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Collapse AllDundee Singles - Round 10 | Thursday 19 July 2018 to Wednesday 12 September 2018 (Midpoint: Wednesday 15 August 2018)

Throughout the league player comments consistently describe fantastic, friendly matches between well-matched sporting players. And all this with an excellent record of matches played (well over 80 per cent), bonus points earned and player comments written. (Group 2 had a lot to do with this as they got a perfect record for matches, comments and bonuses.) Truly this was a round to remember and in no way did the tennis cool down as summer's heat reduced to more normal levels as the round progressed. Many players are looking forward to rematches and to new challenges, so here's to the next round. See you soon.

Group Summary:

Gun cruises to the top of the league this round with an excellent 6 wins from 6. But as Gun comments "there was not an easy match" and he looks forward to meeting everyone next time for another competitive round. One of the opponents that Gun (group 2 winner last time) had to overcome was runner-up Paul (group 1 winner last time). Their winning records added spice to their "epic" 2hr 40min clash in the heat and it went to three sets: the ability to cope with the conditions proved, it seems, the deciding factor. Elsewhere, bad luck Derek for getting an injury in your first match and hope you recover soon. And well done group members for playing so many of your matches and for the bumper crop of comments. From these it seems the group was packed with close matches. As Darren commented: "don't think I've seen group 1 as competitive as this in all my time playing".

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Gun Woo Kim 6 6 0 2 14 WWWW
2 Paul McIlravey 5 3 2 2 9 WWLL
3 Darren Pake 4 2 2 2 7 LWLW
4 Kevin Phillips 4 2 2 2 6 LWW
5 Steven Jenkins 5 1 4 2 5 LLLW
6 Douglas Roulston 5 1 4 2 4 LWLL
7 Derek Watt 1 0 1 0 0 0

Match Results:

Reveal CommentPaul McIlravey bt Steven Jenkins (Sep 4) 6-1, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Another nice afternoon/evening for a match at Dawson Park. Glad to get a win in my final game of the round and we had some good exchanges but Steven by his own admission wasn't at his best. Thanks for the game Steven and I look forward to playing another match against you sometime soon."  -- Paul
Reveal CommentGun Woo Kim bt Kevin Phillips (Sep 1) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "This is my last match in this round. I already decided the winner of this round, but because the advantageous, and exclusive winning over Derek made me sorry for the other members, so that I wanted to approve my ability by winning all the other matches. Kevin and me are members of the same tennis club, and I knew that Kevin is a outstanding player who has good serve and heavy top spin forehand and stable two hand backhand. As always, I tried to concentrate on reducing error and give him more chances to make error than me. Anyway, in this round, I finished unbeaten. However, there was not a easy match and I felt improving as the round continues. Thank you all gents. I look forward to meet everyone at next round."  -- Gun Woo
Reveal CommentPaul McIlravey bt Douglas Roulston (Aug 29) 6-0, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Nice evening for a game on Dawson Park #4. My first game against Dougie and I thoroughly enjoyed our match. Some really good rally's in both sets, I just managed to keep the error count low and take my chances when they presented themselves. 2nd set was a close affair, sitting at 4-4 before I managed to make the all important breakthrough. Thanks for the game Dougie and I look forward to our next match."  -- Paul

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentDouglas Roulston bt Darren Pake (Aug 22) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "I always look forward to our matches. From start to finish this match was hard. Boiling hot tempatures and court changes due to how long our games took. I was up 3-1 but lost 6-4. I was playing much better after having a year injury break from tennis. The second set was frustrating! I managed to take it to deuce so many times but Darren is a master at getting every shot back. He was winning 5-2. Some how I kept persevering and it payed off. I won 7-5. We then had to take the game outside. Darren was clearly frustrated and bothered by the change. I took the last 6-1. It was a tiring match and a tough loss for Darren as he's such a great competitor. I feel happy that my game is getting better and I look forward to playing again.Thanks Darren"  -- Douglas
Reveal CommentGun Woo Kim bt Steven Jenkins (Aug 16) 6-1, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "It's windy and sporadic rainy in Victoria Park. Steven and me began match very cautiously, but unforced errors by Steven made the score inclined to me. I tried to play with consistency and not to make a double fault. In 2nd set 3-2, I made some powerful strokes and I finished the match as 6-2. However, I found out that Steven is one of the worthy competitors in the league and I hope to meet him in the next round and have a great match again. "  -- Gun Woo
Reveal CommentKevin Phillips bt Steven Jenkins (Aug 11) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Hard fought match in warm sunny conditions, I started with too many unforced errors while Steven was more consistent than me to take the first set, then the following two sets I took with the match being an up and down in both of our favours, Well played Steven , good luck for the rest of your matches."  -- Kevin
Reveal CommentSteven Jenkins bt Douglas Roulston (Aug 9) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "The first set was over in a flash, I caught Douglas cold i think, lucky for me, I raced through the first set as a result. The second set was more competitive as Douglas started to warm up and started firing down some demon serves, which I struggled to return. But as three all i got the decisive break of serve and sneaked ahead 5-4. It left me serving for the match, like the last time we played, but this time I didn't choke and held my nerve to see out the match. Thanks for the game and good luck with your remaining games. "  -- Steven
Reveal CommentDarren Pake bt Steven Jenkins (Aug 3) 6-4, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "Happy to have played a very solid match today against Steven, who made a lot more unforced errors today than in our last match. I was able to get a lot of balls back in court and keep the pressure on Steven while my backhand slice returns proved quite effective. Despite the scoreline it was still a very competitive match in stifling conditions indoors at David Lloyd's, was very close until the match probably started to get away from Steven when I broke for 2-1 in the 2nd set. All the best rest of the round Steven."  -- Darren
Reveal CommentPaul McIlravey bt Kevin Phillips (Aug 3) 6-4, 3-0 Kevin Phillips Retired

Player Comments:

  • "A warm and breezy afternoon at Dawson Park for my first match versus Kevin. He started very well, racing to a 3-1 lead, showing some solid serving and very dangerous forehands. Somehow I managed to get back to all square before edging out the set. Unfortunately, Kevin had to retire early in the second with an obvious hip injury, so hopefully after some rest he can recover and get back to competing the rest of the round. Nice to meet you Kevin and I wish you a speedy recovery."  -- Paul
Reveal CommentGun Woo Kim bt Darren Pake (Jul 31) 6-3, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "It was too windy, so both of us suffered trouble to control the lobe ball. I think it is not a normal match, but I am happy to keep going in the league."  -- Gun Woo
Reveal CommentDarren Pake bt Paul McIlravey (Jul 26) 6-4, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Great weather for an evening of tennis. Although I won in straight sets it was far from easy. Paul started the far better player and was 3-0 up and if I remember correctly 4-1 up. Thankfully I grew into the match and made it more competitive staying in the rallies longer and making fewer mistakes. I came back to win the opening set and got an early lead in the second that I managed to hold onto the rest of the set. Very competitive match and don't think I've seen group 1 as competitive as this in all my time playing, going to be a very tough group! All the best rest of the round Paul."  -- Darren
  • "As Darren says, I got off to a great start and raced into a 4-1 lead but he somehow managed to turn things around very quickly thereafter by dramatically reducing his unforced error count and increasing his shot consistency, most of which kept me pinned back to the baseline. Thanks for the game Darren and all the best for the rest of the round." Paul
Gun Woo Kim bt Douglas Roulston (Jul 26) 6-1, 6-2
Reveal CommentKevin Phillips bt Douglas Roulston (Jul 25) 6-1, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Good match conditions tonight, well played dougie good luck for the rest of your match’s."  -- Kevin
Reveal CommentGun Woo Kim bt Derek Watt (Jul 22) 3-1 Derek Watt Retired

Player Comments:

  • "What started off as a beautiful Sunday morning ended in massive disappointment for me as I had to retire through injury and therefore have withdrawn from the remainder of around 10. Gun Woo was leading 3-1 and playing well, felt I was starting to come into the match when the unfortunate injury occurred. All the best for the remainder of your campaign Gun, nice to meet you. "  -- Derek
  • "Derek, who is one of the best player in the league, has got a severe injury at his knee just after the beginning of 1st set. I hope Derek's rapid comeback," Gun Woo
Reveal CommentGun Woo Kim bt Paul McIlravey (Jul 21) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "It was very hot day, and we did a very long game. Paul and me are, respectively, the former winners of 1st and 2rd groups. So we devoted everything to the match, and it took 2hrs and 40min, which was a epic match. Eventually I won and proved the capability of competing at 1st group, which make me very happy. "  -- Gun Woo
  • "As Kim mentions, very hot conditions and a very well fought match. I just ran out of steam at the crucial point in the second set whereas Kim didn't seem to be affected as much by the heat. He showed great battling qualities to come back from a set down and thoroughly deserved the win in the end. Thanks for the much needed water Kim and well done and best of luck for the remainder of your games," -- Paul

Group Summary:

All matches played, all received player comments and all players earned bonus points. Excellent scheduling and great communications group 2. And what a match to end the group: Kenny vs Rofik to decide the group champ. Unsurprisingly, for two such equally matched rivals, the match went to 3 sets. With victory, Kenny came out on top of the group with Rofik runner-up. But what a round... Hard to pick match of the group and even harder to decide on match with comment of the group. A common theme, however, is how well matched players were and how hard fought was every point and all in such a friendly spirit.

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Kenneth Lindsay 4 4 0 2 10 WWWW
2 Rofik Ahmed 4 3 1 2 9 LWWW
3 Andrew Gibb 4 2 2 2 6 WWLL
4 William Sturrock 4 1 3 2 4 WLLL
5 Elliot Hay 4 0 4 2 3 LLLL

Match Results:

Reveal CommentKenneth Lindsay bt Rofik Ahmed (Sep 1) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "Great match against my alltime tennis rival, Rofik (we have played every round of DTL, our first meeting was in Round 1) Closely fought match throughout. I blew it at the start of set 2. Got back to 2-2 before losing the plot again so mentally started to prepare for the decider once Rofik had raced away. Second game of the final set was pivotal, winning it eventually after saving several game points and deuce points to go 2-0. From then on that 2 game cushion seemed to help and felt relaxed and focused on keeping the ball in play thinking Rofik might force it and make unforced errors which he duly provided. Rofik unlucky on a net cord near the end but it would have been a big ask to come back at that stage. Well played and thanks."
  • Eagerly anticipated top of the table clash between the top two unbeaten players in group 2! Also it was the last match in the group to add extra spice! A match of this magnitude deserved a crowd and the newly crowned undefeated group 1 champion Gun delivered by intently watching us. It had been a long time since I renewed my famous rivalry with Kenny (over a year) so I was really looking forward to the match. First set I lost it 6-2. Second set I dug in deep and truly displayed my Nadal battling qualities again by winning it comfortably 6-3. Third set I got off to a bad start going 3-0 down but showed great resistance by making it 3-2. Unfortunately I couldn't sustain it and with some great assistance from net cords Kenny took it 6-2.
Reveal CommentWilliam Sturrock bt Elliot Hay (Aug 24) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "Great match the first set Elliot serve let hem down but after that the next two sets were really close Elliot played some great volleys and I was pushed to play some passing shots but the best match I have played for a good while thanks for the game Elliot and I look forward to playing you again"  -- William
Reveal CommentKenneth Lindsay bt Elliot Hay (Aug 11) 6-4, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Was a fine evening for tennis up at Dawson. We both played reasonably well in a closely contested first set and could see that Elliot could play a bit, hitting some pounding ground strokes and mixing it well with the odd deftly controlled drop shot. It was unfortunate that his game came off the rails in the second. All the same it was a pleasure meeting Elliot and hope to play again sometime. All the best and thanks for the game."  -- Kenneth
Reveal CommentAndrew Gibb bt Elliot Hay (Aug 7) 6-2, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "A warm evening with slight breeze on Court 4 at Dawson Park and I thoroughly enjoyed the run out against Elliot who hit some great forehand winners during the match. Thanks for the game Elliot it was nice to meet you and all the best for your remaining games"  -- Andrew
Reveal CommentRofik Ahmed bt William Sturrock (Aug 5) 6-2, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Very sunny conditions at Victoria Park. I was really looking forward to this match as William has always previously given me very competitive matches! I got off to a good start on serve going up 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2 then made the crucial break to go 4-2 up and take the set 6-2. Second set I was 1-0 up Willie was serving at 30-15 and thought he had hit a winner against me but I managed to do a squash shot which clipped the net and won me the point! This probably deflated Willie and I managed to take it 6-0. Looking forward to the crunch match against the group favourite Kenny who I haven't played in ages! No more ducking, no more dodging, no more diving! Champion vs Champion. If you are the best then are you ready for the test? "  -- Rofik
Reveal CommentAndrew Gibb bt William Sturrock (Aug 4) 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Nice afternoon for a match at Fairmuir Park, bit of wind to deal with and sun was shining through at times. Enjoyed the match and we had some good baseline rallys, William hitting some nice winners in both sets. Thanks for game William, very nice to meet you and all the best. - Andrew"  -- Andrew

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentKenneth Lindsay bt Andrew Gibb (Jul 28) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Cracking game of tennis in my first game against Andrew. Was a rare treat as well to play at David Lloyd as we switched venue due to the uncertainty of the weather. Some real quality tennis especially towards the end. Very close match and I'd say Andrew really deserved more from it the way he played. Thanks again and hope to play again soon for a rematch."  -- Kenneth
Reveal CommentKenneth Lindsay bt William Sturrock (Jul 26) 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Another closely contested game at Fairmuir this time. Nip and tuck pretty much all the way. Willie fought well saving match points at 2-5 in the second set and we had some epic rallies towards the end with Willie hitting strong and accurate forehands that had me in a spin. Hope the injury is okay seemed not too bad, i'm thinking, now that court is cursed. Good luck and all the best Willie."  -- Kenneth
Reveal CommentRofik Ahmed bt Andrew Gibb (Jul 23) 6-1, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Very windy conditions at Fairmuir Park which made it extremely difficult for Andrew as he predominantly plays indoors at DL. I was looking forward to the challenge as I had never played Andrew before. There were some humdinger of points which left both of us gasping for air! I managed to adapt better in the conditions and steadily won the first set 6-1. The points were long with a lot of fun rallies! Second set I was 4-1 up and then Andrew started making his comeback by winning 2 games in a row to make it 4-3. I dug in deep to go 5-3 up and then was serving for the set in what seems an age before finally taking it 6-3. Pleasure playing Andrew. Very solid player with good groundstrokes and very good banter! El Maestro El Nino. "  -- Rofik
Reveal CommentRofik Ahmed bt Elliot Hay (Jul 22) 7-5, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Very sunny and windy conditions at Victoria Park. I was really looking forward to playing Elliot as he gets harder to play against each time I play him. The first set I started off by serving and winning the opening game. I had chances to make it 2-0 but couldn't quite get the final point and got severely punished by Elliot as he rattled off 3 games in a row to go 3-1 up. I knew I had to dig down deep and display my full Nadal battling qualities again as Elliot had brought his A game to the table! I fought ferociously to make it 3-3, 4-4 and was 5-4 down with Elliot serving for the set when suddenly he had a crisis of nerves and hit 4 double faults in a row to give me the game to level at 5-5 and then go supersonic winning 8 games in a row!"  -- Rofik

Group Summary:

Welcome to the league Rupert and Cristian and well done for making such a positive contribution to the group, providing enthusiastic and committed opposition in all your matches. Meanwhile, David took two of his opponents to 3-sets and was unlucky not to win a match. David also gave group winner James a test with his laser-like return shots, but James was not going to be denied group champ status with 4 wins from 5. Joshua. was worthy runner-up. But it was all very close in this group and the results could have been very different as so many of the matches were so close, as the player comments show.

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 James Morrison 5 4 1 2 11 WLWW
2 Joshua Swinyard 5 3 2 2 8 WLWW
3 Rupert Waudby-West 5 2 3 2 7 WWLL
4 Donald Sloan 3 3 0 0 6 WW
5 Cristian Lucian Popescu 4 1 3 2 4 LLWL
6 David Brighty 4 0 4 2 4 LLLL

Match Results:

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentJoshua Swinyard bt David Brighty (Sep 9) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Tough match today against David who just narrowly missed out in the first set after having a 5-2 lead and set point. The second set I think I dropped a bit of focus in the first game but really lost due to the potency of David's attacking game. In the third I think I managed to stay ahead or even in terms of games. David found it easier to hold serve whereas I think I was always having to fight back. I feel like David was playing better throughout but I got a bit lucky. Pretty close over all with us both winning 16 games and I think David might have won more points but fortunately I managed to get the decisive break and hold of serve at the end. Good game."  -- Joshua
Reveal CommentJames Morrison bt Joshua Swinyard (Sep 7) 6-4, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Broken hand versus chest infection: it was war wounds all round as Joshua and I battled it out in a tightly fought match, which threatened to enter tie-break territory in the first set. Right-handed Joshua played a valiant left-hand game, so it was a mighty relief when I managed to edge away in the second. Here's to the next bout: it's bound to be even tougher next time!"  -- James
Reveal CommentRupert Waudby-West bt Cristian Lucian Popescu (Aug 24) 6-3, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Tricky wind conditions at Victoria park today, but great to play Cristian for the first time. Some great rallies throughout. Thanks for the game!"  -- Rupert
Donald Sloan bt James Morrison (Aug 19) 6-1, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
Reveal CommentRupert Waudby-West bt David Brighty (Aug 11) 6-3, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "A glorious Saturday morning for playing tennis and great to meet David for the first time. Some closely contested games throughout with some good rallies. Thanks for the match!"  -- Rupert
Reveal CommentDonald Sloan bt Joshua Swinyard (Aug 3) 2-1 Joshua Swinyard Retired

Player Comments:

  • "Joshua unfortunately suffered an injury. Hope you get better soon."  -- Donald
Reveal CommentJoshua Swinyard bt Rupert Waudby-West (Aug 2) 6-3, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "This was the first time I played at Victoria Park and my first time playing Rupert so I didn't quite know what to expect but was a little apprehensive of him ahead of the match after seeing the score for his tightly contested match with Donald. I got very lucky throughout with a lot of moon balls from me just landing on the line the last of which on my second match point. After winning the first set I tried to get the early break but Rupert held. I was then determined to hold serve and managed. I took it to 4-1. Then 5-2. Then what should have been an easy game serving out the match turned into a disaster as I was broken. At 5-4 I was serving for it again. 30-30. Then 40-30. Botched the first match point with an easy put away. Won the next."  -- Joshua
Reveal CommentJoshua Swinyard bt Cristian Lucian Popescu (Jul 30) 6-1, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "It was a good result for me today playing in tough windy conditions in my first match back. Cristian showed a lot of potential playing in only his second match since joining and I can see him doing well in the future. Well played."  -- Joshua
Cristian Lucian Popescu bt David Brighty (Jul 30) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Reveal CommentDonald Sloan bt Rupert Waudby-West (Jul 27) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)

Player Comments:

  • "Thanks for the game Rupert. Very close match. I'm sure Rupert will be flying up the leagues given this was only his 2nd match. "  -- Donald
Reveal CommentJames Morrison bt Rupert Waudby-West (Jul 26) 6-2, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Rupert says he's new to the game, but you'd never know based on his consistent and powerful returns and fast-improving serve technique. One of those matches where the paper score-line in no way reflects how tough and tight it was at times. I'm not counting on beating Rupert next time we meet! "  -- James
James Morrison bt Cristian Lucian Popescu (Jul 25) 6-0, 6-2
Reveal CommentJames Morrison bt David Brighty (Jul 21) 6-3, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Battling a sore foot and David's laser-like return shots down the margins, I somehow hobbled to victory - but it was tough!"  -- James