40 on grass I'd say. He's a really solid player. Edited July 20, 2015 by H_B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Agreed. I'd give Ward a very decent shot at winning one of his two matches. Ward is top 100 in the world now. Top 40 on grass I'd say. He's a really solid player. Ward can and has been pretty good on his day but he's nowhere near a top 40 grass player. He's made the 3rd of Wimbledon once in how many 'free' attempts? He's had some good performances in the Davis Cup but not many outside of it, he's top 100 on the back of an anomalous run at Wimbledon. Let's not get carried away on the back of Andy Murray's performances here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Ward can and has been pretty good on his day but he's nowhere near a top 40 grass player. He's made the 3rd of Wimbledon once in how many 'free' attempts? He's had some good performances in the Davis Cup but not many outside of it, he's top 100 on the back of an anomalous run at Wimbledon. Let's not get carried away on the back of Andy Murray's performances here. Well, grass is his best surface, and there's still a good number in the top 100 in the "grass is for cows" camp. He is quite clearly much higher in the world on that surface than on clay for example, where he'd be lucky to be top 200. He's a former Queens semi finalist - I noted you missed that out. Also, he's improved immeasurably in the last few years. Interesting that the world number 89 is "nowhere near" top 40 on his best surface. Edited July 20, 2015 by H_B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 What the hell happened to Daniel Evans by the way? Back in the days when Murray wasn't playing DC and it was always Ward and Evans in the singles, Evans looked like the better player. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northsea80 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Actualy, BBC claims that the Emirates was 7,700 - that might be enough. There's nothing booked at the hydro the weekend following the U.S. open so that could be a potential venue. Kevin Bridges is there on the Monday, would maybe depend on the turnaround time required to get the venue ready for that after tennis. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Ward can and has been pretty good on his day but he's nowhere near a top 40 grass player. He's made the 3rd of Wimbledon once in how many 'free' attempts? He's had some good performances in the Davis Cup but not many outside of it, he's top 100 on the back of an anomalous run at Wimbledon. Let's not get carried away on the back of Andy Murray's performances here. If Wimbledon and the LTA had the agreements in place that Tennis Australia with the French and US Opens, you would find that James Ward would be consistently top 100 like the Australians like Groth. The Australians typically get wild cards for three events. Kyrgios received five wild cards into Slams in his first seven before his break through at WImbledon last year. Ward lost to Youhzny (definitely a top 40 grass player), he lost to Lu (he beat Murray at the Olympics), Mardy Fish (he has also beaten Murray on grass), Michael Llodra (excellent grass court player won Wimbledon with Clement) but more of a doubles specialist) and he lost to Fernando Verdasco (the guy that just about blasted Murray off the court in his title year). While I may not agree wholly with James Ward being a top 40 grass court player, his grass court play is far superior to his ranking. So his "free" shots he has been a bit unlucky with the draw. The only one you would think he would have done better with was against Lu. He should have closed out against Pospisil this year but he served at over 70% in the fourth and fifth sets and made the QFs. His record at Wimbledon isn't as bad as you have made out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 What the hell happened to Daniel Evans by the way? Back in the days when Murray wasn't playing DC and it was always Ward and Evans in the singles, Evans looked like the better player. HIs attitude really let him down. He took a break from tennis but is back playing now. He started on the futures circuit and has won his last two titles. Probably looking to step up to challengers in the American Hard court swing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 HIs attitude really let him down. He took a break from tennis but is back playing now. He started on the futures circuit and has won his last two titles. Probably looking to step up to challengers in the American Hard court swing. I know he was a partyboy in his younger days but he seemed to have turned it around. Knocked Nishikori and Tomic out of the US open and made the Zagreb semis and then just disappeared 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky88 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 If you are going to have it at the hydro, they might as well play the thing in the o2 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Well, grass is his best surface, and there's still a good number in the top 100 in the "grass is for cows" camp. He is quite clearly much higher in the world on that surface than on clay for example, where he'd be lucky to be top 200. He's a former Queens semi finalist - I noted you missed that out. Also, he's improved immeasurably in the last few years. Interesting that the world number 89 is "nowhere near" top 40 on his best surface. I think Ward is capable of raising his game on occasion but not often enough and this is what determines rankings, how many times do you think Ward would have qualified for Wimbledon without the wildcards? He may have been a Queens semi finallist but he's also a pretty habitual early exit every other year. He's a good tennis player but consistency is the difference between good and great, especially at this game. He didn't look too bad on clay when he beat Sam Querrey or hard court when beating Isner he just hasn't been able to repeat it often enough. He seems like a decent enough bloke but I think he'll be back outside the top 100 before too long. The LTA obviously think the same which is why we now have Bedene as the 'British' no.2. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widge Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 You just have to watch Wards game compared to Murray to realise the unbelievable difference in the top 100 guys and those in the top 30. Wars barely looks like he's hitting the ball half the time, whereas these guys generate such lazy power without ever missing. He's a top 100 player, nothing more and nothing less. Nothing to be ashamed about though, since it's still a worldwide sport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 What the hell happened to Daniel Evans by the way? Back in the days when Murray wasn't playing DC and it was always Ward and Evans in the singles, Evans looked like the better player. He got injured. And he's always had an issue with training and commitment. He's basically a wee boy in a man's body. Talented but completely incapable of working hard enough to be successful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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