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Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Team (Update July '10)

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Vlads Quiff

Vlads Quiff

Well-Known
Member
Ken Skupski, a lad from my tennis club......just thought you may be interested.
Hopefully he can get in the Davies Cup squad for the Echo Arena event

Doubles delight for Skupski & Fleming (The LTA)

Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming booked their place in the doubles second round at the AEGON Championships on Wednesday.

Skupski and Fleming, Britain’s No.4 and No.5 ranked doubles players respectively, defeated Romanians Andrei Pavel and Horia Tecau 7-6(3) 6-4.

Over the last six months, the British pair have won seven doubles titles together and have both seen their world rankings rise inside the world’s top 200.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray and Australian partner Lleyton Hewitt saw their doubles campaign end in the second round on Tuesday evening, losing to the No.5 seeds, Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Austria’s Oliver Marach, 4-6 3-6.

Having gained a first round bye, Murray, the No.1 seed, will begin his singles account on Wednesday when he faces Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round.
 
Re: Tennis.......

[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=34091.msg885695#msg885695 date=1244638829]
Palmerston Club, Vlad? Well done to the lad.
[/quote]

Indeed so Wilko some fat bastard is the Chairman

regards
 
Re: Tennis.......

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=34091.msg886476#msg886476 date=1244741647]
Really ?

That's a pretty impressive result
[/quote]

It's probably one of the biggest tennis upsets in recent history concerning British Players, but did not get a mention in some of the papers. This is from Andy Murray .Com
(They beat Jamie Murray and his partner last week at Nottingham)

What a performance from two little known rising stars in British tennis, Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski. The duo beat the number 1 ranked doubles team in the world in straight sets in only their second full ATP tour level win.

Since Skupski and Fleming joined forces in 2008 they have been rapidly climbing the doubles rankings and are now ranked in the 100 best teams, a decent run at Queens and Wimbledon could see both players break into the doubles top 100 players and the team in to the top 50 doubles team.

Colin Fleming from Broxburn in Scotland and Ken Skupski from Liverpool added to their good first round victory against Andrei Pavel & Horia Tecau 76(3) 64 on Tuesday. That match was duo’s first ever full ATP tour level win and their second was a major upset.

Cruelly though very few people will have got to see Brits victory as The BBC or Europsort did not show the match, as the players entered court, the BBC stopped their coverage on the red button. I’m not 100% sure why the BBC are not covering the doubles at Queens, it may well be a TV rights situation similar to why Sky cannot show doubles when they cover the masters events.

Despite being broken early in the first set Skupski and Fleming broke back and broke again to claim the set and single break in the second set was enough to see them to victory.

In contrast to some of the other British players these two have not been handed out countless chances with wildcards for Queens and Wimbledon. Fleming had only played 2 full tour level matches before this week and Skupski 1.

Skupski and Fleming will next face 5th seeds Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach who took out Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.

Skupski is currently the 4th ranked best British doubles player and Fleming 5th best. Fleming took a 2 year sabbatical from tennis to finish uni and worked for a year, since returning he steadily improved and recorded numerous good result on the challenger circuit in both doubles with Skupski and singles, recognised recently with his place in the Davis Cup after Andy Murray pulled out. Fleming is currently the 10th ranked best singles player in Britain.

Fellow Brit Jamie Murray earned a much needed win with his partner Jonathan Erlich against Leos Friedl & David Skoch, the British-Israeli combo won in 3 sets 7-6(5) 3-6 10-3(super tie-break). They will next play 7th seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr.
 
Re: Tennis.......

[quote author=Vlads Quiff link=topic=34091.msg885709#msg885709 date=1244640149]
[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=34091.msg885695#msg885695 date=1244638829]
Palmerston Club, Vlad? Well done to the lad.
[/quote]

Indeed so Wilko some fat bastard is the Chairman

regards
[/quote]

I have a feeling I saw the chairman when I played there years ago. Is he a bit of an old bastard as well?
 
Re: Tennis.......

[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=34091.msg887454#msg887454 date=1244906442]
[quote author=Vlads Quiff link=topic=34091.msg885709#msg885709 date=1244640149]
[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=34091.msg885695#msg885695 date=1244638829]
Palmerston Club, Vlad? Well done to the lad.
[/quote]

Indeed so Wilko some fat bastard is the Chairman

regards
[/quote]

I have a feeling I saw the chairman when I played there years ago. Is he a bit of an old bastard as well?
[/quote]

Not that old you cheeky twat, distinguished though

regards
 
Re: Tennis.....GB's Skupski and Flemming

Have you really played at our place Wilko and if so for whom?

regards
 
Re: Tennis.....GB's Skupski and Flemming

Only just seen this, amazing. They must be on cloud 9.

Fantastic achievement. How this didn't make the press I don't know, the tennis coverage in our media is appalling.
 
Re: Tennis.....GB's Skupski and Flemming

[quote author=FoxForceFive link=topic=34091.msg887720#msg887720 date=1244971258]
Only just seen this, amazing. They must be on cloud 9.

Fantastic achievement. How this didn't make the press I don't know, the tennis coverage in our media is appalling.
[/quote]

Even the Echo and Post was not great coverage, in fact his Little Brother Neal, was on the same page with a big photo about qualifying for the Liverpool International, and Ken's bit was half the size !!
If it had been a pair of rich twats from London it would have been all over the place
regards
 
Re: Tennis.....GB's Skupski and Flemming

Ken Skupski handed dream Davis Cup debut

Sep 2 2009

by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo


LOCAL tennis ace Ken Skupski has been handed a dream Davis Cup debut – in his home town later this month.

The 26-year-old was named in the GB team to face Poland at the Liverpool Echo Arena on September 18-20, alongside world number two Andy Murray.

Murray pledged his commitment to Great Britain’s Davis Cup team for a crucial tie last month.

Should Britain lose the match they will be relegated to Group II of the Euro/Africa Zone, which includes the likes of Monaco, Egypt, Lithuania and Ireland.

Britain were condemned to the play-off against Poland after being thrashed 4-1 by Ukraine in Glasgow after Murray withdrew with a virus.


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But Murray said: “I always want to play Davis Cup if it’s possible and, if I feel fresh and 100 per cent fit, I will be there to try to help the team.â€

But just as many eyes at the Echo Arena will be alongside local hero Skupski.

The Mossley Hill player has concentrated on his doubles partnership with Colin Fleming this season and has seen his doubles ranking worldwide rise to 108, after claiming some high profile scalps.

The duo only got together last October but promptly won four consecutive titles on the Challenger and Futures circuit, a tennis school of hard knocks that’s a million miles from the show courts and celebrity of ATP Tour.

They reached the final of the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham and then claimed the scalps of Bob and Mike Bryan, the most successful doubles partnership in the world with seven Grand Slam titles.

The British wild card team defeated the 15th ranked team in the world, Brazilian duo Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 at the AEGON Championships at Eastbourne.

The Queens Club event was the first ever ATP tour level event Skupski and Fleming had competed at.

Davis Cup skipper John Lloyd revealed after those performances that he intended to keep a close eye on the pair at Wimbledon.

“I know that Ken is an excellent doubles player,†said Lloyd. “He also has a fantastic partner in Colin Fleming.

“He’s talented, there’s no question about that and he has a good feel for the game.

“He needs experience and to keep competing. Now that he is playing at a higher level he has to learn to remain strong against the top 100 or 150 players and the key ingredient is being able to remain focused.â€

Skupski has patiently waited to become the next big thing in British tennis.

Seven years ago, aged 19, he beat recent French Open finalist Robin Soderling at junior Wimbledon and was drafted into one of the most competitive college tennis programmes in the United States.

Now he’s finally ready to graduate on the Davis Cup stage.

# The AEGON GB Davis Cup team will now face Poland at Liverpool’s Echo Arena from 18th-20th September to avoid relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group II. Tickets are now on general sale with discounts available for British Tennis Members.
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Squad

what are the ticket prices like for this? Not being lazy, in work so cant go googling as normal!
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Squad

Friday £27 child £12
Saturday £12 and £7
Sunday £27 and £12

Don't know what the order is or why the Saturday is so cheap

regards
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Squad

[quote author=Vlads Quiff link=topic=34091.msg937919#msg937919 date=1251973093]
Friday £27 child £12
Saturday £12 and £7
Sunday £27 and £12

Don't know what the order is or why the Saturday is so cheap

regards
[/quote]

Just a wild but educated guess, I think its 2 singles matches on Friday, 1 doubles match on Saturday and the reverse singles matches on the last day. Could be why Saturday is cheaper. Also, if any team is 3-0 up the last 2 matches might not be played. Or if 3-1 up then the last match might not be played.
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Squad

I saw an advert on the train saying it was £10 entry.
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Squad

[quote author=SummerOnions link=topic=34091.msg938135#msg938135 date=1251992720]
I saw an advert on the train saying it was £10 entry.
[/quote]

Perhaps so, but that is from the Arena web-site

regards
 
Re: Tennis.....Skupski makes Davis Cup Team (Update March '10)

Ken gets his chance, there is areal school of thought that had Andy Murray not been unoficially picking the team at Liverpool and Skupski and Fleming has played the doubles then , we would have kept our position.
Ken is now Number 1 ranked doubles player in GB, and 52, and as the article says 52nd in the world.......


Telegraph
Great Britain's inexperienced players must learn to cope with the pressure of performing in the Davis Cup, says team captain John Lloyd.

Britain take on Lithuania in Vilnius from Friday, with world number four Andy Murray choosing to skip the Euro-Africa Zone Group II tie.

James Ward, Dan Evans, Colin Fleming, Ken Skupski, Jamie Baker and Ross Hutchins make up the squad.

"Davis Cup, in my opinion, is the most difficult thing to play," said Lloyd.

"Even more so than Grand Slams because of what it entails, playing for your country, in a team.

"Certain players have it and some don't," he told the LTA website, "and that's what we've got to learn, who has that ability to play to the best of their ability under pressure."

It's always great to get selected and just be part of the experience, but to be preparing to play this time is obviously a bit different

Colin Fleming

Murray ruled himself out of the Davis Cup for the foreseeable future after Britain's defeat by Poland last September, which saw them relegated to the third tier of the competition.

That leaves Lloyd unable to call upon a player who has won a live Davis Cup singles rubber.

His initial selection sees Ward and Evans in the two singles spots, with Fleming and Skupski in line for the doubles, although the captain can change up to two players in his team up to one hour before the draw is made on Thursday.

Lloyd has chosen to leave out British number two Alex Bogdanovic after the world number 151 lost seven of his eight singles rubbers over six years, winning a solitary dead rubber against Australia in 2003.

That leaves Ward, ranked 250th in the world, in line to make his Davis Cup debut after the 23-year-old was a member of the squad for two previous ties against the Ukraine and Poland.

606: DEBATE
Should Ward and Evans play singles for GB?

Evans, who is ranked 252nd in the world, lost both rubbers in straight sets on his Davis Cup debut against Poland in Liverpool.

Fleming and Skupski are 53rd and 54th in the doubles rankings after an impressive 12 months that has seen them win ATP titles in St Petersburg and Metz, and Lloyd will hope that the pair can finally end Britain's long wait for a world-class doubles team.

"It's always great to get selected and just be part of the experience," said Fleming.

"But to be preparing to play this time is obviously a bit different, I'm really looking forward to getting out there and just want to do everything I can to be ready to play my best.

"I've always loved playing on a team, I've done it on a much smaller scale at university, everyone is behind each other and we want to do our best, so it's a nice change from just playing for ourselves."

Lithuania's number one is 19-year-old Ricardas Berankis, who is ranked 198th in the world having begun the year at 320, while the number two is 18-year-old Laurynas Grigelis, ranked 521st.

The winners of the tie in Vilnius will face either Ireland or Turkey with a relegation play-off for the losers.

This is only the second time British tennis has found itself at this level - the previous spell was for two years in the mid 1990s.
Click to expand...
 
Feel sorry for Ken and Colin, did their bit and won quite comfortably, but get caught up in the debacle of losing to Lithuania.
Turkey next

regards
 
Ken Skupsi and Colin Flemming are now ranked world 25 as a pair, and their individual doubles rankings are now under 50, which is good, the big money will start kicking in if they get into the thirties as individuals.
Now unbeaten in two Davies Cup events.


Absent friends, and fans, can't halt Brit pack

By Paul Newman at Eastbourne

Sunday, 11 July 2010



It took a win over opponents who were not even ranked in the world's top 1,000 to complete it, but Britain's Davis Cup team finally ended the longest losing run in their history here yesterday. After five successive defeats, victory over Turkey in a relegation play-off ensured that it would be the visitors who will compete next season in Europe/Africa Zone Group Three, the lowest tier.

Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming, Nos 46 and No 47 respectively in the world doubles rankings, gave Leon Smith's team a match-winning 3-0 lead by beating Ergun Zorlu and Haluk Akkoyun 6-3 6-4 6-4. Given that the Turks are ranked Nos 1,134 and 1,136 in the world respectively it was no less than the home team should have expected, but after their humiliating loss against Lithuania four months ago nothing was being taken for granted.

While there will be no open-topped bus ride along the seafront to celebrate, the manner of Britain's victory, with only one set dropped in the first three rubbers, confirmed the impression that there is a good spirit within the squad and a shared sense of purpose under Smith, who is making his debut as captain.

"The feeling of losing five in a row obviously wasn't great," Smith said. "This is one step in the right direction, but it is only one. We realise that. We won't get carried away. The guys have done a great job here, but it is only one step. But I think you can see from the spirit on the court and on the bench that we're all really united in trying to improve things."

Eastbourne is packed at this time of the year, but the pier, beach and seafront concerts were clearly a greater attraction than a group of tennis players whose names – including those of the home team – would have been unfamiliar to most people.

Devonshire Park would no doubt have been more than half full if Andy Murray had been playing, but the world No 4 missed the tie in order to concentrate on his own schedule.

The Scot's decision still aggrieves some in British tennis, but many of the game's top players pick and choose their Davis Cup ties. Moreover, Murray's absence has given others the chance to play for their country and, even more importantly, to win matches. It is hard to see what Murray beating lowly-ranked opponents here would have achieved either for himself or for the national team.

In the absence of Murray, who had sent the team a good luck message, it had been down to Jamie Baker and James Ward to pave the way with singles victories on the opening day. Ward beat Marsel Ilhan, who is ranked 198 places ahead of him and was the highest ranked singles player in action here.

Fleming and Skupski are now regulars on the main ATP tour and their superiority was apparent from the start. Zorlu's ragged backhand would not look entirely out of place in one of Eastbourne's parks, while Akkoyun's serve always looked vulnerable.

The only time the Britons appeared in any sort of discomfort was in the sixth game of the first set, when a full-blooded Zorlu smash hit Skupski in the neck after the Liverpudlian had lost his footing. Skupski looked shaken – "I felt like I'd been shot," he said – but he recovered his composure.

One break of Zorlu's serve in the eighth game secured the first set. Akkoyun was broken at the start of the second, only for Skupski, who had not conceded a single point in his three previous service games, to drop his serve immediately afterwards. Akkoyun, however, was broken again at 4-4, after which Skupski served out for the set.

The Turks never let their heads drop, but at 3-3 in the third set Akkoyun was broken again. Fleming served out for victory at 5-3, Skupski hitting the winning volley.

Victory means that Britain will stay in Europe/Africa Zone Group Two next season. Their next match will be in March, against opponents to be decided by a draw in September. Might Murray play in the next tie? "When he wants to come back in the team of course we'll love that because he's one of the world's best players," Smith said.
 
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