Willis lost an epic 3hour 20mins match to Spong 6-1 5-7 7-6 (2), after being 3 love up in the 3rd. Tough match & he will be kicking himself as he knows he had chances but fair play to Marcus he was fighting for every point against the big hitting Spong, never gave up & work hard through out the match. Pauffley went down 6-4 6-0 against Klempa, who just grinded it out from the back, Pauffley didn't play badly he just tactically played a fast court game & Klempa was loving the extra slow courts & getting everything back, on a faster surface I would pick a Pauffley win 6-3 6-3??. Matt Short also lost 6-2 6-4, slightly nervous 1st set but played ok & showed he can compete at this level. Pauffley & Willis play Spong & Ladujvic in the doubles at 5pm. Weather still unbearably hot!!!!!!!!!!
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The boys came good in the doubles!!! Willis served & volleyed as close to perfect as you possibly can, They won 6-3 7-6 (2) these opponents can play abit too, Puffley has won a doubles title with Lajovic & Spong is capable of top 150ATP off the ground. Pauffley served huge too & missed 1 forehand return all match, got a toughie tomorrow but they are all tough at this level, I will let you know how it goes!!
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Its Not Who You Know But What You Know.........Or Is It???
Doubles was awesome, don't want to tempt fate but on this form theyare untouchable!! Willis served & vollied the best I have seen a junior since Federer, awesome!! Pauffley has missed 1 return in 2 matches....toughie up next but they are confident... who knows?
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Its Not Who You Know But What You Know.........Or Is It???
Willis & Pauffley are tied 1 set all 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (9-7) were up in both sets, need to believe in themselves & this is in the bag, not playing as well as yesterday but there is another set to go so we will see.
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Its Not Who You Know But What You Know.........Or Is It???
This info is fantastic goldenslam, really great to read....looks like a reallly tight one, hopefully they can come through. Who are they playing ? Opponents they're expected to beat or seeds ?
We certainly have no shortage of up and coming doubles players !
Out of interest, why did Willis and Pauffley opt for these clay events instead of the grass futures like Cox, Evo, Dyce, Milton and Rice ? Not a criticism, I'm just interested to know how the players decide their schedule
Are they going to play more futures after the USO ?
The boys came through 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 , over 3 hours on court & they led in all 3 sets 4-3 with a break in the 1st, 5-2 in the 2nd & 5-1 in the 3rd. To be fair to the boys their opponents played well under pressure & they were not expected on paper to win as they were playing Ramirez (Mex) & Blacha (Cze) who are the 3rd seeds I believe. Ramirez won the singles last week in Essen, reached the quarter finals of Roland Garros & is well on his way to winning the singles title here, Blacha beat the boys last week in the doubles with Constantin on his way to the doubles title in Essen. Tough match & they really pulled it together even with some poor calls & rotten luck going against them plus the mental games played by Ramirez who earned himself a code violation & point penalty (which the boys used to their advantage in breaking for 4-1 in the 3rd) , infact Ramirez was 1 warning away from a DQ, which would have seen him DQ'd from the singles too, glad it didn't happen as he is a nice guy really!! This match had it all really, it's now up to the boys to mentally recover & get ready for Goffin & Gignoun tomorrow.
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Its Not Who You Know But What You Know.........Or Is It???
Sheddie wrote:Out of interest, why did Willis and Pauffley opt for these clay events instead of the grass futures like Cox, Evo, Dyce, Milton and Rice ? Not a criticism, I'm just interested to know how the players decide their schedule
Are they going to play more futures after the USO ?
They are doing these events because they plan to turn up for qualies at the USO. They are hoping to get seeded out there and need as many points as possible.
This info is fantastic goldenslam, really great to read....looks like a reallly tight one, hopefully they can come through. Who are they playing ? Opponents they're expected to beat or seeds ?
Sheddie - thanks for the comments regarding updates but I have a request, please can you not call Willis Tubba, I know you would'nt do it to offend him but he reads this site & names like this upset him & piss him off & rightly so, he has worked hard on his fitness recently & is continuing doing so & names like that are not really great for the confidence. On top of that his mum reads this site too & you wouldn't wanna mess with her!!! Cheers
-- Edited by Goldenslam at 10:25, 2007-07-20
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Yep!! The boys won 7-5 7-6 (3) against the 2nd seeds & meet the top seeds Jebavy & Kosler, who look about 35!!! If the boys play as they have been they have more than a chance. Willis was very pleased with his baseline game today & returned well through out, Pauffley was crunching his forehand as usual & made some amazing gets at the baseline, whilst both boys were dynamite at the net!!! One more to go!!!
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GREAT NEWS The boys won the final against Jebavy & kosler 6-4 6-4 !! They led 5-2 in the 1st only for the czech guys to break back bt Willis produced a superb service game to clinch the set 6-4. In the 2nd the boys faced some pressure on the Pauffley serve but Neil let go of some trademark bombs when it mattered & when serving at 4-4 the world number 8 Jebavy was broken to love as both boys played some great doubles to take a 5-4 lead, with the break in the bank & serving for your 1st career G1 title you could forgive the boys for getting tight but they came out all guns blazing & Pauffley held to love for the upset & ultimately the win!!!! The boys should rise to inside 130 ITF or maybe highier, on the down side the win has cost me 50euros to each of them......... small price to pay for a great win!!! wahooooooooooo
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