Aussie Summer 2015-16 #13

The industrial port town of Port Pirie

It was a warm but rainy and blustery day that greeted the players for the second round of the Port Pirie singles. Not the best weather for good tennis. Greg was up against an up and coming Australian teenager, 18 year old Marc Polmans, who is one of Greg's team mates at the Kooyong Tennis Club, currently ranked 865. Polmans, who was a promising junior winning the Australian Open Junior Boys doubles title last year, is showing good form having knocked off the No.2 seed Alex Bolt in three sets. A stern challenge for Greg, still on the come-back trail.

In the howling wind Greg started well breaking Polmans in the first service games. Polmans was it to be denied though, breaking back immediately and then getting on a roll, winning five games in a row, breaking Greg another two times, to get to 5-1 up, saving two break-points along the way. Both players were struggling in the wind, Greg breaking Polmans' serve to get a break back to get to 2-5. But unperturbed Polmans proceeded to break Greg for the third time in the set, to seal the set win 5-2. Greg was doing himself no favours, serving at 40% in the set, with more double faults than aces.

Marc Polmans (pic by M.McGowan)

In the second set Greg set about righting his serve and his game, saying he was not aggressive enough in the first set trying to cope with the wind, and started hitting out more, really going for his shots. More free-flowing, his serve percentage improved and he held serve for the first time and broke Polmans early, to lead 3-1. His improvement continued, despite the wind, and he held serve more comfortably and then broke Polmans a second time to secure the set 6-3, and give himself a chance in the match at one set all.
In the third his improvement continued, but Polmans picked up as well, games going to 3-3, then 4-4 on serve. Greg then saw himself staring down three break points against him when, as he put it, two shanks returns by Polmans off good serves, followed by a bad smash in the wind turned his luck. He saved the first break point but another errant smash in the wind off a high recovery lob by Polmans, saw Greg drop serve at a crucial time, to allow Polmans to serve for the set at 5-3.
Greg fought back, getting to 30-30 but Polmans serve held firm, winning the game and the set 6-4, wrapping up a long two and a hour match 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Greg was naturally disappointed. He had taken too long time to adapt to the conditions on his serve in the first set, had served poorly for that set and given the advantage to his younger opponent. He fought back well but the damage had been done and Polmans came through on the day, progressing further the next day to the semi-final, beating Andrew Whittington, another Kooyong member 6-2, 6-3. He was joined in the semis by Greg's mate Kiwi Rubin Statham, yet another Kooyong player. 
Its on to the tournament next week for Greg , to be held in the Victorian country side town of Mildura, miles away from anywhere again.

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #12

Port Pirie TC courts

In the first round of the men's singles in the Futures tournament in Port Pirie Greg had better luck in the draw, avoiding a seed. His opponent was wild card recipient, up and coming young Aussie, 16 year old Alexei Popyrin, as yet to attain an ATP ranking, but currently ranked a handy 38 in the ITF Junior rankings, with still two years to play as a junior. 

Junior Alexei Popyrin

Greg said Popyrin was a tall youngster with a handy serve but lacking the consistency required at the Men's level. First match on the day, Greg was able to play a contained game, keeping the pressure on the youngster, relying on Popyrin's errors to force two breaks of serve in the first set, winning the set 6-3. An early break of serve in the second set allowed Greg to concentrate on holding serve, which he did to register a regulation straight sets win 6-3 6-3.
Greg was pleased with the way he played and the result, but said he could have returned better. He was not finished for the day though, as he was scheduled to back up and play his second round doubles match later in the afternoon.



Tasmanian Harry Bourchier

Playing with Stephen De Waard they were up against another young Aussie pairing of 20 year-old Harry Bouchier and 18 year-old Daniel Nolan, Bourchier ranked 620 and Nolan yet to attain an ATP ranking, hoping to do so by winning this match.
Greg said they dominated in the first set, having break opportunities on sudden death deuce on three of their opponents service games but failing to convert. Then on the only break-point they faced, they dropped their serve, and then the set 4-6 .

Teenager Daniel Nolan

They managed to get the crucial break in the second set, breaking again to win the set 6-3 and level the match at a set all, going to the lottery Match Tie-break decider. A couple of good returns and serves saw Bourchier and Nolan skip out to a lead, which Greg and De Waard were unable to recover and the match was lost 7-10 in the deciding tie-break.
Not the expected result for Greg and Stephen, in a match in which they had plenty of opportunity but not much luck, as essential ingredient in tight matches.

Greg said that his body felt ok after a busy day, so should be in good shape for his second round match tomorrow.

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #11

Some solid training and hitting for the past two weeks saw Greg fit and healthy and raring to play tennis again. But first there was the 10 hour road trip from Melbourne to Adelaide to undertake, where Greg and Rubin stayed overnight with the kind parents of Dave Bidmeade.
Then it was another 3 or so hours north to Port Pirie, where the first Australian Futures tournament of the year was to be played. Not sure why Tennis Australia hosts these tournaments in out of the way places, where the players spend a fortune to get to and stay at, in order to play for a prize-money purse which hardly covers their expense, and in most case leaves them out of pocket.
Thankfully, after about15 years of $15,000 (total amount for all players, singles and doubles) Futures tournaments, the ITF have eventually increased the total amount to $25,000, which will help the lower level players in their endeavours to climb the tennis success ladder.

Partner Stephen De Waard

Greg had made the cut for the singles Main Draw, but was not scheduled to play on the first day. He was entered in the doubles, if a bit hesitantly, not sure if he should, worried about too much tennis whilst still in come-back mode. His partner was 24 year-old Queenslander Stephen De Waard, currently ranked 285 in the doubles, who boasts six Futures doubles titles in the last two years, all with partner Marc Polmans. Ironically Polmans is playing with Greg's mate and previous doubles partner Rubin Statham in this tournament.
Their first round opponemts were fellow Australians 27 year old Scott Puodziunas and 22 year old Calum Puttergill, who were seeded No.4, ranked above Greg and Stephen as Greg currently has no doubles ranking.
The match belied the seedings and it was Greg and Stephen who took a stranglehold in the first set, winning the set 6-3. The second set was a much closer affair, the score getting to 5-5, before Greg and Stephen went ahead, getting the decisive break to win the set 7-5, and the match in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. A good start to the tournament and for that doubles pairing.
Greg was happy with his performance in the match, which gave him some valuable court time before his singles match tomorrow
 

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #10

In the qualifying for the Launceston Challenger Greg had to back up on the same day to play his second round match, all un-seeded players having to play two matches on the day, whilst the top four seeds had byes through to the 2nd round, only having to play one match, giving the seeded player a slight advantage.
Again the draw Gods were not too kind to Greg for this second round match, having him matched up against the No.1 seed who just happened to be the guy he was sharing a room with, good mate 28 year-old Kiwi Rubin Statham, ranked 396.Greg got off to a great start, serving first he held serve then broke Statham early to go out to a 4-1 lead. Then the rain came and play was suspended.


NZ player Rubin Statham

At the resumption over an hour later it was Statham who came out firing, breaking Greg to level at 4-4. At 5-5 after a mammoth game Statham again broke Greg to serve for the first set. Greg gamely hit back, saving a set point then breaking Statham to take the set to the tie-break. In the tiebreaker they traded breaks to get to 6-5, Statham leading and serving for the set. Greg again saved set point to swop ends at 6-6, but was broken a point later, Statham snaring a closely contested set 7-6, 8-6 in the tiebreak.The second set was just as keenly contested, both players alternatively holding serve easily, then both saving multiple break- points mid set, before holding serve, eventually getting to the tie-break again. Statham got the early advantage, winning both of Greg's serves to sprint it a 5-0 lead, then held serve to win the tiebreaker 7-2, and the match 7-6, 7-6.
It was an unfortunate draw for Greg, where there was opportunity in all the other matches for him to qualify. The closeness in the match, where both players knew each other's game and strengths and weaknesses so well, was reflected in the statistics, with exactly the same number of points won by each player in the first set and only 5 points more won by Statham in the 2nd set ,being the difference in the tiebreaker score. Greg said the rain break was of significance as he had the momentum and then the court conditions changed after the rain, which evened the match.
On the positive side Greg's body felt good, if only a bit stiff, and his shoulder had come through serving two matches in one day.
And he could celebrate his birthday the next day without having to play a match!

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #9

The qualifying for the Launceston Challenger was next for Greg, given his current ranking. His first round opponent was young 21 year old Australian Mario Matejcek, ranked 1894.

Aussie Mario Matejcek

A 10am start saw Greg and his room mate Rubén Statham up early on a crisp, windy morning, not something both would have relished. Greg was quick into the match, holding serve easily and then breaking Matejcek three times in a row, to quickly wrap up the set 6-0.
Greg continued the domination into the second set, going to 2-0 up before being forced to save a break point to go 3-0 up. Matejcek then managed to salvage a game but was unable to make any further in-roads into Greg's game, Greg holding serve and breaking Matejcek again to progress to the next round of qualifying with a quick 6-0, 6-1 match.
The match was tougher than the score-line suggested though, as most of Matejcek's games had gone to deuce before Greg broke his serve, Greg having to work for the result. 
An excellent result for Greg and a quick match too, which was fortunate for Greg as he had another match to play that day...

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #8

It was the second week of the Australian Open and Greg was playing at Melbourne Park, not in the Open though but in the finals of the Asia-Pacific Tennis League. Greg's team, the Kooyong Classics, had qualified for the final back in November. 
Their first match was against a Japanese Team, The Mitsubishi Warriors. Greg's opponent Y.Tagawa was a short, stocky player, who belied his height with a strong first serve, confident ground strokes and a strong volley game, advancing to the net whenever possible. Fortunately Greg was able to match him and take advantage of a weakish second serve.

Japanese Tagawa

Serving first, Greg was untroubled in the first set, breaking Tagawa in the 2nd game, to win the short-format game first set 4-1. Both players held serve in the second set, going to the tie-break at 3-3. Greg was able to get a break of serve, winning the tie-break 5-1, and the match 4-1, 4-3. 
The Kooyong Classics team advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-0 match score-line against the plucky Japanese side.

The Kooyong Classics team

The next day, the Classics had to work a lot harder, up against a strong New Zealand Kauris team. Greg's opponent James Meredith, started slowly and Greg jumped out to an immediate lead, consolidating a break with some good serving and winning the first set 6-2. The second set was a tighter affair, going to the tie-break at 3-3, but Greg held his nerve to win it 5-3, and the match 4-2, 4-3, helping the Classics to a 3-1 lead, with three set wins by Omar Jasika and Ruben Statham but a 3 set loss to Whittington. In the doubles, the Classics needed to win two sets to clinch the tie and advance to the finals.

Kiwi James Meredith

Greg paired with Omar Jasika, but they were no match for the hard-hitting left handed veteran Wesley Whitehouse, who beat Andrew Whittington in the singles, and Finn Tearney, who displayed fantastic volleying skills, who won the match 4-2, 4-1, exposing the inexperience of Jasika in the doubles format. The loss was not a problem for the Classics as Whittington paired with Marc Polmans and won their doubles match to take the Classics to the final.


Greg serving

The final was played later the same day, the Classics up against defending champions, the Brisbane Chargers, ably led by Ben Mitchell with a string line-up comprising Rob Smeets, Gavin van Pepperzeel and Maverick Banes. The Classics elected to play the singles with Omar, Ruben, Whittington and Marc Polmans, with Greg and Dave Bidmeade to lead the doubles pairings


Chargers captain Rob Smeets

Unfortunately for the Classics the Brisbane team had too many guns, Jasika going down to Mitchell, the part-timer but very experienced Smeets accounting for Ruben and Whitts went down fighting in three sets to Van Pepperzeel. Polmans kept the Classics in the hunt with a solid result against Banes, but it left the Brisbane team needing to win just three games to win the title. This they did fairly quickly, and ended up winning both doubles matches as well, to deny the Classics and win the title in consecutive years. An interesting competition enjoyed by all teams.
Greg was pleased with his performance and was happy to come through the matches with no injuries or ailments.

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #7

After another week of resting his shoulder, then fitness training during the four days of rain in Sydney, with only a little bit of hitting possible, Greg weighed up the options of either playing qualifying in the Challenger tournament in Canberra or in the ATP250tournament in Auckland. With a very strong Main Draw field and a much weaker than usual qualifying entry, Greg was confident of qualifying for the Canberra event but that may have meant playing three matches in two days, then a fourth match potentially against a Top 100 ranked player, for a return of say 2 points.

If the entries dropped low enough for Greg to make the new 2016 criteria of 16 player draw only in qualifying for the ATP250 in Auckland, Greg would only have to play two matches in two days, for a potential return of 12 points, if he won both matches and then a Main Draw match on the third or fourth day. As this was his first match back on the pro-circuit and his shoulder was still a work in progress Greg opted for the lesser tennis and greater return option, including better tournament conditions and free accommodation, and travelled to Auckland for the qualifying, hoping for some sunshine and a decent draw.
With enough withdrawals to allow Greg entry into qualifying, Greg was first match on on the Saturday. Unfortunately the entry had not dropped low enough for Greg to be seeded in the draw, which was lopsided in ranking, with four top 100 players, then the rest ranked from 250 to 2000. Greg drew the No.4 seed, 28 year-old Thiemo De Bakker, a former Wimbledon Junior Champion, with a current ranking of 99 and a high ranking of below 50. Ironically Greg and Thiemo had a hitting session the previous day.

Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker

Greg was serving well, but de Bakker was returning better, and despite five first serves Greg faced break point in the first game of the second set. He saved the first but could not save the second break-point going behind 0-1. De Bakker was also serving well, at 80%, and games quickly went to 3-1. Then Greg had an amzing game in which he served 10 first serves, but could not convert game point, eventually getting broken to trail 1-4. The rest of the match followed the same pattern. Greg struggled to hold, even though he served well and de Bakker holding easily, to run out a 6-2, 6-2 winner.
Greg was not happy with the result, or score-line, which he said did not reflect the match but he said he had played well and gained a lot from the match. He was still rusty on shot selection and serve variation. He said that the indoor courts they had practised on the previous day were a lot slower than the outdoor match courts and he had taken a bit longer than de Bakker to adjust to the speed of the court. De Bakker had returned well, and of course served too well, for Greg to make in-roads into his game.
Greg returned to Melbourne to continue training and hitting, preparing for the year ahead.
De Bakker went on to qualify for the main draw, then won his first round match, defeating Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinola, ranked 55, in straight sets.

Aussie Summer 2015-16 #6

After some success in Japan,  Greg  was keen to get into some intense training and hitting, but first he travelled to Yarrawonga in Northern Victoria to help his team from Kooyong Tennis Club secure victory in the ATL and a place in the finals at the Australian Open in January. They then contested and won their regional finals, beating the more fancied South Yarra team led by Luke Saville, the depth of the Kooyong team being a decisive factor, Greg only playing in the doubles.

Greg then came to Sydney to train with Matt Barton and others at Homebush with Wally Masur and Dave Moore. As the Australian summer of tennis ramped up, with the wild card play-off at Melbourne Park, Greg returned to Melbourne to train with the players and coaches involved in the play-off. His hard work is showing positive results, a much lighter and fitter Greg moving well and striking the ball well.

In order to get some match practise Greg entered his first Australian Money Tournament, the local Manly Seaside Tournament just down the road from his home in Manly. Seeded fifth, he cruised through his first match in the round if sixteen again veteran Jurek Stasiak 6-2, 6-1. However, the vagaries of the draw saw him matched up again the No.1 seed, training partner Matt Barton, in a match fitting of the final. Whoever won the match was destined to win the tournament, barring disaster. 

Unfortunately for Greg, Matt's booming first serve was on fire, Matt serving in the high 75-80% range and also using his booming forehand to get himself out of trouble, to maintain control through the match. Matt broke a Greg in his first service game, when in a flow start Greg failed to land s first serve, then twice saved break point opportunities, to deny Greg breaking back and winning the first set 6-3. 

Greg serving at Manly

Matt continued serving well in the second set, whilst Greg serve improved remarkably, despite feeling awkward in his shoulder. Matt again broke Greg early in the set, but this time Greg was able to convert the break point opportunities he created, levelling at 3-3, then having another break point at 4-3, but Matt again served his way out of trouble, levelling then breaking Greg at 5-5, to competently serve out the match with four first serves to win the set 7-5 and win the match 6-3, 7-5.

Greg was happy with the way he played, with room for improvement, but had been aware of some "funny" sensations in his serving shoulder, and not serving at 100% to hopefully avoid any problems. He is attributing the sensations to not having served enough whilst concentrating on improving his fitness and movement. After a few days rest he will then see how his shoulder feels.

As predicted Matt Barton went on to win the Manly Seaside singles title.