Conor Niland is in the final of the Salzburg Challenger today. Made the semis at Loughborough last week. A win today should see him in the top 130 in Mondays world rankings.
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Conor Niland is in the final of the Salzburg Challenger today. Made the semis at Loughborough last week. A win today should see him in the top 130 in Mondays world rankings.
For the record Conor won the title 7-6,6-7,6-3. Should see him well up the rankings tomorrow.
The ATP Tour Finals started today. Murray beat Soderling earlier, Federer playing Ferrer now. A lot of it is down to how much Nadal is willing to push himself. Much like last year he's entering it a bit banged up and may choose to look after himself rather than go all-out.
Conor Niland went out to an experienced journeyman pro 7-6 7-6 in the first round of qualifying for the Aussie Open. Very disappointing performance which will hammer his ranking.
While our men are improving steadily, womens tennis in Ireland has been pretty poor the last few years. However this week has been good for 2 of our players. Amy "The Beanpole" Bowtell has made the last 8 of a 10k event in Portugal and herself and her partner, Julia Moriarty (Australia born but Irish parents) reached the last 4 of the doubles. Bowtell is one to watch unless injuries mess her up. Moriarty is a solid top 700 player but not much more. Bowtell could crack the top 200 in 3-4 years and make top 100 in 5.
Niland had no points to defend in Australia so his ranking is safe for the moment. He'll be disappointed not to have done better but he's consistently picking up points and I'd be confident that he can break the top 100 this year barring any injuries. He's already made the quarters of a challenger event in Germany this season and his ranking is stable for now.Quote:
Conor Niland went out to an experienced journeyman pro 7-6 7-6 in the first round of qualifying for the Aussie Open. Very disappointing performance which will hammer his ranking.
The biggest worry really has to be for Louk Sorensen who's had a terrible time since last years Ozzie Open. Looks like he'll be out of action for the Davis Cup tie against Luxembourg in March which is going to be a tough tie with Gilles Muller in their side.
Womens tennis is well behind the mens game alright, whats needed is more girls in the game who want to take the sport seriously, but unfortunately the interest just isn't there at the moment. The future's looking brighter though with Bowtell and Moriarty who should form the backbone of womens tennis for the next 5-6 years. Sinead Lohan could be another serious prospect she makes the step up to the pro tours.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spudulika
Agreed on all fronts. What's quite annoying is that for a small (-ish) investment women's tennis can blossom. I was at DCU speaking with the head coach and he pointed out some of the youngsters they have under contract. One of the girls stood out right away, she was as good as anything I've seen here (which is a big deal) and as he said, for a small investment they'd get big returns. Of course injuries, boyfriends, partying might disturb things, though there is a future for women's tennis in Ireland, though it does boil down to funding.
Thats the nature of the sport I'm afraid - it takes a lot of money to get a player even on the lower rungs of the pro tour, be it male or female. We're still a long way behind a lot of European countries with the bang they get for their buck but the center at DCU is a great facility for the sport and the investment is starting to show albeit more slowly in the womens game.
Agreed on everything. DCU is excellent, their program top class, and their support network really impressive. For a player ranked 300-600 it costs roughly around 80,000e to take part in c. 20 tournaments, have a coach for some of them and have sufficient back up to make an impact. That's out of the reach for most countries and in Ireland there isn't the belief in what we have. Though there is such a small difference between, for example, Fed Cup Division 2 and 3 with Ireland well capable of going up. The step further up the ladder is tougher, but again in a couple of years it's easier. But then again, our media are a little reticent in backing tennis in Ireland. There was a time when RTE televised the semi's and finals live of the Irish Open - which was the second oldest Open tournament in the world. With some media backing there might be a difference.
I'd like to think that media backing would be there if we can get Andy Murray over to Fitzwilliam, thats if we can get past Luxembourg in the Davis Cup. They were set to meet last year before the Brits made a show of themselves against Lithuania. Rumor was that RTE were very interested in getting involved for the tie if Britain had gotten through their round- I'm sure the interest would be there again if results go according to plan this year.
RTE's interest in the sport really has waned since the early 90's and they don't even seem too interested in screening Wimbledon highlights anymore, you'd hope that a traditional power like Britain could drum up a bit of badly needed interest. And there's the catch - without the media interest the players can't get the sponsorship opportunities to fund those 20 odd tournaments they need to play in each year.
An Ireland - Britain tie in the DC would be great for generating a bit of interest.
There are some great kids playing in this country and there is hope for the future, though it seems to me that a lot of our young male players are lacking in height, which makes a difference in today's game. The women's side looks more likely to produce a top 100 player in the foreseable future. Things aren't made easier by the courts we have here and the courts on the tour. Once our kids go to Europe they're usually on clay against clay-courters, while many of our players have been practising on artificial surfaces.
On a seperate matter, I don't think that there is enough variety in the courts on the pro-tour. It's mostly slow hardcourts and clay. A real grass season and the return of green clay to the tour would be nice. I also really enjoy watching tennis on a clay court that allows aggressive play, which is more possible on green clay or on red clay when dry or at altitude, indoors, or composed correctly. It allows some contrasting match-ups to flourish which are great to watch.
Not so sure on that one Stevo. Sam Barry is a great prospect and his coach has full confidence that he can make the top 100. Although he's no giant he has plenty of height at around 6'1"/6'2" which is more than enough to make a good go of it in the future. Here's hoping Bowtell and Barry can both break the top 100, that would be a great result for Irish tennis. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevo Da Gull
Britain and Ireland have a major problem with their clubs installing artificial grass courts which are great on the knees of the fee paying old dears who have the major say on facilities but are terrible for developing a high performance game.
Hard and carpet courts are important, artificial grass has no place on the ITF/WTA/ATP tours, though it is possible to play an entire season without ever setting foot on a clay court - if one chose to. I don't know, Stevo, if hardcourts could be termed slow, it depends on the type of manufacture. Also at the Academy in DCU they have red clay, though as you said clay differs. Agree with sixesandsevens about Bowtell and Barry flying the flag into the top 100, it would be a big step for the Irish game.
Roll on Ireland vs GB, though get a tricky tie with Luxembourg out of the way first. Muller is a very good player and Niland beating him would give us a real chance.
Davis Cup kicking of this afternoon in Riverview. Major shock, looks like James McGee has been dropped from the team for some reason and Barry King will be playing as No2 in the tie. Its a real gamble throwing King in the deep end when King is ranked about 300 places lower than McGee. I hope they know what they're doing, cause it looks like the side has been seriously weakened by this!
http://www.independent.ie/sport/othe...d-2565565.html
Ireland up at the moment. Niland had a straight sets win in the first rubber. King is looking like an inspired decision at the moment, he's a set up against world no.90 Gilles Muller at the moment!!!!
Disappointing line fluffing today at Riverview. The Irish pair played well, but both seemed to lack that little bit of composure at crucial points. Muller is a class act, you'd expect it from a former World number 1 and quality pro. Can't wait for tomorrow, the Niland-Muller showdown will be worth it, if we win that it's game on. The 2 18 year olds for Luxembourg look like children, and are tiny too!
let's hope that Niland can keep up with his good form today then. I think Barry King showed Muller is beatable on Friday night, hopefully Niland can pull it out of the bag today
All over at Riverview Niland has lost the fourth rubber in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to Muller. Luxembourg can't be beaten at 3-1
http://www.rte.ie/sport/tennis/2011/0306/daviscup.html
Disappointing defeat. Hopefully they'll be able to beat Tunisia and avoid dropping to Group III.
Following on a previous topic on the thread (about Sam Barry) he's pushing hard for a place on the DC team to face Tunisia. He's probably the one Irish player capable of making the top-100 in singles, though his doubles form is really looking good. He's a full senior now so it's time to move. Losing Louk Sorenson is going to hurt, but the Irish team is looking good for a 4-1 win.
On the tour side, Conor Niland was supposed to get a wild card for Wimbledon (under a long standing agreement) which didn't happen. But he was unlucky in England last week and if he gets over his aversion to grass could do well in Wimbledon qualifiers. Though at least Ireland will have one rep, of sorts, in the 1st week of Wimbledon.
Niland wins first Wimbledon qualifier
Monday, 13 June 2011 16:29
Ireland's Conor Niland has won his first match of qualifying for Wimbledon in a dramatic last set decicder.
Niland beat Josselin Ouanna of France 6-3 4-6 8-6. Niland was 5-2 down in the deciding set but recovered to progress to the next round.
The Limerick man must win two more matches to get through to the first round proper at SW19.
He will meet Paolo Lorenzi or Greg Jones next.
rte.ie/sport/tennis/2011/0613/nilandc.html
It's Greg Jones next up! He beat the the number 11 seed in three sets. Dunno much about the guy round 220 in the world and relatively young, so could be a surprise package.
looked like it had gotten away from him after he dropped three break points at the start of the third, and lost the game. Took him a long time recover from that. Fair play to him for pulling it out of the fire the way he did
What didn't get much airtime is that Conor saved a whopping 5 match points! Lots of Irish interest in Wimbledon this year with Conor and the Irish-based Diatchenko playing today.
Another big win for Conor in the second round of quelled today on three sets. Played some great stuff, jones couldn't handle the lobs and groundstrokes during the second and third set. Anything that jones threw at him came straight back
Best of luck to Conor in the final qualifier. On the verge :)
Best of luck to him indeed - taking on Nikola Metkic of Croatia on Court "C" tomorrow - up 2nd, so due on approx 12.15. Metkic is ranked 274, so I think this is probably Niland's best chance to date to make a main draw.
Got the lowdown from an insider aka that man above. Reckons that Metkic is solid but Niland should have enough for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Real ale Madrid
All going well Ireland will have 2 players in the singles main draw this weekend. Mtkic is good but has a history of seriously choking. Hasn't fulfilled his potential as a junior, mainly because of poor coaching. Conor has the edge, even if grass is not a good surface for him. GC expected him to go out in the 1st!
Play was completely suspended by about half six tonight. Players are due back on court at 10.30 in the morning. The Wozniak match is still to be completed so Niland probably won't be on court until around noon, weather permitting
Niland’s on court now. Broke his opponent in the first game and now leads 2-0
Didn't realise it was a 5 set match! 4-2 up anyway - play seems to be suspended again - will barely get done by Monday at this rate.
This happened to him a couple of weeks ago, in a good position, messed about by rain until the match had to be completed indoors. Won't happen now, but he would have done a number on the Croat (called a Serbian on Sport at 7 the other night, yikes).
Play abandoned for the day. Still 4-2 Niland, Diatchenko didn't get on court.
His opponent that day went on to play Nadal in the 2nd round of Queens. He was 1 set up and cruising 3-1 in the 2nd at the time. Play starts at 10:30 again this morning but the forecast isn't good again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spudulika
I heard last evening that no matter what WImbledon will insist the matches with qualifiers in them go ahead as normal - what a load of tosh, they probably won't get finished until Sunday! Plus Roehampton is the closest thing to a field of spuds that you'll ever see!
At least Conor's up first and will hopefully avoid the expected late afternoon rain.
Spoke to soon, they've now been delayed twice today and have only completed 10 games. Currently Niland leads 6-3,4-3 with serve in the 2nd. He's controlled his own service games quite easily and has had a good few break points which he hasn't put away. Hopefully theses delays won't affect his performance.
I hope he can keep it together and take the next set that he needs.
Niland wins 6-3 7-6(5) 6-4
Great stuff