Week 40 - ATP Challenger 80 - Alicante, Spain (hard)

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Week 40 - ATP Challenger 80 - Alicante, Spain (hard)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Great post, Bob - it's just so nice when it sounds so 'real'

Shame for Stu but he's doing well.....

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

L16: (4) Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) WR 172 defeated (ALT) Billy Harris WR 290 by 4 & 4

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Some small consolation for Billy:

L16: Billy Harris & Kelsey Stevenson (CAN) CR 645 (349+296) defeated Nicolás Alvarez & Harold Mayot (ESP/FRA) CR 833 (322+511) by 6-3 2-6 [13-11]

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Overall, I thought Billy played very well today. Kuzmanov gave him nothing though and I am sure his UE count was very low. Billy was broken in the opening game and looked a little tight in the early stages. But as the set wore on, he grew in confidence and matched Kuzmanov in most aspects of the game.

One rather bizarre incident occurred when Billy hit a big first serve but was obviously a let. The umpire then tried to convince everyone that the ball had gone THROUGH the net and so it was now 2nd serve. Billy pointed out that there was no hole in the net for the ball to go through. In the end, the umpire relented when Kuzmanov stepped in and said that was ridiculous and insisted it was just a normal 'let'. He had already spent plenty of time complaining to the umpire about other calls, although to be fair to him, I think he had good cause to complain on several occasions. But he wasn't being bolshie. When Billy chirped up at one point, Kuzmanov simply said to him "it's not your fault. Take the point".

Billy did struggle to get a look in on the Kuzmanov serve right until the last game of the set. Billy played well to get to 15-40 on the Kuzmanov serve. On the first BP he tried to step in early on a 1st serve but found the net with his return. The 2nd BP had a very long rally before Billy finally put a forehand into the tramlines. Kuzmanov then served out.

Billy went a break down in the 2nd too, but at 3-4* down, he played an excellent game to break back. Unfortunately he couldn't consolidate though. The first point was a dead net cord to Kuzmanov for 0-15 and two points later, Billy dumped a smash into the net. He was broken again and Kuzmanov then served out the match.

Given the way Kuzmanov had played the previous day, I thought Billy did very well to push him that close. The match really came down to a few key moments/points. I also felt he could have targeted the Kuzmanov backhand a bit more as that was his weaker side. From Billy's perspective, a bit more experience at this level and some better shot selection and he will do fine. There were moments when he lost a bit of patience and tried to push too hard. He would then castigate himself for choosing the wrong moment to attack.

However, his game looks a lot more solid than the last time I saw him live and playing futures. If he keeps improving as he has, I think he has the game to go deep on some weeks in these Challenger tournaments.

He now has two weeks in Germany. Was debating whether to do Glasgow, but having made the MD cut in Germany that week he has decided to go down that route. I think that is the right decision.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

On other matters, Billy is now fully aware of the Jaggy vs Bob challenge. We spent a fair bit of time discussing the likely candidates, particularly those the the 20 in the 500 group. He thinks JPJ is a huge talent but now back at college. However he's never even heard of Johannes Monday.

He also sees Top 250 as his next realistic target. Not because he wants Jaggy to win (sorry Jaggy), but it puts him in the range for Slam qualies, which would boost his finances. I think he has a chance. There will be a week somewhere when the draw opens up a bit. He just needs to be able to take advantage of that.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

And finally, he gave me Scoop of the Day - as reported in the Italian Futures thread.

Toby Martin wants to be Head of the LTA on day.

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

Bob in Spain wrote:
On other matters, Billy is now fully aware of the Jaggy vs Bob challenge. We spent a fair bit of time discussing the likely candidates, particularly those the the 20 in the 500 group. He thinks JPJ is a huge talent but now back at college. However he's never even heard of Johannes Monday.

He also sees Top 250 as his next realistic target. Not because he wants Jaggy to win (sorry Jaggy), but it puts him in the range for Slam qualies, which would boost his finances. I think he has a chance. There will be a week somewhere when the draw opens up a bit. He just needs to be able to take advantage of that.

Haha thats class he is aware, another one watching with interest then

indiana · Tennis legend

Bob in Spain wrote:
On other matters, Billy is now fully aware of the Jaggy vs Bob challenge. We spent a fair bit of time discussing the likely candidates, particularly those the the 20 in the 500 group. He thinks JPJ is a huge talent but now back at college. However he's never even heard of Johannes Monday.

He also sees Top 250 as his next realistic target. Not because he wants Jaggy to win (sorry Jaggy), but it puts him in the range for Slam qualies, which would boost his finances. I think he has a chance. There will be a week somewhere when the draw opens up a bit. He just needs to be able to take advantage of that.

Yes, top 250 makes sense anyway as Billy's next target. I have read some folk saying that they don't see Billy as a top 250 player, at least in the near future, but as you say Bob a draw or two could open up and he could play decently, take advantage and get the points he needs .

Hopefully too he will continue to improve and convince folk of his true top 250 credentials

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
On other matters, Billy is now fully aware of the Jaggy vs Bob challenge. We spent a fair bit of time discussing the likely candidates, particularly those the the 20 in the 500 group. He thinks JPJ is a huge talent but now back at college. However he's never even heard of Johannes Monday.

He also sees Top 250 as his next realistic target. Not because he wants Jaggy to win (sorry Jaggy), but it puts him in the range for Slam qualies, which would boost his finances. I think he has a chance. There will be a week somewhere when the draw opens up a bit. He just needs to be able to take advantage of that.
Yes, top 250 makes sense anyway as Billy's next target. I have read some folk saying that they don't see Billy as a top 250 player, at least in the near future, but as you say Bob a draw or two could open up and he could play decently, take advantage and get the points he needs .
Hopefully too he will continue to improve and convince folk of his true top 250 credentials

THere were many people who didn't see Billy as a top-500 player either.

After all, he was 700 ish for donkeys years.... both before and after his absence from tennis....

Often, people only see players as within a small range of where they are

It was only 10 months ago or so that Billy broke into the top-500 - quite 'old' really, for a tennis player

And yet 8 months after that he was breaking into the top-300

It's sharp progress

And he's in his prime, so to speak, and every chance of making top-250, at least. Grand Slam quali direct acceptance is a very logical goal

(NB I never really 'believed' in Billy either, I'm not one of those who foresaw this rise, (I claim Ali G and Sonay predictions, when they were nowhere) but I do know that we tend to pigeon-hole players, especally after they've been juniors and have had their initial 'blaze')

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
indiana wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
On other matters, Billy is now fully aware of the Jaggy vs Bob challenge. We spent a fair bit of time discussing the likely candidates, particularly those the the 20 in the 500 group. He thinks JPJ is a huge talent but now back at college. However he's never even heard of Johannes Monday.

He also sees Top 250 as his next realistic target. Not because he wants Jaggy to win (sorry Jaggy), but it puts him in the range for Slam qualies, which would boost his finances. I think he has a chance. There will be a week somewhere when the draw opens up a bit. He just needs to be able to take advantage of that.
Yes, top 250 makes sense anyway as Billy's next target. I have read some folk saying that they don't see Billy as a top 250 player, at least in the near future, but as you say Bob a draw or two could open up and he could play decently, take advantage and get the points he needs .
Hopefully too he will continue to improve and convince folk of his true top 250 credentials
THere were many people who didn't see Billy as a top-500 player either.
After all, he was 700 ish for donkeys years.... both before and after his absence from tennis....
Often, people only see players as within a small range of where they are
It was only 10 months ago or so that Billy broke into the top-500 - quite 'old' really, for a tennis player
And yet 8 months after that he was breaking into the top-300
It's sharp progress
And he's in his prime, so to speak, and every chance of making top-250, at least. Grand Slam quali direct acceptance is a very logical goal
(NB I never really 'believed' in Billy either, I'm not one of those who foresaw this rise, (I claim Ali G and Sonay predictions, when they were nowhere) but I do know that we tend to pigeon-hole players, especally after they've been juniors and have had their initial 'blaze')

Very true , CD. I was certainly one who said recently I didnt see Billy as a top 250 player and recently as well. I hope he proves me very wrong!

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:

THere were many people who didn't see Billy as a top-500 player either.

You took the words right out of my mouth CD. Of course there have been times myself when my faith in Billy has been more in hope than expectation, but even when watching him a few years back, there have always been periods in matches when he looked to have more ability than his ranking was at the time. I have said before that when his game is 'on' he has a big game, but his problem was that he would go AWOL at times in matches, mentally more than anything, and that was costing him results.

Perhaps what we are seeing now is a maturity and more self belief in his own ability. I have no idea how much further up he can climb up the rankings, but if he continues to improve as he has in the last couple of seasons, Top 250 is certainly not unrealistic.

At the moment, he doesn't have a coach. We spoke at length about the support that others were getting but also of that costs involved. Ali Gray being coached by David Felgate and Liam having his own support team headed by Dave Sammel cropped up in conversation. In no way does he begrudge the help that others are getting, but I do get the feeling that he would love to have the same level of support. Unfortunately finance does not permit that. He gets a small amount of sponsorship in return for coaching and he spoke in very positive terms about the LTA bonus scheme. But he simply can't afford the amounts necessary for a traveling coach.

He did tell me he got some coaching last year back in the UK and has remodeled his serve. It certainly seems to have worked as he served well all week. There were some clutch moments in the doubles at 15-40 (twice) on his serve but he served his way out of trouble.

For now, I think it is a question of belief in himself that he can make it a challenger level. I think if he can get one good run to a SF or even Final, and I think that would massively help his self confidence. We have seen many other GB players in the last few years who have reached this level in singles, but then decide to focus on doubles. For the time being at least, Billy is determined to continue to test himself at singles and to see how far he can get.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

thanks for all the insights Bob, really interesting.

One thing that struck me is that he doesnt know Jo Monday, as in never heard of him?! Wow. I can see why their paths wouldnt have crossed as Jo has been in the States, different ages, and playing different level events just now, but I sort of assumed players like Billy would at least be aware of the names of the other Brits on the circuit. But clearly not! I guess not all top players are anoraks like us lot!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Bob, just one thought about the lack of coaching:

That's one reason to play team tennis in France - and I think Billy did that, didn't he? For about the first time recently?

If you're with a top team, you'll get a top coach, for free

You'll obviously not get a coach to travel with you but if you went and shipped up to the club for a week, say, I'm sure you'd be able to arrange inidivual coaching, and team coaching nights, that wouldn't cost anything, because you'll be playing in the team. (And I'd also expect at most clubs that someone could put you up for the week too). More like a training block. But it would work well in terms of identifying certain areas, problems, stronge points to use more etc.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Bob in Spain wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
THere were many people who didn't see Billy as a top-500 player either.
You took the words right out of my mouth CD. Of course there have been times myself when my faith in Billy has been more in hope than expectation, but even when watching him a few years back, there have always been periods in matches when he looked to have more ability than his ranking was at the time. I have said before that when his game is 'on' he has a big game, but his problem was that he would go AWOL at times in matches, mentally more than anything, and that was costing him results.
Perhaps what we are seeing now is a maturity and more self belief in his own ability. I have no idea how much further up he can climb up the rankings, but if he continues to improve as he has in the last couple of seasons, Top 250 is certainly not unrealistic.
At the moment, he doesn't have a coach. We spoke at length about the support that others were getting but also of that costs involved. Ali Gray being coached by David Felgate and Liam having his own support team headed by Dave Sammel cropped up in conversation. In no way does he begrudge the help that others are getting, but I do get the feeling that he would love to have the same level of support. Unfortunately finance does not permit that. He gets a small amount of sponsorship in return for coaching and he spoke in very positive terms about the LTA bonus scheme. But he simply can't afford the amounts necessary for a traveling coach.
He did tell me he got some coaching last year back in the UK and has remodeled his serve. It certainly seems to have worked as he served well all week. There were some clutch moments in the doubles at 15-40 (twice) on his serve but he served his way out of trouble.
For now, I think it is a question of belief in himself that he can make it a challenger level. I think if he can get one good run to a SF or even Final, and I think that would massively help his self confidence. We have seen many other GB players in the last few years who have reached this level in singles, but then decide to focus on doubles. For the time being at least, Billy is determined to continue to test himself at singles and to see how far he can get.

That sounds like a very honest assessment, Bob, thank you.