TJTC WORLD TOUR

HALLE presented a small tournament with lots of excitement expectedly surrounding the initiation of

 the prestigious grass season. With all the Spaniards out for one reason or the other and world number 2

 Mullings virtually forgotten the spotlight turned to Bartley and Chambers the two highest seeds in the

 draw.

Things seemed quite predictable and routined when one looked at the draw which could have made the

 tournament lacking in fire and excitement. But alas Kino was our hero in this regard. The newcomer did

what Chambers least expected him to…take him to three sets let alone win the match. Chambers found

the going really tough from as early as the first few games in the opening set. No one intended to cast

even the periphery of their field of vision on the match for fear of Kino collapsing under pressure going

 up against the number 2 seed in his first ever match and on grass. But there they were neck and neck

until the spectators began to realize that it wasn’t a mismatch but a roaring and developing contest.

 

Kino specializes in slices, chips, lobs, drop shots and all these artistic kinds of shots. Chambers likes

rhythm and loves to get his points from the back. This contrast in play made for entertainment. At times

we forgot that we were at Halle instead of Roland Garros because the crowd was roaring for the

underdog. Chambers had the right idea but could not finish off his shots and his lack of good net play

coupled with a perceived supercilious attitude and utter disrespect for playing with a broken racquet

and expecting to defeat the newcomer and non-challenger with it and a stats sheet featuring more

unforced errors than winners all wrapped up a disappointing loss for Chambers.

 

There were moments of brilliance from the number 3 seed with nice forehand drives, forward

movement and confidence but whenever he’s induced into Kino’s game there Chambers was, in the

middle of nowhere and out of his comfort zone trying to out-craft the crafty Kino.

 

It was generally a poor match by expectations from top ranked Chambers who was never made to relax

one bit throughout the three set encounter. The pressure was vivid on Chambers’ shoulders and he

collapsed to make this win by Kino the biggest upset on tour thus far and will go down in the book of

memories for a long time. Has it scarred the number 2 seed? We hope it will teach him a few things and

show up other areas of weakness.

 

What was even more interesting was that Kino didn’t even realize the magnitude of a job he had done

even after his match, barely uttering a single word but sat in silence listening to all the good things they

had to say about what he had accomplished. He just sat there. He perhaps was a little dazed by it all and

 was now thinking about how well he now has to play if he’s to do the same against Bartley. But that’s

his general demeanor anyhow.

 

Bartley expectedly won his first match quite comprehensively with his big forehand in display. His

Frenchman opponent, Sproul, added unpredictability to the Jamaican’s forehand for at times he was confused

with Bartley’s target as the shots usually passes the Frenchman on the forehand side. Bartley went into

the Kino match with his usually contentment and played his game as he quietly read and analyzed Kino’s

game, much like the quality player Bartley can be and used his findings to beat Kino decently in a score

line of 62 63. Bartley noted that Chambers’ lost the match because of the lack of a good net game which

was needed most times in some of the key moments in the match when Kino would draw the Jamaican

to the net much like he did to Chambers drawing a net error or the ball flying long. But that script

Bartley knew too well and his net game was competent enough to put Kino away either by a piercing

volley or over head smash.

 

Ewan did what he has always failed to do for tournaments upon tournaments and that’s to get a feel of

what it is like to win 2-3 matches in a row in one tournament. Blessed with an easy draw the pressure

was on him even to fulfill his expectations and this was observed in how tentatively he played against

Madhoo and especially Alando in the semi-finals. He however was able to make his first tour finals and

even though the draw was seemingly easy he got the task done in straights both times. He has a good

baseline game and we would love to see him string his game together with stability and become a

general force on tour but first he is a little bit of a head case. He got to his finals and after he shook off

his nerves, made it into the match it was with several chances of taking a good lead in the match.

 

He raised his level and matched Bartley serve for serve, forehand for forehand and line for line and

made it quite a tense match. He has never played with that much heart, intensity and fight before and it

was great to behold.Bartley was relieved to have closed out the contest and breathed a sigh of relief

when he pumped his fist and raised his hands after a forehand return of serve floated long off the

Russian’s racquet.

 

We also want to see Bartley settling in as a big contender that he can be but his lack of drive for tennis

these days is in question. He has the weapons but his commitment is his major enemy coupled with is

temperament.

Mention must also be made of Alando’s first win clawing his way back from a set down to defeat Allen in

3 sets 46 64 10-8, a match that had it's way with the crowd. Was quite a competitive match up.

 

At the end of the day, we can’t always win, we must not underestimate our opponents in the fashion

that Shadaine has done because the mind can be a blessing and a curse and you must always get the job

done regardless of how poorly you’re playing or who your opponent is.

 

But we have a few questions to ponder. Will Bartley continue his winning streak and make a deep deep

deep run in London, alas it’s grass. Should we expect more upsets? How mentally tough is Chambers?

Can Grant replicate his Quarterfinal showing in Paris? Will the Russian number one finally take a grand

slam? What if Angus takes a flight back to Kingston for a chance to get the ANGUS SLAM and be one step

closer to a CALENDAR SLAM??

 

Well folks…we have less than 2weeks for all these answers.

OH, AND WELCOME TO THE SLICE AND DICE FAMILY KINO DAVIS! DID YOU GET A MEMBERSHIP CARD FROM SHADAINE OR MARK PLUNKETT YET?! WE HOPE SO.

 

HALLE presented a small tournament with lots of excitement expectedly surrounding the initiation of

 the prestigious grass season. With all the Spaniards out for one reason or the other and world number 2

 Mullings virtually forgotten the spotlight turned to Bartley and Chambers the two highest seeds in the

 draw.

Things seemed quite predictable and routined when one looked at the draw which could have made the

 tournament lacking in fire and excitement. But alas Kino was our hero in this regard. The newcomer did

what Chambers least expected him to…take him to three sets let alone win the match. Chambers found

the going really tough from as early as the first few games in the opening set. No one intended to cast

even the periphery of their field of vision on the match for fear of Kino collapsing under pressure going

 up against the number 2 seed in his first ever match and on grass. But there they were neck and neck

until the spectators began to realize that it wasn’t a mismatch but a roaring and developing contest.

 

Kino specializes in slices, chips, lobs, drop shots and all these artistic kinds of shots. Chambers likes

rhythm and loves to get his points from the back. This contrast in play made for entertainment. At times

we forgot that we were at Halle instead of Roland Garros because the crowd was roaring for the

underdog. Chambers had the right idea but could not finish off his shots and his lack of good net play

coupled with a perceived supercilious attitude and utter disrespect for playing with a broken racquet

and expecting to defeat the newcomer and non-challenger with it and a stats sheet featuring more

unforced errors than winners all wrapped up a disappointing loss for Chambers.

 

There were moments of brilliance from the number 3 seed with nice forehand drives, forward

movement and confidence but whenever he’s induced into Kino’s game there Chambers was, in the

middle of nowhere and out of his comfort zone trying to out-craft the crafty Kino.

 

It was generally a poor match by expectations from top ranked Chambers who was never made to relax

one bit throughout the three set encounter. The pressure was vivid on Chambers’ shoulders and he

collapsed to make this win by Kino the biggest upset on tour thus far and will go down in the book of

memories for a long time. Has it scarred the number 2 seed? We hope it will teach him a few things and

show up other areas of weakness.

 

What was even more interesting was that Kino didn’t even realize the magnitude of a job he had done

even after his match, barely uttering a single word but sat in silence listening to all the good things they

had to say about what he had accomplished. He just sat there. He perhaps was a little dazed by it all and

 was now thinking about how well he now has to play if he’s to do the same against Bartley. But that’s

his general demeanor anyhow.

 

Bartley expectedly won his first match quite comprehensively with his big forehand in display. His

Frenchman opponent, Sproul, added unpredictability to the Jamaican’s forehand for at times he was confused

with Bartley’s target as the shots usually passes the Frenchman on the forehand side. Bartley went into

the Kino match with his usually contentment and played his game as he quietly read and analyzed Kino’s

game, much like the quality player Bartley can be and used his findings to beat Kino decently in a score

line of 62 63. Bartley noted that Chambers’ lost the match because of the lack of a good net game which

was needed most times in some of the key moments in the match when Kino would draw the Jamaican

to the net much like he did to Chambers drawing a net error or the ball flying long. But that script

Bartley knew too well and his net game was competent enough to put Kino away either by a piercing

volley or over head smash.

 

Ewan did what he has always failed to do for tournaments upon tournaments and that’s to get a feel of

what it is like to win 2-3 matches in a row in one tournament. Blessed with an easy draw the pressure

was on him even to fulfill his expectations and this was observed in how tentatively he played against

Madhoo and especially Alando in the semi-finals. He however was able to make his first tour finals and

even though the draw was seemingly easy he got the task done in straights both times. He has a good

baseline game and we would love to see him string his game together with stability and become a

general force on tour but first he is a little bit of a head case. He got to his finals and after he shook off

his nerves, made it into the match it was with several chances of taking a good lead in the match.

 

He raised his level and matched Bartley serve for serve, forehand for forehand and line for line and

made it quite a tense match. He has never played with that much heart, intensity and fight before and it

was great to behold.Bartley was relieved to have closed out the contest and breathed a sigh of relief

when he pumped his fist and raised his hands after a forehand return of serve floated long off the

Russian’s racquet.

 

We also want to see Bartley settling in as a big contender that he can be but his lack of drive for tennis

these days is in question. He has the weapons but his commitment is his major enemy coupled with is

temperament.

Mention must also be made of Alando’s first win clawing his way back from a set down to defeat Allen in

3 sets 46 64 10-8, a match that had it's way with the crowd. Was quite a competitive match up.

 

At the end of the day, we can’t always win, we must not underestimate our opponents in the fashion

that Shadaine has done because the mind can be a blessing and a curse and you must always get the job

done regardless of how poorly you’re playing or who your opponent is.

 

But we have a few questions to ponder. Will Bartley continue his winning streak and make a deep deep

deep run in London, alas it’s grass. Should we expect more upsets? How mentally tough is Chambers?

Can Grant replicate his Quarterfinal showing in Paris? Will the Russian number one finally take a grand

slam? What if Angus takes a flight back to Kingston for a chance to get the ANGUS SLAM and be one step

closer to a CALENDAR SLAM??

 

Well folks…we have less than 2weeks for all these answers.

OH, AND WELCOME TO THE SLICE AND DICE FAMILY KINO DAVIS! DID YOU GET A MEMBERSHIP CARD FROM SHADAINE OR MARK PLUNKETT YET?! WE HOPE SO.