I thought for a moment that he had won mixed-doubles title at Wimbledon previously... but then realized I was confusing him with a different Murray altogether (Jamie).
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
I thought for a moment that he had won mixed-doubles title at Wimbledon previously... but then realized I was confusing him with a different Murray altogether (Jamie).
It can be confusing with Jonathan Marray, Jamie Murray, and where just the surname is mentioned Andy Murray.
Heather Watson and Jonathan Marray are also on their way home after they were beaten in the mixed doubles by the French pairing of Alize Lim and Jeremy Chardy.
The British pair lost the first set 6-4 but struck back to take the second 10-8 on a tie-break. They were eventually beaten 14-12 in a mammoth third.
Although no-one likes to lose, Heather Watson must be happy with her time at Roland Garros as proving to herself that she has recovered from glandular fever. If she hadn't, she would not have been able to go through such a mammoth match.
French Open 2013: Ten things we have learned so far in Paris
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/22746462
8. Robson looks afraid of stardom
Britain's Laura Robson is an incredible talent, beating a whole string of top-10 players inside the last nine months, but the 19-year-old appears affected by the extra attention this has brought.
In Paris she bristled under light questioning in a press conference and in Buenos Aires, on Fed Cup duty, she seemed happiest when banging her drum on the sidelines rather than carrying British expectations on the court.
This is a high-pressure business and Robson's handlers have to be careful not to raise unnecessary barriers. Ultimately, the player needs to decide whether tennis stardom is for her. And if it is - just as Andy Murray discovered at the same age - she has to accept the associated extra commitments and pressures.
9. Watson is ready to rise again
Heather Watson lost in round one and obviously that isn't ideal. But she showed enough fight, hunger and energy to suggest she is over her bout of glandular fever. That was the only news that really mattered.
Had she lost to Stephanie Voegele love and one, she'd be dogged by questions and concerns about returning too soon and Wimbledon probably wouldn't have been much fun. Instead, she's ready to compete at her natural level again and looked a completely different person and player in Paris from the lethargic and confused person we last saw in North America in March.
Laura Robson: Miles Maclagan to work with British number one
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/22776562
In the Aegon classic which started yesterday Heather Watson plays her first round match today against Melinda Czink. On paper this should be a win for Heather Watson.
Laura Robson has a bye in the first round.
Because of the way the draw has worked out they could meet at the semi-final stage.
Heather Watson paid the price for a tentative display as she crashed out in the second round of the Aegon Classic following a 6-4 6-3 defeat by Alla Kudryavtseva.
Watson's next singles action in the build-up to Wimbledon will come at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
Not the best form to be taking into Wimbledon for either of them.
Elena Baltacha won her first title in two years with victory over world number 135 Tadeja Majeric of Slovenia at the ITF Nottingham Challenge.
The 29-year-old Briton won 7-5 7-6 (9-7) in her seventh tournament since returning from an injury that had kept her out since the London Olympics.
The British number six, who has slipped to 217 in the world, last won a title at the same event in 2011.
The Scot has been given wildcards for both Eastbourne and Wimbledon.
"This is the third time I've won a title here in Nottingham and I've never lost a final," said Baltacha. "It is a very, very special place - it is magic for me to be honest.
"It means absolutely everything to me - I was pretty much bawling my eyes out.
"To think I actually nearly retired after the Olympics nearly a year ago. To then have ankle surgery, then go through rehab - I can't believe how far I've come in such a short space of time."
She will join fellow Britons Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta in the main draw of the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
British number two Watson faces world number 28 Varvara Lepchenko of the United States in the first round on Monday.
Heather Watson beat a Top 30 ranked player in her first round match at Eastbourne.
In the mens British prospect Kyle Edmund also won his first round match.
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
Heather Watson beat a Top 30 ranked player in her first round match at Eastbourne.
In the mens British prospect Kyle Edmund also won his first round match.
Yes, Heather Watson beat Varvara Lepchenko (world ranking 27) 6-3, 6-4. Her second round match is against Elena Vesnina (world ranking 36).
Laura Robson, Johanna Konte and Elena Baltacha have their first round matches today.
Laura Robson has won her first round match 6-3, 6-2. It would have been a shock if she had lost as her opponent has a world ranking of 187.
Johanna Konte lost her match 4-6, 3-6.
Elena Baltacha continues her success at Nottingham by winning 7-5, 7-6 beating Kristyna Pliskova who has a ranking of 76. Elena Baltacha currently has a ranking of 185 but that is because of her long absence and I think it likely that her ranking will continue to improve.
So that's 3 British women through to the second round.
I saw an interview with Elena Baltacha on the BBC Sport website a couple of months ago where she reported being fully recovered from injury and hopeful of regaining the position of British number one which she had previously held for several years. I felt the latter was somewhat unrealistic (given the emergence of Robson and Watson) but you never know!
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
I saw an interview with Elena Baltacha on the BBC Sport website a couple of months ago where she reported being fully recovered from injury and hopeful of regaining the position of British number one which she had previously held for several years. I felt the latter was somewhat unrealistic (given the emergence of Robson and Watson) but you never know!
Elena Baltacha's career best ranking was 49 three years ago so she could get back to near the British number one but I think Laura Robson and Heather Watson are more likely. She's the oldest of the three but that's irrelevant when you consider that Serena Williams is a couple of years older.
Not a good day at Eastbourne:
Laura Robson lost to Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 4-6
Heather Watson lost to Elena Vesnina 1-6, 6-3, 2-6
Elena Baltacha lost to Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 4-6, 3-6
All 3 were playing higher ranked players so not that surprising though Elena Vesnina is not that much higher ranked than Heather Watson.
I think the first round Wimbledon draw is made today.
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
I think the first round Wimbledon draw is made today.
It is.
Konta v Jankovic (16)
Robson v Kirilenko (10)
Baltacha v Pennetta (both unseeded)
Watson v Keys (both unseeded)
Moore v Kanepi (both unseeded)
Murray v Giorgi (both unseeded)
Keothavong v Muguruza (both unseeded)
So given that^^^^ - Konta and Robson should be out after the first round and Baltacha, Watson, Moore, Murray and Keothavong MAY get into the second round, but not a great deal further.
It must be a bit disheartening at times to see your expectations are so low.
However, if they did all make it to the second round, I belive their opponents would be:-
Baltacha - Azarenka (2) or Koehler
Konta - Wickmeyer or Dolonic
Robson - Duque-Marino or Georges
Watson - Barthel (30) or Niculescu
Moore - Mattek-Sands or Kerber (7)
Murray - Voegele or Cirstea (22)
Keothavong - Larsson or Makarova (25)
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Not a good day at Eastbourne:
Laura Robson lost to Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 4-6
Heather Watson lost to Elena Vesnina 1-6, 6-3, 2-6
Elena Baltacha lost to Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 4-6, 3-6
All 3 were playing higher ranked players so not that surprising though Elena Vesnina is not that much higher ranked than Heather Watson.
But at least Heather Watson can say that she was beaten by the eventual champion at Eastbourne. Elena Vesnina beat Jamie Hampton in the final 6-2, 6-1.
That's a good spot - and she took a set off the eventual champion!
With Heather Watson losing in the first round at Wimbledon, when the rankings come out after Wimbledon is over, she will drop a few places as she got to the third round last year.
On the other hand with Laura Robson getting through to the fourth round (she was knocked out in the first round last year) even if she loses I think she will climb up the rankings to around 27.
Elena Baltacha's hope to regain the British number one position is looking at present rather unlikely.
Madison Keys (who defeated Heather Watson in the first round) has just been narrowly beaten in the third round. She is about a year younger than Laura Robson and looks to be a very stronger contender for the number one spot in a few years. Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens (who is a year older than Heather Watson) look to be the two Americans most likely to challenge Serena Williams in the future.
Originally Posted by El Loro:
With Heather Watson losing in the first round at Wimbledon, when the rankings come out after Wimbledon is over, she will drop a few places as she got to the third round last year.
On the other hand with Laura Robson getting through to the fourth round (she was knocked out in the first round last year) even if she loses I think she will climb up the rankings to around 27.
Elena Baltacha's hope to regain the British number one position is looking at present rather unlikely.
So Laura Robson could potentially be a seed at the next GS tournament â the US open? That really would be something!
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
Originally Posted by El Loro:
With Heather Watson losing in the first round at Wimbledon, when the rankings come out after Wimbledon is over, she will drop a few places as she got to the third round last year.
On the other hand with Laura Robson getting through to the fourth round (she was knocked out in the first round last year) even if she loses I think she will climb up the rankings to around 27.
Elena Baltacha's hope to regain the British number one position is looking at present rather unlikely.
So Laura Robson could potentially be a seed at the next GS tournament â the US open? That really would be something!
That is a possibility though there are a quite a number of tournaments before then so rankings are likely to change quite a lot.
Lauramania!
Robson mobbed after her doubles match on Monday evening.
That was an accurate prediction!
Hopefully Laura Robson will have some success in the WTA events between now and the US Open.
I think this season will just be about consolidation for Heather Watson after her illness. Such a shame after what she achieved in 2012 and right through to the Australian Open at the beginning of this year!
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
That was an accurate prediction!
Hopefully Laura Robson will have some success in the WTA events between now and the US Open.
I think this season will just be about consolidation for Heather Watson after her illness. Such a shame after what she achieved in 2012 and right through to the Australian Open at the beginning of this year!
I knew how many points were awarded for each stage of Wimbledon, how many points were won last year and what would be given this year from the rounds they got to so my predictions were based on a bit of maths
I hope Heather Watson can get some wins in the non Grand Slam events over the next few months to regain her confidence and her ranking. She certainly has the potential to eventually get into the top 32 though I think Laura Robson has the potential to eventually get into the top 10. Both players are at the start of their adult careers, particularly Laura Robson, and it is realistic to hope that over the next 3 years they will get better as they get more experienced,
Originally Posted by El Loro:
Originally Posted by Cold Sweat:
That was an accurate prediction!
Hopefully Laura Robson will have some success in the WTA events between now and the US Open.
I think this season will just be about consolidation for Heather Watson after her illness. Such a shame after what she achieved in 2012 and right through to the Australian Open at the beginning of this year!
I knew how many points were awarded for each stage of Wimbledon, how many points were won last year and what would be given this year from the rounds they got to so my predictions were based on a bit of maths
I hope Heather Watson can get some wins in the non Grand Slam events over the next few months to regain her confidence and her ranking. She certainly has the potential to eventually get into the top 32 though I think Laura Robson has the potential to eventually get into the top 10. Both players are at the start of their adult careers, particularly Laura Robson, and it is realistic to hope that over the next 3 years they will get better as they get more experienced,
Other than Serena Williams I donât see another consistently dominant player at the moment. If Flipkens is the world No.15 and can suddenly reach the latter stages of GS tournaments then Iâm certain Laura Robson can keep moving up the rankings. It will be interesting to see if one of the younger players coming through at the moment can become the next dominant force in the womenâs game â I know big things are expected of both Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys but the pressure on both to deliver will be enormous.
Anne Keothavong has retired from professional tennis and will become one of the BBC's tennis commentators.
Laura Robson and Heather Watson haven't played since Wimbledon so are dropping in the rankings. Currently Laura is ranked 31 and Heather 78. If they are intending to play in the US Open which starts on 26 August I would expect them to start in some of the US tournaments in the run up.
British number two Heather Watson has parted company with coach Mauricio Hadad and will work with Jeremy Bates throughout the US hard-court season.
Bates, the LTA's lead women's coach, will work with Watson in Toronto and Cincinnati next month before heading to New York for the US Open.
Colombian Hadad, 41, was previously the coach of Maria Sharapova.
Watson last played at Wimbledon, losing to American Madison Keys in the first round, and the Briton is scheduled to return in the Citi Open in Washington next week, where she has been drawn against a qualifier in the first round.
Laura Robson has opted for a different tournament in the States, the Southern California Open. Her opponent in the first round is Ayumi Morita. Laura is not one of the seeds as the tournament only seeds 8 players.
Heather Watson and Laura Robson began their United States hard-court seasons with battling wins in Washington and California respectively.
Watson recovered from losing the first set to beat American Alexandra Mueller 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 at the Citi Open.
The 21-year-old will play French fourth seed Alize Cornet in round two.
British number one Robson beat Ayumi Morita 4-6 7-5 6-2 in the Southern California Open at Carlsbad and will face Petra Kvitova in the next round.
Watson recently ended her two-year coaching relationship with Colombian Mauricio Hadad and is working with American Chip Brooks in Washington, before Lawn Tennis Association lead women's coach Jeremy Bates takes over in August for Toronto, Cincinnati and the US Open.
She has slipped from a career-high ranking of 39 in February to 76th in the world after glandular fever forced her off the circuit for two months in April, but arrived in Washington saying she felt "the best that I've felt this year".
The Guernsey native has also spoken about developing a bigger serve and more attacking game, and an ace count of 14 in her first match since Wimbledon will have been encouraging.
Her fitness was tested immediately as she was pushed hard by Mueller, ranked 499 in the world but confident after two wins in qualifying, and lost a tight first set after recovering a break.
Watson found her range on serve to close out the second but lost an early advantage in the third, before breaking for the fifth and sixth times in the match to finally see off the challenge of Mueller after two hours and 10 minutes.
Robson, ranked 32nd, had an even more testing encounter against world number 52 Morita in a match which lasted two hours and 40 minutes.
The Japanese player beat Robson on clay in Portugal earlier this year, and was two points from doing so again when she served at 6-4 5-4 30-0, but the Briton fought back.
A costly double fault from Morita in the 12th game of the second set brought the scores level, and Robson raced into a 5-1 lead in the decider, although failed to serve out the match and needed her sixth break of the match to secure the win.
"It was really tough today - Ayumi was playing super, super well," said Robson.
"It felt like every time I hit a good shot, she would hit a better shot. So I just had to stick with it and wait for my chance.
"After I broke her back at the end of the second set, I felt the momentum on my side again."
Laura Robson's progress at the Southern California Open came to an abrupt end as she suffered a 6-1 6-2 third-round defeat by third seed Petra Kvitova.
The British number one, who beat Kvitova at the Australian Open earlier this year, landed only 41% of her first serves in the opening set.
Robson found her rhythm in the second but could not keep up as Kvitova broke twice late on to win in 75 minutes.
The 19-year-old will continue her US Open build-up at Toronto's Rogers Cup.
Former Wimbledon champion Kvitova meanwhile will play either Carla Suarez Navarro or Virginie Razzano in the last eight.
Robson has risen from 53rd to 32nd in the world rankings this year on the back of form that included a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon and victories over Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Kirilenko and Venus Williams, as well as Kvitova in Melbourne.
However she looked short of the quality needed to bridge the gap to the very top of the game as her serve misfired badly in the opening set.
Robson swapped breaks with the Czech at the start of the second, but was soon overwhelmed by her fellow left-hander to complete a disappointing follow-up to her hard-fought victory over Japan's Ayumi Morita in the previous round.