Monday, August 13, 2007
USTA Tourney at Lee Leclear this weekend...if anyone cares.
There will be a sanctioned tourney going on this weekend at Lee Leclear. Look for Odion Dibua to rise up from the overwelming field of 6 players to take this one. Way to challenge yourself Odion, as I am sure you were not able to get adequate 4.5 competition at League Sectionals this weekend. Not much to write about until September gets here so I will pose a question instead. What do you think is the smarter move, going to the weaker Beaumont tourney in search of easy points or heading to Austin to play in a much stronger field to test yourself knowing the same points will be harder to come by. Few Houston players seem to ever play the Austin Labor Day tournament even though it is probably the biggest Austin tourney of the year with big draws, good players, and played at some really good facilities compared to what we usually get to play at here in Houston.
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21 comments:
It is easy to head over to Beaumont to play instead of Austin. Just depends which players are going to Beaumont because the draws there could actually be harder. Of course the Austin tournament will be more fun because well your in Austin. Beaumont reminds me of Corpus Christi another dirty gulf city.
My first thought would be to play Austin because as the first poster pointed out, it is Austin and would probably be a lot more fun outside of the tennis. Also, I prefer to play in tournaments with bigger draws so that if I actually do well there is a sense of accomplishment. Playing a couple of matches and winning just doesn't suit me as well. Of course, if I REALLY needed the points to make the Masters I would give Beaumont a hard look.
I agree, Odion will take this battle. How good is Jon Evans? Sectionals seems to have humbled him and he realizes he should stick to 4.5 and that way he can remain as cocky as always.
I think Austin already starts on Friday whereas Beaumont only starts on Saturday. That might be a factor worth considering.
I saw some of Evans playing a league match out at Memorial Park a while back. He was an aggressive baseline player who could give Dibua some trouble. His strokes seemed pretty powerful for 4.5. He definitely had a temper though.
Why does Odion even sign up to play a 4.5 event with 5 other players that he will basically steam roll? In a tournanment of this size, he should be playing open. He would likely not have any problem in open at this event. He is a much better player than Arya Majed, no offense to Arya. Having someone like Odion sign up for 4.5 in such a small local tourney is the kind of thing that keeps other "tourney" 4.5 players from signing up. And I don't need you cheating league players to give me your crap about how if you can't hang then you shouldn't play 4.5. The run of the mill 4.5 player is a guy who unfortunately was too successful at 4.0 but doesn't really stand a chance of ever winning a tourney at 4.5 but wins enough against other weak 4.5 players that he does not get bumped down.
When do we start ragging on each other again? The most fun I had on the other blog were the discussions where we ripped on Schmucker and how old he actually is and the day the discussion focused on Augusto Rodriguez for attacking another player on the court. Those were good times. The dog days of August suck once League sectionals are done.
Arya is one of the weakest player in this open draw. A friend of Odion told me he signs up for 4.5 because they get destroyed in true open level draws. At 4.5 people get intimitated by their size and big serves but all it takes is an average 5.0 player and they stand no chance. That's also why he lost to Holland at sectionals. The reality is that the Dibua are simply strong 4.5s and indeed not 5.0 material. They are okay players and but not all that good either. They simply have a big advantage by being so tall. Having said that, he should still sign up for open level. I know for a fact that some players don't sign up anymore because of him.
Hmmm lets see the following players have been ragged on on this blog as well as the league blog.
Kallus
Moser
Schmucker
Odion
Green
Red
Arya
Of course everyone that posts is anonymous. If you have anything bad to say about another player then have some balls and identify yourself. Stop hiding behind anonymous. Who cares what level Odion is playing. If you are a 4.5 player then invest in some lessons and get a game. Who cares if Green and Red recruited players for league. All of them happen to be 4.5 rated so let it go and stop the whining. Just because they didn't want you on the team doesn't make it right to bash them. Again this goes back to getting a game. Take some lessons.
Moser #1 4.5 player in the state. If you think he sucks then sign up for some tournaments and play. Perhaps if you had game then you could play Moser in the semi's or Finals instead of losing in the first or second rounds.
Schmucker #3 4.5 player in the state and won 2 major zones. Don't be mad that he can outlast everyone on this blog especially in the heat. Only other player I know that loves the heat is Kallus. So perhaps all you guys out there should lose some weight if you decide to play the above players. On second thought I am sure Kallus and Schmucker will help you lose the weight on the court.
Arya has been playing Open for some time and is a really nice guy on the court and off. Never says anything bad about other players, but of course now all of a sudden people are talking about him as well.
So take a look at yourselves before you start bashing others or for that matter get a game then perhaps Red or Tim Green will allow you to join their league team next summer.
=)
Very nice but a little hypocritical. And your name would be...?
It would be easier to rag on a broader selection of players if there were more guys that played as many events as the ones that keep getting mentioned. In Red's case, he has just started playing some tourneys again but he is the universally acknowledged king of league strategy overkill, even if he is not officially a captain. Odion, is not a 4.5 player. If I take lessons to the degree that I start beating him, then I will be a 5.0 player. As a true 4.5, I should not have to pay someone to take my game to the 5.0 level so that I can be competitive at 4.5. Not saying I should be winning tournaments, but I should be losing competitive matches against other true 4.5 players instead of getting steam rolled by guys with 24-1 win/loss records. If he wants to play Major Zones at 4.5, fine since there are lots of other sandbaggers doing that as well. At least he has played enough now to always be seeded high so tournaments will have to seed him where he belongs. All that being said, he is a really nice guy off the court. I just don't get why he enjoys playing 4.5 when it has to be holding him back playing against so many lesser players.
Since we are talking about how Odion should be playing a higher level in local events, what will happen in the open level draw?
Obviously Sunday Jegede has to be a major favorite, but who else can make some noise?
Omon signed up for Open Level - is he the better of the two Dibuas? Will his serve be enough to get past Pandit?
Who will be in the last 4? My pick would be Jegede vs Schneider & Pandit vs Mayed. Finals: Jegede def. Pandit.
I don't think Omon is good enough to get past Will Taylor. Perhaps if he raises his game, but on the average day I'd say he would lose. Certainly nice to see him entering in the bracket though.
Heidari is a former high ranked player, though I don't know how much he's been playing recently. It'd be interesting to see his matchup against Pandit. I've never seen Pandit play, but he should have a good match with Heidari.
I don't think Majed will make it past the second round in this one unless he's been in training. I don't know Stiles.
THere are several total unknowns in the draw on Jegede's side but they're going to have to have had some ATP experience to take them past Jegede...
Vote: Should Reginald Black play 4.5 instead of 5.0?
His record this year is 10:13. His first-round record is 2 out of 9. Only 5 of those 10 wins are completed matches.
Good job though grinding out wins against 4.0 rated players Leon Nero (63 63) and Ronnie Johnson (3 sets).
Should Reggie play 4.5? Answer: Not if he does not want to. Would he do better at 4.5, probably not as far as round achieved in tourneys as he does not have the fitness to have to play 4 or more matches in a tournament. Would it be interesting to see how far he would go in a 4.5 tourney like Fall Fest or a Major Zone? Yeah, I would be curious. All that being said, I will not fault the guy for playing 5.0 when there are so many better players that should be playing 5.0 but for whatever reason, keep playing 4.5. Here in Houston, that would include Odion Dibua and Greg Schmucker.
Looks like Odion breezed through 4.5 yet again.
There was nobody in 4.5 that posed a threat to his game
People still talking about Odion Dibua and Greg Schmucker playing 4.5 again. Doesn't everyone realize that both those guys are rated 4.5 not 5.0 or 5.5 so what does it matter if they play 4.5 or not.
I have played them both this year and lost badly, but I am not going to complain and whine about it. They both have excellant games and I decided to take some lessons to improve mine.
The ATP pros always work on their games and practice. Perhaps we should do the same.
I assume you are the guy who previously stated people should stopping bitching and take lessons. Are you a tennis pro? Cause you sure seem to have a hard on for tennis lessons. Everyone should practice and try to get better, but you should not have to invest in your game to become a 5.0 level player in hopes of winning 4.5 level matches. Not in crappy little local tournaments anyway. If you want to sandbag in Major Zones, fine go for it. But 6 person draws at Lee Leclear. Be proud if you can sandbag and take home a title like that. Odion has lost 1 4.5 tourney match this year and probably only 3 in the last 5 years and those were to his brother. He is not a 4.5.
Oh yeah Odion won the Houston Coke Open. NOT! It was Felipe Wescoup so stop crying about who should be playing at what level. Just like the story with league. If you think its that bad then don't play tournaments. Tired of the crybabies whining about who should play what. Find another sport!
I think the point is, the Dibuas should play up in small tournaments so that they can be challenged for the most part. In major zones, they are very good quality 4.5-5.0 players. Wescoupe is a good player and is in the same situation, good quality 4.5 bordering on 5.0. Leave it alone!!!! Get your a** on the courts, play tennis and get better if you are so concerned about who is playing where.
The last poster has it right. Anyone can play anywhere in major zones, its fair game just like league, for better or worse. But in a tiny little local event, what's the point? For the record, Odion lost at the Coke because he hurt his ankle. That is what he told me and I believe him. Felipe is a very solid player, just look at how he has done this year at 5.0 but based on what I saw at the Coke, I believe Odion (plus he played 6 matches on Sunday - 2 singles and 4 doubles, I believe Felipe only played 1.5 matches that day as he Ryan Cooper retired against him and gave him the match because he could not play on Monday. Go ahead and tell me how I am wrong, but Odion losing that one match at the Coke does not make him a 4.5 player.
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