OTW Extra Email Archive - July 2020
Czech teenagers, and filling the Wimbledon void…
Wednesday 1st July 2020
In your Ones to Watch EXTRA email today:
Evans wins the Battle of the Brits…
Dan Evans ran out a convincing 6-3, 6-2 winner over Kyle Edmund last Sunday afternoon. Evans franked his position as British No.1, crowned Battle of the Brits champion with that straight-sets win in the final.
The National Tennis Centre venue in Roehampton will be on our screens again in July, with the Progress Tour Women’s Championship lined-up to start on 14th July.
I’d say last week’s event in England, as a TV broadcasting spectacle, was the best we’ve seen so far in these new post-lockdown playing conditions. It will be interesting to see if they use the outdoor courts at Roehampton for that women’s event next month. After all – it would’ve been Wimbledon around now…
New events on the calendar…
No trip to SW19 for this year, then. But our new schedule is busy nonetheless. Instead of watching the Wimbledon reruns on the BBC, I’m focusing on the here & now…
Two new events added to my ‘alternative summer of tennis’ Calendar for this week are:
The Australian event is already underway. The American team competition starts on Friday and runs over the weekend. Featuring the top eight American men in the current ATP world rankings.
Czech teenagers…
Another event on the current schedule is the Tipsport Elite Trophy in the Czech Republic. This women’s competition has well-known names like Petra Kvitova on the roster. As well as a couple of very young newcomers…
Exactly a year ago today, a then 15-year-old Coco Gauff made a big name for herself on the grass courts at Wimbledon, beating former champion Venus Williams.
In less auspicious surroundings this week, another 15-year-old has been quietly impressing in the Czech Republic…
Over the last few weeks, Linda Fruhvirtova has faced established names including Marketa Vondrousova, Katerina Siniakova and Kristyna Pliskova.
On Tuesday, the 15-year-old Fruhvirtova got a victory against a fellow teenager, the 14-year-old Nikola Bartunkova.
It almost feels wrong that you can bet on players so young, but you can. And Fruhvirtova franked odds-on 1/6 (1.17) favouritism to win that all-teenage encounter yesterday.
The right-handed Czech, ranked just outside the world’s top 800 places, is one of three 15-year-olds currently residing inside the top 1,000 on the official WTA Tour standings. That’s prime ‘Ones to Watch’ territory, for sure…
Alongside Fruhvirtova, the other two young women are South Africa’s Isabella Kruger, and USA’s Robin Montgomery.
We’ll look out for those teenagers growing on the tours in the months and years to come.
The real deal in August & September…
Along with July’s nice busy schedule of matches in the various new events across the globe (some of them even planning to have fans in the stands). The real deal for us will be the return of the main ATP & WTA Tours, which is on the official calendar for 3rd August with the women, and 14th August for the men.
After that, all being well, the US Open is planning to go ahead from 31st August.
And after waiting all summer for a Grand Slam, we might get two in a row. With the rearranged French Open in the book for a 27th September start, as it stands.
Enjoy the tennis,
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson