The Long Road Home is Near the End, Federer Vs Murray Australian Open Men's Final 2010

The battle grounds are drawn ,The hopes of the British rest on the shoulders of a young Scot Andy Murray ,its been written countless times Murray will be a Grandslam Champion, the moment is near.........and the British Amarda( the press) has arrived in Melbourne to record this momentous event.But hold on a sec ,in his way is a legend perhaps the best player ever to pick up a tennis racket and Roger Federer will not just let the Murray destiny just happen.If it does we know to well Murray has truly arrived and he can conquer the highest mountain winning a Slam title. Murray had this to say when asked if he could win,"Have to wait and see, you know. I think, you know, if I play my best, I think I got a good chance against anyone. And then, you know, at the top of any sport, it can come down to, you know, a few points here or there, sometimes a little bit of luck. You have to wait and see. But if I play my best, I think I got a chance against anyone."

And Federer speaks about the pressure for both players

"look, he's in his second Grand Slam final now. I think the first one's always a bit tougher than the second one. But now that he didn't win the first one, I think doesn't help, you know, for the second one around.

Plus he's playing, you know, me, who's won many Grand Slams prior to that, been able to win here three times so I know what it takes and how to do it, which is definitely an advantage.

I don't feel like the pressure's really on me having to do it again, because I did it before. I think he really needs it more than I do, you know. So I think the pressure's big on him.

But we'll see how he's gonna handle it. It's not going to be easy for him, that's for sure."

Murray knows to well defeat will mean he has to read the British tabloids the next day and that provides also extra pressure.My thoughts on the match ,it will be tough Federer will have to be at his very best to win and if he is his game will be too good for the Murray game at his best.Also in one corner we have the very Animated support Box of Murray led by "Punch n Judy" Murray's Mum......and the more conservative support crew of Federer with his wife Mirka at the helm.

And a change of tack this from the Sunday News reports Tennis New Zealand is heading into deeper crisis with the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the board looming.

Sunday News understands a number of clubs and regions are so sick of the way the sport it being run that they're using Tennis NZ's proposal for a dramatic increase in membership affiliation fees as a way to vent their anger.Read the full story here

Talk about Ostrich and head in the sand syndrome,every body knows Tennis in this country is on the ropes Onny Parun has been telling us for the past few years.Sadly this generation of young tennis players will be lost because of ........running the game ,actually I'm at a lost for words and it would be inappropriate to use the word Idiots, if anyone else has a better word please leave it in the comments section.

If Henin Wins Today's Australian Women's Final it will be a Fairy Tale Finish

Justine Henin and Serena Wlliams will today battle for the ultimate prize the Australian Open Women's title.Head to Head Serena leads 7-6 but both players have never met in a Grand slam Final before today.Both Players defeated Chinese players in their respective Semi Finals.Thank goodness they did with no offense to the Chinese pair I could not imagine watching the final between those players.Henin has had the tougher path to the final beating 5th seed Elena Dementieva, Alisa Kleybanova, Yanina Wickmayer and Nadia Petrova en route to the semis.Serena has had a slightly easier path.Serena if she wins today adds to history it will be her 12th Grand Slam singles victory.Henin if she wins today will create the Fairy Tale Finish many are hoping for after officially retired from the tennis circuit in May 2008.It should be a great final my only concern is if Serena's bandages happen to come undone, medical time out wont be long enough to address the problem.

Well Travelled - Sean Berman Now Becomes an Aussie

Today Sean Berman plays his Semi final of the Australian Junior Champs at Melbourne Park.Now if you have been following Bermans Path his Nationality Status would be very confusing, Sean was born in South Africa just before the Berman’s moved to New Zealand. When Sean was 12, the family then relocated to Los Angeles to further Sean’s tennis education. That remained their home until a few months ago, when they settled in Melbourne.Berman played for New Zealand in some 12 and under test matches(against Australia) both in New Zealand and Australia.In fact Berman this time last year was back in New Zealand playing Itf juniors where he had mixed success winning Christchurch but being bundled out in the Auckland event by local Jamie ECCLETON in the round of 16. Berman speaks on his recent move “I spent some time in America, playing and travelling and training. But now I’m here in Australia and playing for Australia,” Sean said in a post-match interview.

Asked how he thinks the move to Australia will improve his game, he replied, “Tennis Australia has some unbelievably good tennis coaches with extremely good knowledge. I think what they’ve got to offer me will be very beneficial to my game, and I think it can really work out.”

Sean has been representing Australia at the Australian Open 2010 in both the main draw qualifying rounds and the junior boys’ singles competition.

Monitoring the Zoo Tennis Web Site some of the comments left there have been stinging,mainly not of Berman but the USTA for taking him under their wing and by reports neglecting their own junior players. Below are a couple and you can read the rest here at this link

Waste of Time... said...
it is amazing how much attention is on sean berman only because he won a few matches at the weakest junior grand slam. That is not success. There are so many junior players that are not there. Australia can have sean berman.

He will have a decent itf ranking now because of this tournament but the itf rankings are a joke anyway. They have no reflection anymore of which juniors will make it in the pros.

Get real --can you name some other "other equally deserving Americans" that did not get help because sean berman did?

To…Will he be South African next?

Berman was not an American when he came to the USTA for help, he was shopping for the best deal and at the time his results were not that glittering. Shame on the USTA for taking the bait when there were equally or more talented US juniors who were not getting their support. As for his potential, whether his style of game translates from the juniors to the pros is a huge question mark and only time will tell. So lets not read too much into his recent success and that is not taking anything away from his run at the Aussie open. If anything Donald Young highlighted that it’s a huge leap to the pros.

The point here is USTA high performance clearly has egg on its face and well deserved. Its not "glad we spent our US dollars developing..." but what Berman begs is the question why did the USTA support a foreign junior money when there were other equally deserving Americans. What the USTA needs is TRANSPARENCY in how its allocates its high performance dollars much like some other federations, not have all decisions decided behind closed doors.

I wonder did anyone mention to Berman nothing much has changed in Australia for the past 21 years. And that readers is another story in itself.And one more thing Tennis Australia you will certainly have some interested people watching how you handle the support given to Berman. Below is a You Tube piece featuring Berman and guess who ! Rafa Nadal.

STOP PRESS Semi Final Australian Open Junior Boys Sean Berman(Aus) def Marton Fucsovics HUN (6) 7/6 6/3

Destiny Awaits - Murray through to final.

Fred Perry was the last British Player to win the Australian Open way back in 1934.Come Sunday Andy Murray may break that drought after he defeated a gallant Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2.Murray's game has matured and no one can question his speed and fitness at this stage of the tournament.The man that stands in Murray's way to History is not there yet,but Roger Federer is expected to win his Semi Final Tomorrow and the Scot will have to defeat the Worlds best player to take the title.After losing the first set Murray took control and at times had Cilic on a string as he pulled the Croatian from corner to corner.The above picture shows Fred Perry (right) and Roger Federer (left).The only downside for me with Murray in the final is the occasional flashes of "Punch and Judy" Murray's mother as she gets way to excited in the stands.I guess we know where Andy Gets his aggressiveness ,the bottom picture shows the family resemblance.

Let the Games Begin!

Tonights match up against Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will I think sort out a few things.Tennis writers around the world talk Murray up saying he his Grand slam material destined to win one of the majors.We have heard that all before with Henman but I have to say Andy Murray does have more to is game than Timmy Henman.A lot have written off Rafa with his time out with injury and personal family problems , many are saying he has lost his sharpness.So will Murray prove his pundits correct and continue his Grand slam quest to the Australian Open Crown.Will Rafa prove that he is capable of defending the crown he won in a superb final last year against King Roger Federer.Murray will play his own game mixing it up ,crosscourt angles to Nadals Backhands and of course putting pressure on the Nadal second serve which looks a little shaky.Nadal will also stick to what he does best and will try to stay with Murray using his forehand to dictate play.Murray has the ability to come to net and in a close five setter this could prove the difference.Its the Spanish Bullfighter versus Braveheart the Scot.I have put a small wager on Nadal to win , I hope this has not jinxed the guy!.Nadal in five.

Where there's a will there's a Way

Andy Roddick came from 2 sets to 1 down to win 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals at the season’s first major for the sixth time in eight years. Roddick bucked the trend on a day of upsets that also resulted in fourth-round exits for two of the top women: No. 2 Dinara Safina, last year’s runner-up, and No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the reigning French Open champion.Justine Henin's comeback continues when she beat fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3 . Henin is just tough and her will alone is an asset many players lack.

My tips for today's matches are in bold.

Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[17] vs. Venus Williams(USA)[6]
Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[9] vs. Nikolay Davydenko(RUS)[6]
Serena Williams(USA)[1] vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[13]
Roger Federer(SUI)[1] vs. Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)[22]
Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[9] vs. Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[7]
Caroline Wozniacki(DEN)[4] vs. Na Li(CHN)[16]
Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3] vs. Lukasz Kubot(POL)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[10] vs. Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[26]

Just a few updates from yesterday's blog Tyler lost to Rubin Statham and Leela lost to Kathryn Westbury after having two set points in the first.7/6 6/3.

So former Kiwi,come Yank now come Aussie Sean Berman won against top Kiwi Junior Sebastian Lavie in three sets.Ben McLachlan lost 9/7 in the third against 9th seed Filip Horansky SVK ,and Briar Preston also lost her first round match in the girls making it a dismal day for the kiwi's.

ITF junior tournaments kick off in Christchurch tomorrow, read my old post and you will find out that I am not that big of a fan
Of local ITF junior tournaments as local juniors pick up cheap points for an unrealistic World junior ranking.I guess if you go in with the right attitude and treat them as just another tournament and realize that these tournaments are not a true indication of where you sit on the World stage then well and good,but far too many parents take it that their child can take on the world from these local events. Here is the link to the entry list for Christchurch 28 of the 44 acceptances in the boys are New Zealanders and much the same in the girls.

Tyler Begg into Semis of NZMT5 Christchurch

Tyler Begg defeated Richard Hornby of Christchurch 6-4 7-5 yesterday to reach the Semi's of the Canterbury Champs at Wilding Park.Begg mixed his game with aggression and angle passes of his backhand,lapses allowed Hornby to stay with Begg but when needed Begg stepped up his attack.Today he plays top seed Rubin Statham who has an ATP ranking of 331.This will be a great opportunity for Begg to mix it with one of New Zealands top players.Leela Beattie will also play a semi final this morning in the women's event. She will face Kathryn Westbury former Christchurch, in what will be an interesting match up.Westbury has been playing extensively in Asia and has been based in Australia and Thailand.Both have not played each other for a while with Westbury winning the last encounter.This meeting will be of interest to see where both players are at with their game with Leela based still in New Zealand.

Across the ditch play yesterday in the Australian Open brought no real surprises.Below are my tips for matches today.My tips in bold.
Andy Murray(GBR)[5] vs. John Isner(USA)[33]
Ivo Karlovic(CRO) vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]
Justine Henin(BEL) vs. Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)
Andy Roddick(USA)[7] vs. Fernando Gonzalez(CHI)[11]
Have highlighted this match and will go with upset of the day with Gonzalez to edge out Roddick
Alona Bondarenko(UKR)[31] vs. Jie Zheng(CHN)
Nadia Petrova(RUS)[19] vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[3]
Marin Cilic(CRO)[14] vs. Juan Martin Del Potro(ARG)[4]
Maria Kirilenko(RUS) vs. Dinara Safina(RUS)[2]

Another interesting match up is in the first round of the Australian Junior boys.
Sean Berman(AUS) vs. Sebastian Lavie(NZL)
Lavie based in France and moved there in his early junior years is New Zealands top ranked junior boy ,Sean Berman played much of his early junior days in New Zealand before leaving to the USA. He has come under USA on his ITF entry of tounaments until now where his new adopted county is Australia and is listed in the draw under Australia.Berman is of South African heritage.

Shock Loss For Clijsters - Rafa Marches On

Clijsters had no answers to her shock loss to Nadia Petrova last night "I was completely off. ... I didn't feel the ball at all." Its how the match unfolded in a one sided match that left spectators and supporters dumfounded at Kim's demise 6-0 6-1

"I made all the mistakes and she didn't really have to do much," a dumbstruck Clijsters said afterwards, struggling to explain how her tournament had come to such an abrupt and ugly end. "She served really well and was aggressive in the rallies, but that's because I let her play into the courts. Just because I wasn't feeling the ball well. It sucks."

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has kept his Australian Open title defence alive, defeating the dangerous No. 27 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 2-6 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Kohlschreiber stepped up the attack to win the third set but rafa dug deep to close the match in four.

Australian Open Quotes of the Day

"I do feel better on the court. I'm playing much better. I feel like my old self," Ana Ivanovic, trying to make herself feel better after hitting 75 unforced errors in her match against Gisela Dulko.

Good one Anna it matches your game plan! Just plain stupid

"This one tonight was obviously extremely special. It's a pleasure, of course, playing in front of him. He doesn't come around every day." - Roger Federer, on playing in front of Prince William.

"I hope not. Then is not so many like say celebrity guys. I am not Paris Hilton. I don't want to be like this. I don't want to be like Nadal, Federer.These guys I never see by breakfast. They stay in the room and take room service." - Davydenko this time on becoming more of a celebrity.

"I thought today was a little bit better than my match in my first round ... I felt like I was moving better and I had better energy. I felt like I could have actually played a lot better today. She was definitely taking it to me, though. That was really good for me to play a lady like her." - Serena Williams, evaluating yet another day at the office

The eye is in Christchurch for the New Zealand Money Tournament, looks like a wet start to the event, hopefully I will get some reports in from Christchurch.

Australian Open Tennis

The 12s Teams event wound up Today in Hamilton with Southern Girls placing 5th and Boys 4th.Sam Lane continued his great tournament losing only one of his singles matches(teams) with highlight wins over 12s National runner up Connor Heap 5/7 6/2 6/4 and 3rd seed for that event Arash Hafezi 6-3 6-2.Annabel Ellis and Anna Cochrane also excelled at this event and will come back for sure better and wiser players.

Switching from that event to another ....and that being The Australian Open, I will bring you some relevant pictures ,news and of course opinions.

12s Team Event - The Doubles are crucial!

Often the Doubles can decide a match at National Teams events, playing the right combination can sway a tie your way.Get it wrong and you pay the price.The teams event is underway in Hamilton and Southern girls have lost 2 heartbreak ties against Waikato and Central both on count backs.I am back in Timaru after 5 days with Annabel Ellis, Sam Lane and Anna Cochrane. Yesterday Annabel won 5th play off defeating Megan Rogers and Sam went down in a hard fought encounter in three sets to Arash Hafezi.I have to say that these events are great to see where players are at and especially as a coach to see how your juniors compete at this level.Both Sam and Annabel improved their skills and experience immensely from this tournament.It gives me a clear indication on what they need to work on for future development as an elite player.Special mention to Anna Cochrane who is playing her first National event ,in my opinion Anna is gaining a huge amount from this tournament.Watching each of her singles matches I saw a steady improvement ,especially learning to keep technique and concentration consistently at a high level , fall below and you start losing points very quickly.Watching Anna also shows me what is needed to allow Anna to develop to the level of Sam and Annabel.News from the past couple of rounds has Anna winning both singles rubbers she has competed in so WELL DONE ANNA!.Sam Lane reversed his playoff result defeating Hafezi 6-3 6-2,against Auckland, showing that he learned a lot from his loss yesterday,and that juniors is exactly what is meant by learning from a losing Game. Annabel Ellis playing Number 1 singles position is getting plenty of tough matches.


Above picture has Anna in action with the Southern Uniform on show.

Day 4 Doubles Title to Annabel Ellis-Sam Lane tipped out by Top Seed

Sam Lane took the game to top seed Kyle Butters in yesterday's semi final in Hamilton.Lane was on top early in both sets racing to a 3-0 lead in the first.Executing a good game plan ,Lane unfortunately could not keep up his perfect height and length which was eating away at the Butter's Forehand.Dropping the ball shorter enabled Kyle to come forward and dictate play, punishing any ball that was dropped short mid court.A couple of costly double faults and a few "overcooked" forehands proved damaging for Lane.The pattern was much the same for the second set with Sam leading 3-1 and this set unfolded much like the first.Sam going down 6-3 6-3. Sam takes away a lot however from his tournament knowing he is one of the top boys in New Zealand for his age, and this tournament will make Sam a lot tougher player for future events. Annabel Ellis showed better court control in her semi of the 5th-8th playoff for girls defeating Ella Hassall 6-3 6-4.Later that day she teamed with Paige Hourigan to take out the girls 12s National Hardcourt Doubles Title crushing Canterbury duo Gabriela Coates and Olivia Smith 6-0 6-2.Lane partnering Lawrence Darling lost their doubles final to Connor Heap and Kai Lee. Sam and Annabel will be in action today in play offs.

Lane reaches 12s National Hardcourt Singles Semi Final

Sam Lane will this morning play one of his most important matches of his young career when he takes on top seed Kyle Butters in the Semi Final of the 12s National Hard courts in Hamiliton. Yesterday Sam demolished Bernard Van Der Spuy the 9th seed 6-0 6-1.Lane as he did in his pevious matched kept the pressure on throughout and unleashed some huge forehand winners.Which ever way the match goes today Sam has showed this tournament how much he has improved his game in many departments.His commitment to focusing by playing tournaments and matches is an important factor to why he has developed and I would hope some good advice and training from yours truley! Annabel Ellis self destructed in her quarter final match up against second seed Rosie Cheng 6-0 6-2.Ellis from the start failed to establish a pattern and played a poor tactical match trying to win the point far too early in the rally.I am sure that Annabel will learn a lot from this outing……….and this is why you can learn more from a losing game than a winning game. Anna Cochrane is also learning lots from nationals and has been involved in some very long matches. Yesterday to reach a consolation Plate final she defeated Claudia Maddren 4-6 6-1 6-4 , she went on to lose the final in another close match 7-5 6-4 to Katie Antsupova. In a close Quarter final Doubles match Anna and her partner lost a third set super tiebreak late on day three.Annabel and Sam will also feature in doubles Semi Finals today with partners. The above pictures are Sam top frame, Annabel in doubles action and Anna Cochrane right.

Sam Lane and Annabel Ellis reach Quarter Finals

South Canterbury juniors Annabel Ellis and Sam Lane swept into the National 12 Hardcourt's singles champs quarter finals in Hamilton with resounding wins yesterday.Lane defeated Lawrence Darling(Canterbury) 6-0 6-1.Lane played a near perfect game ,controlling play and then unleashing winners at the right time.Lane used the drop shot to perfection exploiting Darlings lack of mobility forward.Sam's ability to maintain and execute his game plan for the whole match enabled him to record in the end a very comfortable win.Annabel Ellis defeated Olivia Smith 6-0 6-2. Ellis had too much fire power winning the first set 6-0 as she unleashed a barrage of forehand winners.The second set was much the same with Ellis continuing to serve strong wrapping up the match 6-2.Anna Cochrane played a 2 hour match to go down in her consolation singles plate match 3-6 7-5 7-5 to Southlands Kim Allan.The first set saw Cochrane dominate with powerful forehands ,played in hot conditions Allan plugged away and Anna lost some energy and failed to capitalize on short balls losing the second and third sets 7-5 7-5.In all a very good match in which Anna will learn a lot from.All three South Canterbury Players had Main draw doubles wins also yesterday.The above pictures show Anna Cochrane top frame,Annabel Ellis and doubles partner Paige Hourigan left and Sam Lane right.

National 12 Hardcourts underway -Hamilton

The National 12s kicked of in Hamilton today. I am here with Anna Cochrane (pictured top) Sam Lane (Left) and Annabel Ellis (right). Both Sam and Annabel had comfortable wins today, with Anna losing her match. Sam is seeded 4th in the boys and he had too much class and power winning 6-0 6-1.Ellis seeded 6th won 6-2 6-3 but lost momentum a few times. Its all learning experience in this age and juniors must not be too hard on themselves during a match, you should save all your energy for your opponent and not have a running battle with ones inner self at times during a match. Anna Cochrane played a good first set against Jessica Shaw( Canterbury)losing it 6-2 after some hard fought rally’s. Feeling more pressure from her opponent Anna stopped being aggressive in the second set and allowed her opponent to dictate, losing the second set 6-0. Play continues tomorrow with some great match ups,after a day you could say which was very uneventful.

Robredo Top Seed For Heineken Open -Auckland

This Afternoon I popped down to Stanley Street and caught a glimpse of Tommy Robredo ( Spain) who is Top Seed for the Heineken Tennis Open in Auckland which starts tomorrow.Robredo was warming up on center court with coach.I have posted some highlights of the session and my Students may be familiar with one of the ball feeding techniques!.So juniors this type of feeding is still relevant to someone ranked in the top 20 male players in the world.Good Luck Tommy for the tournament!

Day 2 14s Teams Nationals.

Tom Deeley(South Canterbury - Southern) showed why Team event matches can produce different results than Main Draw, Tom scored a 3 set win over the guy who beat him in two sets first round of the Main Draw. The advantage of having coaches speak to players at the change of ends is a great benefit to players.Southern Boys are locked in a Battle with Northern at 2 rubbers all after singles wins from Henry Hailes and Tom Deeley pictured above in action.Earlier yesterday Southern Boys lost 5-1 to Waikato with Henry Hailes picking up the only win.

14s National Teams Event Auckland

Straight off the plane and into action!Southern 14 boys played top seeds Auckland yesterday and were thumped 6-0.Taylor Allan(Southland)was the pick of our players yesterday losing his number 2 singles in three sets and also partnering Henry Hailes(Otago)to go down in a third set tie break 10-8.Pictured above Taylor serving Henry Net.Watching the standard of matches being played in this age group was somewhat disappointing with no player showing exceptional form in this age group.The Boys singles was won by Cameron Norrie,Auckland over Finbar Argus from Canterbury 6-0 6-0 ,that result says it all.Whilst the girls event was won by Pang SUWANAPOSEE 6-0 6-4 from Paige HOURIGAN.

Sam Lane Finishes 14 Nationals in Style

Sam Lane won the 14s Boys Plate singles final in Auckland today.Lane( South Canterbury) defeated Lawrence Darling( ex South Canterbury and southern rep now Canterbury) in the final 6-0 6-4. Lane was brilliant in the first set executing his powerful forehand after setting up the point.Concentration lapsed a little in the second set but he still closed out the set and the match 6-4.Lane will now focus for his next tournament starting in Hamilton in a few days....the 12s Hard court Nationals.

I fly out tomorrow morning to Auckland to coach a very inexperienced Southern 14 boys team at the National event.It will be tough going against some of the best juniors in the country and getting the boys to believe they can compete will be the first task.I will then move on to Hamilton where I will be looking after South Canterbury players Sam Lane,Annabel Ellis and Anna Cochrane who is competing in her first nationals.

Junior players and parents have to come to terms at some stage on how far they want to go with their tennis.Nationals is a good place to sit and listen to Parents trade stories about how much court time their child is doing per week.It is true that the main contenders will have done a lot of training as well as playing a lot of matches and tournaments.The key to success at the end of the day is however how much of this training is parent driven and how much does the child really want to do this?There are so many story's of failures stemming from parent driven motivation..the player must have the self motivation to succeed.As a coach I have seen parents trying to live their dream through their child and their sport.Parents play a huge role but the way i see it! its support with a capital S and sacrifice with another capital S , because to reach the very top you have to forgo at times family holidays,sometimes go without certain luxury goods as indeed tennis at the elite level is expensive.

I believe the junior player that works hard , willing to go out and serve buckets of balls on their own,wanting to hit at every spare moment will end up achieving.I also see junior players turning up every two weeks with another new pair of shoes, new shirts and new racquet's every six months,Parents booking lots of hours with the pro coach each week because their child couldn't be bothered to put in other practice outside their coaching hours.In so doing it creates a player that just will not be able to stand on their own when the level of play increases....we all know this syndrome the picture below says it all.

Action at The Center- Timaru

Well back from Wanaka, The summer tennis season is crazy in New Zealand, so many events jammed into January ,Open Tournaments, National Juniors , Pro Events etc etc.Tyler lost his semi's to Tournament winner Alastair Hunt 6-2 6-3 in a reasonable match.Tyler managed to break the serve of Hunt twice but could not capitalize and hold his own.Alastair Hunt has had wins over Paradorn Srichaphan,and Richard Krajicek.Hunt beat Perry Crockett in the final 6-1 6-4.Pictured above are some players practising hard for upcoming tournaments The North Otago Open Grasscourt Champs in Oamaru are at the weekend and the South Canterbury Junior Tournament will kick off tomorrow!

Wanaka Day Two -Tennis Open Rain Rain Go away

Wet weather meant a late start for competitors today at the Wanaka Tennis Open. The clouds lifted by 1pm and play was under way by 2pm. Tyler Begg continued his winning way with a hard fought 7/6 6/4 against fellow Canadian Ryan Chow who is training with Wanaka Coach and second seed Perry Crockett. Begg gave a solid workman like performance against the power and unpredictable style of Chow. Begg and Chow exchanged service breaks until a tie break first set decided the set. Watching I always felt Tyler had the edge and he came out and won the second set 6-4. He played solid in most area’s but from my perspective on the sidelines needed to up the pace of his three quarter paced serves and allowed chow to dictate on some points at crucial times.But Definitely an improvement since Invercargill for Tyler and a more positive approach which is what we have been working on. Pictures above are action from Tylers match today.In other men's match ups Alastair Hunt Beat Saunders of Christchurch and will play Begg in the Semi’s tomorrow, whilst Crockett defeated Hornby of Christchurch also and will meet Vaughan Kingi of Canterbury.

Wanaka Tennis Open-Location Location

I guess being a tennis Coach one does get to travel to some unique tennis locations,and Wanaka ,New Zealand on a hot still summers day there's few places in the World that would create such a picturesque backdrop for a tennis tournament.I'm here with Canadian and South Canterbury Coach Tyler Begg who Ive been doing some work with over the past weeks hopefully fine tuning his game and keeping the motivation for hard work up.Tyler won his first round match today against Cantabrigian Jamie Poole 6-1 6-1.He plays another Canadian in the quarter finals tomorrow Ryan Chow.Favorite for the men's event is former Davis Cupper Alastair Hunt.Local Coach Perry Crockett will also throw his hat in the ring for the title.Tyler is pictured above from his first round match today.