Statham Wins in Korea
Well done Rubin Statham on winning the Singles and Doubles titles at the ITF DaeGu Mens 15,000 Futures event in Korea.The above is an old picture obviously taken at the Heineken a few years ago. Remember this year the powers that be made a very poor decision not giving Statham a Wildcard to this event even though he was New Zealand's top player.Since January Statham is having his best year yet on tour. KEEP STICKING IT TO THEM JOSE(Rubin) .RESULTS HERE
Posts
Whate ever happened to King-Turner ... the guy the powers that be gave the wild card to? He has only won 1 ranking pont this year
ReplyDeleteSomeone said hes playing Rafas poker league trying for another wild card because he dosnt deserve another gift here!
DeleteThanks for publishing this news Steve. As at the time of writing, TNZ has not published this information on their Website. A double header is no mean feat, it doesn't happen that often and certainly deserves some recognition. I hope TNZ post something positive ... and soon!
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I was on business in Korea a week or so ago, had some spare days so headed down to Busan to watch a bit of the Busan Open. During qualies I saw Statham consistently firing first serves at 210kph (they had a radar gun on centre court) and hitting his forehand with power and accuracy that I had never seen him do before.
It was really unfortunate that he came unstuck in the first round of main draw against Propoggia. In the second set Statham was chasing a drop shot and slipped, falling onto his left thumb ... the thumb he badly injured in the DC tie against China a few years back. From that point in the second set onwards his backhand, his trademark shot, was pretty much rendered useless as he was only able to push the ball. At the same time Propoggia lifted and the match turned into an extra ordinary display of tennis with Statham losing the second set and then the third in a 10/12 tie break. This match was being played on an outside court, but the news of the stoush got out and soon the court was crowded with onlookers and other pro's. The comments I could hear in English from other pro's who had been in China with Statham for the weeks leading up to Busan was that this was tennis at its best. Luckily the thumb was only lightly sprained and Statham is now back in form ... beating Propoggia 2 and 2 in this IFT event.
Statham has certainly improved in 2013. After watching a few other matches in Busan being played by guys in the 100's I can't see any reason why Statham can't achieve a ranking with a 1 in front of it this year... thats 100's ... not 1000's!
It would be kind of nice if TNZ actually recognised this potential and like Tennis Australia saw fit to fund a touring coach (of Stathams choice) while he was on the road. We can all dream! But quite clearly TNZ has no intention of ever executing the piece of "comedy" published on their website under the heading "high performance" strategy ....
Thanks for this update! You are correct winning the singles and the doubles is a great achievement.Lets hope Rubin is able to get his own coach for travel and that TNZ gets there head out the sand ...I know Rubin works hard and the success he is getting is a credit to him ...full stop.
DeleteGreat reading, great news, thanks Steve
ReplyDeleteGood on you Rubin, you have done it on your own. Currently you are miles ahead of the rest in NZ, KEEP ON STICKING IT UP EM!, cheers Craig Auckland.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Tennis NZ become educated enough to understand they have a self determined and inspiring tennis player? Why is the mentality of the federation so third world? When will Tennis NZ gain the basic comprehension that tennis in the 1970's is NOT the same in 2013? In the 1970's there was only 185 players ranked on tour! 185.
ReplyDelete"Parun, who won the event three times during the 1970s and rose to 19 in the world during a stellar 13-year career, insisted players should only get into the main draw on merit.
"It's a good thing," he said. "They've got to earn their way don't they? That's what it's all about."
Today there are 2001 ranked players on tour. The game has evolved. When will Tennis NZ's mentality evolve? Wake up and support New Zealand's number one men's tennis player. Davis Cup payment, is NOT FUNDING.
Well done Rubin Statham, keep at it and we can all keep praying for the day Tennis NZ "get it".
Thanks for your comment , logical and rational and some very good points...Rubin is doing what he has to do ,,and getting results ...you are correct Davis Cup payment is not funding! I cannot say when Tennis NZ will get it ...I am going to post a soccer article from Australia soon,,,but the gist of it is They are saying you cannot have people at the top of the sports administration who do not know the sport. Same as tennis here
ReplyDeleteNever again should a non-footballer run our elite teams will post it soon.