Week 37 - Challenger 80 (€44,820) - Open Blot, Rennes, France (indoor hard)

Jaffa · Challenger level

Week 37 - Challenger 80 (€44,820) - Open Blot, Rennes, France (indoor hard)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Liam actually got a bit unlucky there.

Overall, Bonzi just edged deserving the set.

But it was 4-4. Liam is 0-30 down. Bonzi hits a line (just, and lucky), Liam's shot back just misses the line. Now 0-40 and he gets broken.

And in the next game as Bonzi's serving for it, he gets an absolute dead let cord just at the crucial moment.

Again, Bonzi deserved it, just, but it was 6-4, and Liam was right in there, and a little unlucky.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Liam got broken with an absolute superb return and two play from Bonzi.

Liam then had 4 break back points but Bonzi served really well.

AND Liam get cheated out of a point - he was quite right - the umpire only called it out because Bonzi didn't play it, the ball was in, in my view.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

QF: (3) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) WR 76 defeated Liam Broady WR 145 by 4 & 2

JC: I think you may have failed to pick up on my oblique reference yesterday to the fact that benjamin (m) (or benjamine (f)) is the French word for the youngest/-er child in a family of more than one.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Liam ended up losing the second set 2-6

But there was some truly super tennis in that set, from both.

Bonzi was slightly better, it's sure, but Liam is a different player from a couple of years back.

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Stircrazy wrote:
QF: (3) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) WR 76 defeated Liam Broady WR 145 by 4 & 2
JC: I think you may have failed to pick up on my oblique reference yesterday to the fact that benjamin (m) (or benjamine (f)) is the French word for the youngest/-er child in a family of more than one.

I did, and like you I tried to find biographical info, but then got distracted by his scarily impressive match records this year !!

indiana · Tennis legend

Pity for Liam ( and SC ). But met their match. Still yes Liam has continued to show pretty impressive form.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Jaffa wrote:
Bonzi is flying. Be interesting to see how he does.

Liam has been so unlucky with the rankings situation - I hope his persistence and consistency pays off for him soon.

When does the ranking situation get fully back to normal with the Covid 'manipulations' having worked themselves out of the system ?

I note that in "The Race", Liam is at 104, which may be a truer reflection of his ranking this season.

Edit

To give context, Bonzi is Top 50 in the race.

-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Saturday 18th of September 2021 06:14:58 AM

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
QF: (3) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) WR 76 defeated Liam Broady WR 145 by 4 & 2
JC: I think you may have failed to pick up on my oblique reference yesterday to the fact that benjamin (m) (or benjamine (f)) is the French word for the youngest/-er child in a family of more than one.

Which answers a question for me that I didn't ask. I have always wondered why here in Spain, the youngest category in youth football is called "Benjamin" (8/9 yo).

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Bob in Spain wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
QF: (3) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) WR 76 defeated Liam Broady WR 145 by 4 & 2
JC: I think you may have failed to pick up on my oblique reference yesterday to the fact that benjamin (m) (or benjamine (f)) is the French word for the youngest/-er child in a family of more than one.
Which answers a question for me that I didn't ask. I have always wondered why here in Spain, the youngest category in youth football is called "Benjamin" (8/9 yo).

Funnily, enough, though, in France the youngest category of tennis players are called 'poussin' (little chicken) and then the next category up are called 'benjamin' - so why's that?????

Lambda · Challenger level

Benjamin meaning youngest in various languages derives from religious texts of Benjamin being the last born of Jacob

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
QF: (3) Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) WR 76 defeated Liam Broady WR 145 by 4 & 2

And Bonzi went on to take the title (yet ANOTHER title)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

On the French Eurosport site, there's an excellent interview with Bonzi's 'new' coach i.e. the one he got a couple of years ago when he was ATP 360 in the world, before he went on to have one of the biggest winning streaks ever and has now risen to 61 in practically no time at all (well, about 2 years but....)

Lionel Zimbler told him you're going nowhere with that game. You're way too far behind the line. You need to play further forward, cut the trajectories, take the ball earlier, which means getting yourself organised each time far quicker.....

He said he really laid it on thick, and had to beat him over the head with it at the start, because it's habits of a lifetime.

He also introduced a mental side with a strict routine in between each point, and a method of giving the maximum for each point in play.

he says the key thing is the time between points - how to not get upset when things are wrong, to stay in the present, and focus on and prepare for the next point in hand. Which all sounds basic but there's a way to do it, he claims, in between points if your routine is sufficiently engrained.

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Monday 20th of September 2021 07:36:49 PM