Back in Oz - Traralgon Challenger1 #1

Park in Traralgon

Following the agonisingly close defeat in Toowoomba, Greg spent a week training in Melbourne before travelling to Traralgon, along with Aussie mate Jarryd Chaplin, to play in the qualifying for the first of two Challenger tournaments to be held there in consecutive weeks. Greg should have been in the main draw but his management group, who always do his tournament entries, somehow neglected to use his protected ranking for this tournament, so Greg had to play qualifying. Something Greg has now corrected for future tournaments.
Seeded 6, Greg's first round opponent was as yet unranked teenager Aussie, 18 year-old Lawrence Bataljin, from South Australia. Whilst unranked, Bataljin has qualified for a number of tournament and at Toowoomba led eventual title winner Jarmere Jenkins 5-0 in the third set, after winning the first set, only to capitulate, losing seven game in a row to lose 5-7.


Bataljin at West Lakes Challenger

Serving first, it was a repeat for Greg of the last tournament's first set, Greg holding serve well and breaking Bataljin twice to lead 5-0. Unlike Toowoomba, Bataljin managed to win a game, and force Greg to serve out the set, Greg winning it 6-1.The second set saw Greg ease up and Bataljin get into his rhythm. Greg twice had Bataljin at 15-40 but failed to convert the opportunities and the score remained close. Greg did manage to get the break against Bataljin and at 5-4 served for the match. Inexplicably, with the end in sight, at 30-30 Greg served two double faults and gave up an easy break of serve, allowing Bataljin to break back to 5-5. Games then went with serve to the tie-break at 6-6. Greg then took charge and went ahead in the tie-break, gaining the advantage before winning the tie-break 7-3 and the match 6-1, 7-6.
Greg said that whilst the score was close in the second set he always felt he was in control. He failed to capitalise on the opportunities he created and will need to tighten up his game in the next rounds. 

Back in Oz - Australia Futures 8 #3

The quarter-final round of the Toowoomba Futures tournament had Greg facing a tough challenge in the form of No. 1 seed, 20 year-old Aussie Luke Saville, a double Junior Grand Slam title winner, who has struggled a bit to convert his talent to the Men's circuit but has made good progress in a break-out year, with a current singles ranking of 171. He has had a short break recently due to injury and this tournament is his first since the break. In their only previous encounter Greg won in straight sets against a teenage Saville.
Greg was immediately under pressure in the first service game facing a break point at 30-40 but held his nerve, and held serve. He then turned the pressure on Saville, forcing him to 0-40 and converting to lead 2-0. Greg was now firing on all cylinders and broke Saville twice more in the set, to deliver a bagel 6-0 scoreline for the first set.
Saville to his credit did not go away, and matched Greg in the second set, games going to 2-2. Then in a long deuce game Greg saved two break points to go 3-2 up. A quick service game saw Greg again under the pump and this time Saville broke Greg to lead 4-3. Greg fought back but Saville held firm, serving out the set 6-4.

Luke Saville

Greg came out firing in the 3rd set, holding serve and then breaking Saville before holding serve to take a 3-0 lead. In the next game he forced Saville to 0-40 but Saville responded and Greg had no luck as Saville saved four break points to get on the board at 3-1. Perhaps a turning point  in match as had Greg broken he would have led. 4-0.
To his credit Saville continued to fight and at 2-4 down he again had Greg facing break points and on the third opportunity broke Greg to get back in the match, serving to level the score at 4-4. Greg responded holding serve to go 5-4 up. In another epic long deuce game Greg brought up three match-point opportunities but luck was not on his side and Saville was able to save those point and level at 5-5. Greg held for a 6-5 lead and again had a match-point but again Saville denied him, saving to level at 6-6 and take the 3rd set into a tie-break.
Serving first, Greg got off to a great start, breaking Saville twice to lead 3-0, only to drop his two serves and change sides at 3-3. Saville went 4-3. Greg held for 4-4, then Greg was broken, Saville leading 5-4 and serving for the match, which he did to win a pulsating match 76(4) in the third set.
Greg was naturally disappointed. Lady Luck was not on his side on four break-points at 3-0 up in the last set and on each of the four match points he had. Saville fought back well and stayed in the match, riding his luck to slowly peg Greg back and squeeze out a win.

Back in Oz - Australia Futures 8 #2

Panoramic view from Toowoomba

The second round of the Toowoomba Futures tournament had Greg matched up against the No.7 seed, 28 year-old Japanese Yuya Kibi, currently at his ranking high of 377. Kibi has had his best year since 2007 on the tour and won back to back $10k Futures titles in Japan this year, but has struggled to get any decent results away from his native country.
On a wind swept cool day, unusual for Toowoomba this time of year, it was Greg who served first and found himself facing two break-points in that first game. Greg  rallied, saving the points and getting his name on the scoreboard, and then immediately forced  Yuya onto the back-foot at 15-40. Yuya saved the first break-point but could not stop Greg from converting the next, giving Greg a 2-0 lead. Greg repeated the dose, holding serve then breaking Yuya again to hold for 4-0. He was on a roll and held serve to love then broke Yuya a third time to close out the set 6-0.

Jap Yuya Kibi

Yuya started finding his rhythm and confidence and after Greg held serve to lead th second set 1-0, Yuya managed to win his first game, and then two more service games to take the score to 3-3. He then forced Greg to face a break-point at 30-40 and converted the opportunity to lead the second set 4-3. Greg regained his focus and concentration and hit back immediately, getting Yuya to 15-40 but Yuya recovered to deuce before a determined Greg got the advantage and broke Yuya to level the score at 4-4.
Greg then held his serve to love, to go 5-4 up. He applied the prrsue again on Yuya to have two match-points at 15-40. Yuya managed to save those two match points and level the game score at deuce but Greg was determined to break and did so, converting the third match point to win the set 6-4 and the match 6-0, 6-4.
Greg said the conditions were very windy, but not as bad as the previous day. He had played well in the conditions and was pleased with the way he had closed out the match.

Back in Oz - Australia Futures 8 #1

Greg's return from Los Angeles to be the bestman at the wedding of great mates Ryan Bellamy and Monique Lynch, both former Pro-tour players and now owner-managers of the Sylvania Waters Tennis Centre in southern Sydney, was a traumatic affair. Greg mislaid his passport and after frantically searching all over for it, re-tracking his footsteps to banks and shops, Guys apartment and Carsten's apartment, he was forced to delay his flight back to Sydney for a day. Whether he made the flight depended on the passport being at the "shady"money-changing facility at which he was forced to cash his winnings cheque, because the regular bank which the tournament used had shut by the time his match was finished and he got paid. Greg sweated all night but a call to the facility revealed that he had left it at the bank, or rather, they had neglected to give it back to him and he was able to collect the passport and catch the flight, in time, to get back to Sydney for the wedding.
Greg's good mate Joel Linder from Brisbane flew down to Sydney and they went off to Tamora in central NSW for the wedding. The wedding went off well, with church readings by Joel and the bestman's duties and speech competently executed by both. The occasion was also a mini-reunion for Ryan, Monique, Greg, Joel, Kara Knight and Joel Andriolo and a good time was had by all, with a beautifully decorated hall, great music, master-chef like food, much fun and typical Australian country hospitality. Much thanks to the Lynch family, especially Gary and Kim.
After the wedding Greg spent the next week training at Homebush in Sydney and doing more rehab on his shoulder and back before heading to Toowoomba for his next tournament, a $15k Futures tournament on hard court.
His first round opponent was local Australian 24 year-old Scott Puodziunas, currently unranked, with a high rank of 1176. Greg was quick off the mark, breaking Puodziunas to 30, then holding serve to love to lead 2-0. Greg broke Puodziunas twice more in getting to 5-0, and then the rain poured down. The match was closer then the score suggested, with a few deuce games but Greg was able to dictate, bringing up break-points and eventually converting to dominate the score-line. The shower passed and on resumption Greg served out the set 6-0.

Scott Puodziunas

He then set about breaking Puodziunas again in the second set, converting break-point again and serving to go 2-0 up in a repeat of the 1st set. Greg then again forced Puodziunas to deuce but the rain came again and the match was suspended until the next day.
The following day presented windy, overcast conditions which made play a lot more difficult, especially the serve. Greg again got off to a good start and broke Puodziunas and then held serve to go 4-0 up. In control, in the difficult conditions, Greg was then content to go with serve to the end of the set, winning the match 6-0, 6-2.
A good match for Greg in his return to competition in Australia, with no complaints from his body. No doubt sterner tests await. 

Back in the Saddle - USA Futures #9

After the excitement of winning the doubles yesterday, it was back to singles business for Greg in the $10k Futures event at the Racquet Club of Irvine in Orange County. His opponent was a former two time All-American at Illinois University, 24 year-old Dennis Nevolo. Dennis has recently started to make his mark on the Pro-circuit tour, winning his first singles title three weeks ago in the Futures tournament at Claremont, and is now at his ranking of 381. A player in form who will test the current form of Greg.
The first set was a close affair, with games going to 3-3. Greg held serve to lead 4-3 and then forced Nevolo to break-point, converting the opportunity and taking a 5-3 lead, to serve for the first set. Unfortunately he started with the service game with a double fault and then facing break-point, finished with another double fault in over trying to close out the set, letting Nevolo back into the set at 4-5. Nevolo held serve and then games went to the tie-break at 6-6.

Dennis Nevolo in action

In the tie-break the players swopped breaks before Greg found himself again behind at the death, losing the tie-break 7-5 and the first set 7-6.
The second set saw Greg trailing early. He said later that his back had stiffened up and his body was tired from the efforts of the week, with progressing far in both the doubles and singles draws, after being off for six months with injury. He tried to stay with Nevolo, who had grown in confidence after winning the first set but was broken again, Nevolo going on to win the set 6-2, and advance to the finals with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win.
Greg was disappointed with the result but was pleased with his overall performance for the week, with little problem from either his previous shoulder injury or the leg injury which plagued him last week. Only hope that the back stiffness is not a problem.
He will have the opportunity to rest his body and recover a little as he is now scheduled to return to Australia to attend the wedding of his good mate and ex-player Ryan Bellamy to fellow tennis player Monique Lynch next Saturday in Temora, where Greg will also officiate as Ryan's Best Man. 

Back in the Saddle - USA Futures #8

After his QF singles match Greg was scheduled to play in the Doubles Final of the $10k Futures tournament at the Irvine Racquet Club with partner Greg Ouellette. Their opponents were locals Junior Ore and his coach Carsten Ball, a good friend of Greg, with whom he has been staying with at times whilst in Los Angeles during the last two months. 22 year old Ore has not competed a lot this year but won the doubles title last week in the Futures tournament at Costa Mesa, playing with a different partner Jeremy Nicholas. Carsten is also not an active player, having given up touring and playing on the pro-circuit  few years ago, but is still no slouch at the doubles game, boasting an impressive 33 doubles titles in his doubles career, in mainly Futures and Challenger events but with an ATP doubles title won at Newport with Australian Chris Guccione.

Ore, Ball, Jones & Ouellette

On a warm sunny afternoon, the Gregs dominated the first set, getting a break ahead, then breaking again to win a quick first set 6-2.
The second set was a closer affair, with Ball and Ore fighting back, getting to 3-2 up then breaking the Gregs to take a 4-2 lead. The Gregs hit back immediately, breaking to get to 3-4, then holding serve to level the score at 4-4. They tried to continue the run, bringing up break-point at 30-40 on Ball & Ore's serve. Ball & Ore saved to get to deuce and, in the sudden death deuce format, held again on the next point to go 5-4 up. They then forced the Gregs to 15-40. The Gregs saved the two break points to get the score back to deuce but lost the sudden death deuce point to lose the game, and the set 4-6. The match, level at one set all, was to be determined by a match tie-break set - first to ten points with an advantage of two points.
The teams swopped two break points each in getting to the midway point at 5-5, the Gregs holding serve to lead 6-5. They then won both of Ball & Ore's serves to take a stranglehold on the tie-break leading 8-5. They held their service points to serve out the match, winning five points in a row to win the tie-break 10-5, and the doubles title with a 6-2, 4-6, (10-8) win in a competitive but good spirited match.
An excellent result for Greg which will boost his confidence.

Back in the Saddle - USA Futures #7

Third round of the Futures at Irvine and Greg was facing up against a hot young USA prospect, 16 year-old Taylor Fritz, who has had a break-out season in the ITF Juniors this year, reaching the semis at Junior Wimbledon and QF round at the US Open, to be ranked 21 in the Juniors at the age of 16. Fritz comes with a tennis with his Dad an former pro-circuit professional and his Mom a former top ten WTA player. Still in the early days of his pro-career, Fritz has not had that kind of Junior success at Pro-circuit level yet but is one of the higher ranked of his age, currently ranked at 1227. Fritz beat two competent players, including the No. 3 seed,  in getting to the QF round so it will be an interesting match for Greg.

Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon

Playing on the centre court this time, with a newer rougher surface which is slower than the outer court surfaces Greg took awhile to adjust to the speed of the court and found himself a break down early in the first set. He adjusted accordingly and managed to quickly get the break back to get to 2-3 on serve. Games then went on serve to the tie-break. Greg got the all important break mid-way through the tie-break and then went on to break Fritz again, to win the tie-break 7-3 and pouch the first set 7-6.
The second set saw Greg, with the advantage of serving first, go an early break up A sloppy service game saw Fritz break back to let him back into the set. Greg tightened up his game and they again went to the tie-break at 6-6. Greg was growing in confidence and in the tie-break was all over Fritz, dominating the points and running away with the tie-break to win it 7-1, and a hard fought match 7-6(3), 7-6(1).
Greg said he was pleased with his performance against a young USA player who had all the crowd support. He felt lot more relaxed out on the court, which he contributes to being out on court, in both singles and doubles a lot more, and of course being successful. With winning comes confidence.
In the doubles yesterday Greg and partner Greg Ouellette won a close match against the No. 2 seeds, Deighton Baughman and Joseph Digiulio. They held their nerve in the second set tie-break in which they got an early two break point advantage but saw that whittled away for the score to be back on serve, before winning the last two points for a  6-4 7-6(5) win. They play the doubles final today up against Greg's good mate and part-time Los Angeles host Carsten Ball and his tennis pupil Junior Ore.

Back in the Saddle - USA Futures #6

Irvine Racquet Club

In the second round of the singles of the $10k Futures at Irvine Racquet Club, Greg was up against USA teenager, 19 year old Gage Brymer, as yet unranked in the ATP.

The first set went according to script for No. 7 seed Greg, who served 8 aces in not facing a break point the whole set and returned just as well He converted two of the four break points he created, breaking Brymer twice in winning the first set 6-1.

19 year-old Gage Brymer

With Brymer serving first in the second set, Greg concentrated on holding his serve, saving a break point in his first service game, games going with serve to 3-3. Greg then upped the ante and managed to break Brymer on the third break point of Brymer's next service game to go 4-3 up. Brymer responded getting Greg to deuce in the next game but Greg held firm, consolidating the break at 5-3. Brymer held serve, then Greg served out the match to love, ending with a sweetly hit ace, winning the set 6-3 and the match 6-1 6-3.

A tidy match for Greg with 12 aces and just two double faults. Tougher matches ahead will test his current form.