Ward enjoying valuable Caribbean experience

Northamptonshire tennis star Alex Ward is currently halfway through his three week trip to the Dominican Republic and the teenager is thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Over a three week period, Ward is competing in three Futures events where he is aiming to earn more ranking points ahead of the winter break.

In the first event, the 18-year-old successfully reached the final qualifying round before suffering a straight sets defeat to German seventh seed, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

Ward produced a much improved performance this week in the second Futures event, comfortably qualifying for the main draw without dropping a set. His route through included an impressive 6-2 6-3 victory over fellow Brit Thomas Knights in the final round.

Ward was handed an extremely difficult draw in the first round of the main draw as he faced number four seed Jose Checa-Chalvo, who is currently ranked number 330 in the world. But Ward battled valiantly and came agonisingly close to causing a major shock, eventually bowing out in a dramatic three set battle, 6-4 0-6 7-6. The way Ward competed with a player with such a high ranking demonstrates the excellent progress Ward has made this year.

The 18-year-old admitted that he was disappointed with the loss but said that the performance has given him confidence to do well in his final tournament of the trip: "I served for the match at 5-3 and got tight so I am obviously disappointed, but I played extremely well and I am looking forward to competing in my final event of the year next week."

Ward is clearly enjoying the experience and he also spoke about the independent nature of the trip: "It is different to be travelling without a coach but it is a good learning curve for me as it helps me to be more independent and this will most definitely benefit me in the future."

Ward will be looking to end the excursion on a high by qualifying for the third futures event and he will be striving to add to the 10 ranking points he has accumulated so far this year.

The manner in which Ward decided to go to the Dominican Republic in December, which is seen as the off season for most professionals, demonstrates his intense dedication. Ward is currently ranked 978 in the world and next year will be crucial for him as he looks to close in on the top 500 and move up from the Futures to the Challengers circuit.

The teenage sensation has enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough year and if he can maintain this progress then he undoubtedly has an extremely exciting future ahead of him.

Ward impressively into main draw!

Alex Ward has reached the main draw of his second of three futures event in the Dominican Republic after an extremely successful qualifying campaign.

Ward's route to the main draw has been relatively straightforward as he has impressively failed to drop a set. His final match was against compatriot Thomas Knights and Ward strolled to a straight sets win for the loss of just five games.

Ward is thrilled at the prospect of competing in the main draw: "I believe that I am in good form and I am excited to play in the main draw, that is what I came here to do. Hopefully I can pick up some valuable ranking points."

The 18-year-old faces an extremely tricky encounter against the fourth seed Jose Checa-Calvo in the first round. The Spaniard is ranked 330 in the world and this will be an extremely good experience for the Brit as aims to cause a shock in the opening round.

Ward agonisingly close to qualification

Britain's Alex Ward was denied a place in the main draw of his first of three tournaments in the Carribean after he suffered a straight sets defeat in the final qualifying round of the Dminican Republic Futures event.

Ward had been in impressive form throughout the qualifying campaign as he reached the final round for the loss of just games seven games, but the 18 year old went on to lose 6-3 6-3 German Cedric-Marcel Stebe at the final hurdle.

Ward admitted he was outclassed by the seventh seed, but remained upbeat going into the next two tournaments, "Stebe played a good match and outclassed me but i still feel i am in good form and I am looking forward to the next tournament."

The Brit spoke to me about the importance of this experience and how it will benefit him in the future, "This is new for me, i am travelling without my coach and it is a good learning curve for me, this expereience is valuable for me and i am enjoying it."

Ward will be looking to qualify for the F3 Futures event in the Domincan Republic this week as he looks to amass some more ranking points at the end of 2008.

Wardy sets off to the Caribbean!

Northamptonshire's Alex Ward has jetted off to the Dominican Republic to participate in three futures events to try and improve his ranking going into 2009.

The 18-year-old trains in the Sanchez Casal Academy in Barcelona and Ward sensationally broke onto the scene in May of this year. Ward not only claimed his first ranking points, but he went onto to brilliantly reach the final of the futures event in Balaguer, Catalonia.

Ward has enjoyed a successful year and is currently ranked 988 in the world and 24th in Britain. Ward will be looking to improve on this in the coming weeks and he feels that this is an excellent opportunity to do so: "I have had a great year and I believe that the Dominican Republic is an excellent opportunity for me to earn some more ranking points. I feel I am playing well enough to have some good results over the next three weeks and it will certainly be a fantastic experience."

Ward will be keeping me updated throughout the three weeks and i will be reporting on how he fares in these tournaments.

Davydenko ends Murray's title hopes

I probably picked a good time to be away as i missed Andy Murray's fantastic year being brought to an end by a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the Masters Cup semi-finals. The Russian booked a place in the final against Novak Djokovic after a relatively comfortable 7-5 6-2 win over the tired Scot.

From what I gather, Murray was clearly showing signs of fatigue after his hard-fought dramatic win over Roger Federer 24 hours earlier and this match up proved to be one step too far. One thing is for sure, if you are feeling fatigued then the last person you want to ome up against is Davydenko who is extremely consistent and one of the most intense players on the tour.

The Russian baseliner has clearly proved me wrong this week and despite actually losing in the final to worthy winner Novak Djokovic, he will have gained alot from this impressive run to the final in such a competitive tournament. Many have criticised Davydenko for only really excelling in the "smaller" tournament so this week will make a lot of people take notice and see that he can compete with the so called "big boys".

As for Djokovic, his excellent 6-1 7-5 final win over Davydenko has capped off a superb year for the Serb and he will look to build on this going into 2009 where he will look to overtake Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal next year.

Murray will most definitely be hurt by this defeat but there is no denying that it draws to a close what has been an absolutely outstanding 2008 for the world number four. The future looks extremely bright for the British number one!

(Picture provided by momovieman)

Murray knocks out Federer in epic encounter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7729083.stm

Andy Murray preserved his 100% record with a sensational 4-6 7-6(7-3)7-5 victory over Roger Federer to knock the world number two out of Shanghai at the expense of Frenchman Gilles Simon.

The Scot ensured that he would finish top of the Red Group with this superb performance which sees him now face Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the last four, whilst Simon will face the highest seed left in the draw, Novak Djokovic, in the other semi. Djokovic will go into his semi-final as the favourite but Simon has been in good form and has interestingly won their only previous encounter.

Simon had earlier put the pressure on Federer after an emphatic 6-`1 6-4 victory over Radek Stepanek. Simon has done incredibly well to reach the last four, especially considering the fact that he was only in Shanghai as a replacement for Rafael Nadal.

Despite this, it looked as though Federer was on course to go through as he took a close first set, but Murray demonstrated his sheer grit and demonstration to keep up the fight despite the fact he was already through to the semi-finals. The Brit really showed real professionalism throughout the match as he was determined to knock out a tired Federer who appeared to nursing a back injury.

It was Murray who was then rewarded as he sealed his fourth victory over the former world number one on his eigth match point to end top of the group.

Tomorrow's semi-final showdown between Murray and Davydenko should prove to be fascinating as they have both been in great form this week, and with them each winning three of their previous six encounters. However, if Murray can reproduce the form that he showed today then he should prove to be too strong for the world number five, providing he has enough left in the tank. But judging by my predicitions this week, what do i know?

(Picture provided by Hettie McFarlane)

Sensational Murray into last four

Andy Murray continued his excellent run of form to breeze past Gilles Simon and book his place in the last four if his first ever Masters Cup.

Fresh from his fantastic victory over number one seed Roger Federer, many expected Simon to pose the Scot problems. But Murray got off to a simply breathtaking start, winning the first four games, and never looked back.

Murray clinched the 6-4 6-2 win which now means he will reach the semi-finals regardless of whether he beats Federer in his last match of the group stages. The intriguing encounter provides Murray with a huge incentive however, as he will look to knock out the top seed, who must defeat the Scot to pogress to the last four.

Safe in the knowledge that he is through, it will be fascinating to see how Murray goes about the match up, with Nadal withdrawing before the tournament, Murray has a real chance to claim the Masters Cup at the first time of asking.

This was a much improved overall performance from the British number one who despite defeating Andy Roddick, seemed to be suffering from fatigue in the tough three-set battle. Murray appeared to haver adapted to the conditions and the surroundings far better against the Frenchman, which stands him in good stead as he looks to end the year on a massive high.

Murray goes into tomorrow's match against the top seed full of confidence and despite already begin through i really feel that the Scot would be wise to really try and make it three wins out of three. Not only would he knock out one of his main rivals for the title, but it will continue the momentum he has impressively built up over the past few weeks. It would definitely give him even more of a confidence boost as he goes into the semi-finals.

As far as Federer is concerned, the match is a must win for the Swiss star if he is to guarantee his passage to the last four. Federer was in many respects quite fortunate that Roddick pulled out because Federer was presented with an arguably easier match up against Radek Stepanek. After his surprising opening loss to Simon, Federer did play a much better match in the 7-6 6-4 win over Stepanek but he needs to step it even more of he is to overcome the in-form Scot and i am going to stick my neck out on the line and say that i fancy Federer to do so.

Simply, because there is more at stake for Federer as he needs to win to progress. Simon will be looking to put the pressure onto the world number two by defeating Stepanek, to ensure that if Murray wins then the Frenchman will be the one to advance.

Elsewhere, in the Gold Group, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko have advanced to the semi-final stage after they both won two out of their three matches. Djokoivic's passage was ensured after his first two matches after he defeated Juan Martin Del Potro and Davydenko before losing a tight three set battle against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Whilst Davydenko went against my prediction and went through after he took care of Del Potro 6-3 6-2 in their decisive encounter after the Russian had already beaten Tsonga in his opening match.

I must confess that whilst i expected Djokovic to advance, i am surprised that Davydenko overcame both Tsonga and Del Potro. It will therefore be extremely interesting to see how the Russian fares in the semi-finals. The last four match ups will be completed after tomorrows exciting matches.

(Picture provided by Koramchad)