Three British players started this weekend in qualifying draws for ATP & WTA tournaments in the first week of the new tennis season.
Kyle Edmund fresh from his Davis Cup triumph had two very successful wins yesterday and today to qualify for ATP Doha. The 20 year old who turns 21 later in the week defeated Arnaboldi yesterday and hit 9 aces in another straight sets victory today over Radu Albot. The Brit could have drawn Novak Djokovic in the 1st round but instead slotted into the draw to face Martin Klizan. This match will be tough for Kyle but is exactly the test he needs and experience is still vital at this stage of his career
James Ward is playing this week in Chennai, India. Its a tough time for James as his coach sadly passed away last week after a battle with cancer. This has surely put a strain on Ward's mental approach to games throughout the end of 2015 season. James in fact went 6-2 3-1 up on Somdev Devvarman and looked like a certain qualifier, however as soon as he had got the 2nd set break he handed it straight back to the Indian. From then on Devvarman never looked back and too the 2nd set 7-5 before racing to a double break lead in the decider. James did fight but eventually lost 6-2 5-7 4-6 and will now go to Melbourne to play Australian Open qualifying next week. Fingers crossed!
Naomi Broady had a successful Autumn on the WTA Tour and only a few big slips in matches late on in 2015 stopped the Brit from threatening to break into the WTA top 100. However 2016 is a new season and you never know what form a player will be in. I'm glad to say Naomi looks like she is bang in form and has 2 very good wins under her belt already over Siegemund and Kozlova. The big serving Brit next faces the tough challenge of former WTA top 40 player Magdalena Rybarikova for a place in the Auckland main draw. Its a tough one but still winnable if Naomi believes in herself.
Other Brits in action this week include Andy Murray & Heather Watson in Hopman Cup, Aljaz Bedene in Chennai and Jo Konta in Shenzhen. Keep up to date with all the results right here or follow me on @thetennistalker on twitter.
Enjoy the tennis!
Kyle Edmund fresh from his Davis Cup triumph had two very successful wins yesterday and today to qualify for ATP Doha. The 20 year old who turns 21 later in the week defeated Arnaboldi yesterday and hit 9 aces in another straight sets victory today over Radu Albot. The Brit could have drawn Novak Djokovic in the 1st round but instead slotted into the draw to face Martin Klizan. This match will be tough for Kyle but is exactly the test he needs and experience is still vital at this stage of his career
James Ward is playing this week in Chennai, India. Its a tough time for James as his coach sadly passed away last week after a battle with cancer. This has surely put a strain on Ward's mental approach to games throughout the end of 2015 season. James in fact went 6-2 3-1 up on Somdev Devvarman and looked like a certain qualifier, however as soon as he had got the 2nd set break he handed it straight back to the Indian. From then on Devvarman never looked back and too the 2nd set 7-5 before racing to a double break lead in the decider. James did fight but eventually lost 6-2 5-7 4-6 and will now go to Melbourne to play Australian Open qualifying next week. Fingers crossed!
Naomi Broady had a successful Autumn on the WTA Tour and only a few big slips in matches late on in 2015 stopped the Brit from threatening to break into the WTA top 100. However 2016 is a new season and you never know what form a player will be in. I'm glad to say Naomi looks like she is bang in form and has 2 very good wins under her belt already over Siegemund and Kozlova. The big serving Brit next faces the tough challenge of former WTA top 40 player Magdalena Rybarikova for a place in the Auckland main draw. Its a tough one but still winnable if Naomi believes in herself.
Other Brits in action this week include Andy Murray & Heather Watson in Hopman Cup, Aljaz Bedene in Chennai and Jo Konta in Shenzhen. Keep up to date with all the results right here or follow me on @thetennistalker on twitter.
Enjoy the tennis!