Back in the Saddle #8 - Roland Garros

Opportunity beckoned for Greg in the final round of qualifying for the French Open on another sunny day. Again on Court 6, Greg's opponent was another Frenchman, unseeded veteran 32 year-old Nicolas Devilder, who had knocked out the No.18 seed Turkey's Marsel Ilhan in the previous round. Diminutive 5'8" Devilder, currently ranked 281 after a poor season last year, with a high ranking of 60 in 2008, has had a good start to 2012, with a Challenger title and a final on clay earlier in the year on clay in the USA. An experienced typical clay court player who makes few errors, with two wins under his belt, Devilder will present a challenge to Greg, with either player in with a chance to win, depending on who takes their chances and stamps their authority on the match.  

View of Court Six

Both Devilder, serving first, and Greg started confidently in the 2nd set, games going quickly to 2-1. Devilder then got Greg to 15-40 but Greg managed to save both break points and hold serve, games going with serve to 3-3. In the next game Greg managed to peg Devilder back to deuce and then after another few deuces brought up break point but Devilder saved and held serve to lead 4-3. As so often happens when a player does not convert that break-point opportunity, they face break point in their next service game and, with new balls, Greg was quickly facing three break points at 0-40 down. He saved two, but was unable to stop Devilder converting the opportunity, for Devilder to go 5-3 up.

Greg at Roland Garros

Greg was not giving up and he immediately forced Devilder to 15-40, breaking back against the Frenchman and then holding serve to level the set at 5-5. Devilder held for 6-5 and then again applied pressure on Greg, serving to stay in the set, getting Greg to 15-40 and two set points. This time Greg could not save those points and Devilder won the 1st  set 7-5. 

Leftie Devilder plays a backhand

Serving first in the 2nd set, Devilder now asserted his clay court experience, holding serve and then breaking Greg to love to lead 2-0. Greg fought back getting Devilder to deuce but could not force a break-point opportunity and the score was 3-0 to Devilder. Greg then again faced break points and Devilder broke Greg again to take a decisive 4-0, then 5-0 lead. Greg got on the scoreboard in the next game but, although he saved one match point on Devilder's serve, could not deny Devilder serving out the match, for a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 win, for him to advance to the Main Draw.

A disappointing end to a good qualifying campaign which promised a lot, but the clay court experience of Devilder was enough to blunt the power of Greg who committed more than double the unforced errors than Devilder did. Greg lacked penetration on his serve in the 2nd set, despite serving at 73% he only won 32% of those serves, with Devilder returning very well from way behind the baseline.

At least Greg will gets 16 valuable ranking points which should bring him back to under 300 in the rankings and a chance to make the main draw for future Challenger events.
Footnote: Devlider showed his clay court prowess by winning his way to the third round of the French Open, losing to world No.1 Novak Djokovic.

Back in the Saddle #7 - Roland Garros

With Greg's second round qualifying match against Frenchman Kenny de Schepper at Roland Garros finely balanced at one set all, it was another warm, sunny Parisian day which saw Gregback on Court 6, having a slight advantage in serving first. But it was a nervous start for the Aussie, facing a break point in his first game. He rallied to save and win a long deuce game. No nerves for De Schepper as he held serve to love to level at 1-1. Games then quickly went with serve to 3-2. Greg then pressurised De Schepper to 30-40 and converted to go up a break at 4-2, which could prove to be decisive in this 3rd set.

The match was on Greg's racquet as he now had to hold his serve twice to win. he held to lead 5-2. With De Schepper serving to save th match Greg brought up two match-point opprotunities but De Schepper denied him and won that game, to get to 5-3, and force Greg to serve for the match. Greg was not to be denied winning the last game to love and winning the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the final round of qualifying.

A great fight by greg and a great result, with now only one more match to win to enter the main draw, but what a tough match that will be.

Back in the saddle #6 - Roland Garros

Qualifying at Roland Garros

The sun came out at Roland Garros for the second round of qualifying but, being the 6th match on Court 6, it was very late in the day that Greg took to court for his match. And it was not the seeded player who Greg was expecting to play, having avoided a seed in the 1st round, but the Frenchman 24 year-old Kenny de Schepper, currently ranked 167 with a high rank of 132. The 6'8" big serving giant had beaten the No. 15 seed in the 1st round and with the crowd behind him would be a formidable opponent.

Court 6 at RG

With serves dominating the early games and De Schepper serving first, games went with serve to 4-4. De Schepper was holding serve easily but Greg was taken to 30 or deuce each game but managed to hang in there. Then Greg upped the ante and forced De Schepper to 30-40 and converted at the first opportunity to lead the set 5-4. With Greg surprisingly serving for the set, De Schepper hit back to have Greg facing two break points at 15-40. Greg saved those to get back to deuce and then had to save another break point before finally holding serve to win the set 6-4.

Lefty Kenny De Schepper

With De Schepper again serving first in the second set Greg was again forced to play catch up and at 0-1 down he again saved two break points to hold a long game to get to 1-1. It was then Greg's turn to force De Schepper to 15-40 but big serving from De Schepper denied Greg the chance to go a break up. Greg held a deuce game to level at 2-2 and then again had De Schepper at 15-40. Two aces from De Schepper snuffed out that opportunity and Greg served at 3-2, with last game with the old balls. With both big servers struggling on the slow clay surface with the old balls, it was now Greg's turn to face break-point, at 0-40 down. Greg saved the first but could not stop De Schepper breaking this time, to go 4-2 up. 

The sun sets over Roland Garros



With new balls De Schepper quickly held for 5-2, then Greg held to force De Schepper to serve for the set. Greg saved one set point but it was De Schepper who won the second set 6-3 to level the match at on set all, after a nip 'n tuck set that could have gone either way.

It was approaching 9pm in Paris and in the dusk and failing light the match was postponed, to be fought by the two big servers the next day. A one set dash for cash match.

Back in the Saddle #5 - Roland Garros

Greg's French Open profile photo

Greg's first round match in the French Open qualifying was against veteran Czech player, 32 year-old Jan Hernych, currently ranked 187, with a high ranking of 59 in April 2009. With four previous Roland Garros Main draw appearances, 6'3" Hernych progressed to the 2nd round in his first appearance in 2005, so he will have plenty of experience to bring to the match but perhaps may be a step or two slower in his later years. Greg has played Hernych once prior, winning a three set match on hard court in 2011.

Court Suzanne Lenglen with Eiffel Tower in background

On a cold, overcast day, on the slow clay courts, Greg served first in the match and after a nervous deuce game held serve. He then forced Hernych to 30-40 and converted the early break-point opportunity to lead 2-0, then after another deuce game held serve to lead 3-0. Hernych got his name on the scoreboard but was not able to break Greg, who led 4-1. Greg then broke Hernych again to get a crucial double break up and serve for the set at 5-1, which he did with aplomb, winning the first set 6-1.

Czech Jan Hernych

With Hernych serving first in the 2nd set, Greg was keen to continue to apply the pressure and did so, breaking Hernych again to lead 1-0. The next service game was a mammoth struggle for Greg to consolidate the crucial 2nd set break, with Greg saving two break pointS in a 5 or more deuce game, to eventually hold and lead 2-0. They then both held serve to go to 3-1. Greg then broke Hernych gain to go a double break up at 4-1. But Hernych broke back to get to 2-4, then held for 3-4.
At this stage Greg had visions of his 1st round match in qualifying in 2010 when he led his match by a set and 4-2, then lost 10 games in a row to lose. Keen for history not to repeat, he dug deep and served well to go 5-3 up. Thne at 5-4, with Greg still the one break up, Greg served for the match, the toughest game of them all. With new balls Greg did superbly and won the game to love, winning the match 6-1, 6-4, to proceed to the second round of qualifying.
Greg said he had strung his racquet at 48lbs, due to the cold weather, for the first time in his career, and it had turned out ok, giving that little bit extra power on the slow courts.

Two more rounds to win to enter the Main Draw.
Go Greg...

Back in the Saddle #4 - Roland Garros

After the disappointing loss in the qualifying at Bordeau, it was back into some solid training for Greg and a long wait to see it he gets into the Qualifying Tournament for the French Open. With Greg's two month injury lay-off he was unable to defend points earned last year and his ATP ranking has started to slip, so at the French Open entry cut-off date of 30th April his singles ranking at that date of 243 saw Greg at No.16 of the alternate list for qualifying. A long way-off from the qualifying draw.

However due to the awarding of wild cards to some of the French players in qualifying, coupled with other sundry withdrawals of injured players. or players not willing to travel to Paris to play qualifying, Greg has now progressed to be the No.1 alternate. With only one day left until the qualifying draw is done, let's prayer he is not left out in the cold and that there is another withdrawal (unfortunate as it is for that player) and Greg can take his place in the Roland Garros qualifying draw.

Praying hard now...
Greg's insistence on travelling to Paris for the French Open qualifying was rewarded when, unfortunately for them, a couple of players withdrew on the day before qualifying commenced and Greg moved up on the cut-off list into the qualifying draw. A relieved Greg told us he is playing second match on tonight (Tuesday), with the first match starting at 10am Paris time, so it will be around 8pm in Sydney time that he will take to the courts, if the first match is a two set match.

Back in the Saddle #3

After some excellent training on the clay courts in Prague, in which he played as many practise matches as possible and he said that his injured leg was much better, it was off to Bordeaux in France for the qualifications of the Challenger event there. The draw gods were kinder to Greg this week and now it was up to him to perform at his best, although it was only his second match in more than two months.

His opponent in Bordeaux was 29 year-old Frenchman Nicolas Renavand, currently ranked 369, with a high ranking of 308, but with a doubles ranking of 143 and no doubt adept in the art of clay court play.

Both players started nervously, both losing serve before they started hitting some first serves and took the score along to 2-2. At 3-2 up Greg got the better of Renavand, reeling off 11 points unanswered to break Renavand and progress to 5-2. With new balls Renavand held serve for 5-3 and then Greg served for the set. Despite Greg hitting 4 out of 5 first serves Renavand blasted some return winners, breaking back and then brought out his clay court game, reeling off 5 games in a row to stun Greg and win the set 7-5.

Outplayed in the latter part of the 1st set Greg again took charge early in the 2nd set and, with some better serving and more concentration, he broke Renavand to lead 3-1, and then consolidated to get to a 5-2 lead in the set. Renavand held serve for 5-3 but there was to be no repeat of the 1st set, as Greg served out the set, winning it 6-3 to level the match.

Nicolas Renavand

Renavand had the advantage of serving first in the 3rd set and, after both players held serve, he forced Greg to 30-40, and managed to break Greg to go ahead 3-1. Greg knuckled down and fought hard but Renavand just did enough to win his service games to 30 or deuce and served for the match at 5-3. Greg saved a match point to get that game to deuce but was unable to deny Renavand on the second opportunity from winning the game, set and match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Disappointing. Just like last week Greg had opportunities to win the 1st set and stamp his authority on the match and take the win but had lapses during the match which cost him. It was interesting to note that the other big serving players in the qualifying struggled in the slow clay courts with most of the big servers like Greg not progressing through the 1st round and the "clay court grinders" getting the wins.
Greg himself had this to say about the match "Thanks Dad. I am not disappointed at all. I actually played really well, had a good attitude, fought hard abd couldn't really have done too much more. (Other players) Yani and Ball watched the whole match and reflected that as well. (The) guy (Renavand) was just too good on clay".

A good attitude to the match but a mindset that perhaps needs to harden up in order to progress. Losing to a person who has never progressed past 300 in the ATP rankings, on any surface, should not be a good result, if you want to get your ranking below 200, or 100 for that matter. Greg had a good 1st serve % in the match but an average win rate on that serve, and that needs to improve, as does his play on the big points. It is only his second match back after his lay-off for injury and on his worst surface too, so let's hope he will improve.

Back in the Saddle #2

Prague night scene

The medical advice Greg received was to re-commence playing on a clay court surface which would have less impact on his troubled knee tendons and provide a better chance of recovery, so Greg's first tournament was the Prague Open Challenger. However it was a destination of choice this week for all the Challenger player's wishing to get some clay court time prior to the French Open and thus Greg did not make the cut-off for the main draw and was forced to go through qualifying, his ranking having dropped to the mid 200's since he had not played for three month due to the injury.
He was seeded No.3 for the qualifying, having to win three matches to be one of 4 qualifiers going into the main draw, so he was seeded to qualify. But the draw gods were not kind, Greg drawing the highest player not to be seeded in the top 8, effectively the No.9 seed. Greg's opponent was his peer, 23 year old Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez, currently ranked 279, with a high rank of 238. A very winnable match for a match fit and healthy Greg.

Prague at night on the river

Greg served first but did not start well, dropping his first serve to trail 0-1. He tried to hit back immediately, bringing up break point on Gonzalez's next service game but was not able to break, games going with serve to 4-5, with Gonzalez serving for the set. Greg dug deep and at 30-40 broke Gonzalez to level the score at 5 games all. But Gonzalez responded, getting Greg to 15-40 in the next game and breaking him to again take the lead at 6-5 and again serve for the set, this time successfully, winning the set 7-5.

Prague night scene

Greg started the 2nd set serving well going to a 2-1 lead. With Gonzalez serving the sixteenth game with old balls, Greg returned well, getting Gonzalez to 0-40 and breaking to lead 3-1. Greg consolidated the break and got to 5-2, before breaking Gonzalez again to win the set 6-2 and level the match at 1 set all, and also get the advantage of serving first in the final set.

Centre Court at the Prague Open

After three months injury layoff, three sets of tennis would test Greg's match fitness level. He started and held serve to get to 2-2 but could not make the same in-roads on Gonzalez's serve as in the 2nd set. Greg saved a break point opportunity against him and the score went to 3-3. He then went 15-40 down against a resurgent Gonzalez and saved the first break point but then Gonzalez prevailed, to break and lead 4-3. Gonzalez shut Greg out in the his next game, going up 5-3, then pressured Greg's serve enough to get him to 30-40 and match point., breaking a tired Greg again, to win the 3rd set 6-3 and the match 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Alejandro Gonzalez


In a tough first up match Greg needed to win in straight sets, and the early break of serve in the first set, and again when he levelled the match at 5-5, proved decisive.
Whilst disappointed in the result, Greg said his leg felt ok and he had played well, just losing intensity and penetration in the 3rd set, especially on his first serve, his 1st serve percentage being good but his win rate on those 1st serves dropping to a low 60%.
Greg is hoping to contest the doubles, depending on whether he can make the cut, otherwise it will be some more training before heading for Bordeaux for the next tournament.

Back in the saddle #1

 After a long six weeks of inactivity, rehabilitation and recovery for the injured tendon below his knee of his left leg, Greg is now on a plane bound for Europe to recommence playing tournaments. Greg was fortunate to have the hospitality of Tony and Robyn Summers, who kindly provided him with a home in Melbourne for the six weeks, as well as letting him have use of a set of wheels to get to physio and training. Greg's good friends the Macfarlane family also provided much support for him, with motherly kindness from Jan and culinary delights from Stuart, plenty of gaming support and the occasional hit with Andrew, and much friendship from Steph.

Greg in relaxed mode...

After a couple of weeks rest, accompanied by therapeutic physio, Greg's leg had not got much better, so he had to have more rest and intensive physio, provided by Tennis Australia's physio Anne-Marie and strength and conditioning coach Aaron, who helped Greg throughout the six weeks period. A program was developed to strengthen the muscles around his knee to provide more support to the troubled tendons. Gradually the condition improved and Greg could gradually start having on-court sessions to test his leg and aid the recovery process. He had some good, positive days where the leg felt great, with some more stressful worrying days were the pain returned, which made him somewhat depressed.
Greg has been hitting on clay courts for the last week, helped by good friend Dave Bidmeade, who provided him with quality hitting, and TA head coach Tod Woodbridge, at the Kooyong Tennis Club.
His leg is still not 100% right but all the advice is that it will slowly continue to improve even when he is playing at 110% and he should not do any further damage to the tendons. He says he can now fully load the leg without any problems but does still "feel" the leg and has some lingering pain after a heavy training session. He has decided it is time to return to tournament play and test his leg under extreme playing conditions while continuing the rehabilitation through strengthening the muscles and physiotherapy.
So time to get back in the saddle...
Wish him well and wish him luck.