[Tennis/NSTT] Clay Court season 6 [RP/Results]

[Electrum]

Cutoff:

Tomorrow's forecast: 23C/73F - High westerly gusts expected - bottom halves of both tournaments will play.

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Singles Competition - Round 1 - Top Half

Section 1
Dominika Lisicki (MTJ)            2   6   7   6
Barry Boa (SAP)                   6   3   6   0

Acteus Linna (DCS)                0   3   6   5
Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)           6   6   4   7

Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)           6   1   1   7   8
Caleb Johannan (NOW)              1   6   6   5   6

Taylor Bates (CSE)                7   2   6   2   1
Sekar Laut (ERM)                  6   6   3   6   6

Abelie Fontana (RCN)              3   6   3   4
Lara Navarro (AQL)                6   1   6   6

Karina Gerard (NEG)               6   2   5   6   6
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)           2   6   7   2   8

Kendra Jackson (AIG)              6   6   6
Jimi Rusman (ERM)                 1   2   2

Mattias Burges (MTJ)              7   3   6   6
Austin McDanielson (TJU)          6   6   4   0

Section 2
Thierry Garzala (NEG)             3   6   7   6   7
Kim Boi-An (RAJ)                  6   3   5   7   9

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)              3   6   6   6
Peter Sitnikov (WSN)              6   3   1   4

Paisley Boyd (RWE)                3   5   1
Haikal Jansen (SHT)               6   7   6

Livinia Moore (ETM)               3   4   7   1
Bala Guiss (BNJ)                  6   6   5   6

Donat Kis (GGY)                   3   3   6   6   3
Heather Long (AIG)                6   6   2   1   6

Rog Ion Tralito (NTN)             6   4   6   6
Sarah Dinsdale (KRY)              2   6   2   2

Maddison Scott (ETM)              4   7   6   6
Jaiden Kjellberg (FAM)            6   6   0   2

Danjiella Zovic (NEG)             6   6   7
Gracelyn Corinly (SKH)            3   4   5

Section 3
Mindy Waterford (KHD)             1   6   6   6
Martin James Alberola (BCA)       6   2   2   1

Philippe Baloui (TJU)             5   2   6   3
Lucy Muneer (SHT)                 7   6   2   6

Joe Katsi (TJU)                   2   7   6   6
Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap (FID)     6   6   2   3

Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)                 5   5   6   6   6
Niken Subdula (NWK)               7   7   0   3   4

Batera Siwara (ERM)               6   6   7
Penny Bell-Watson (CRB)           0   1   6

Domenica Pavoni (DCS)             4   0   6   3
Bartholomew Pole (KHD)            6   6   2   6

Bianka Arendt (GGY)               6   6   6
Samuel Howe (CRB)                 4   3   3

Gaëlle Sellier (RCN)              6   6   2   3   6
Eckehard Blumenberg (GGY)         4   3   6   6   3

Section 4
Ricardo Toli (BRI)                5   6   6   4   6
Ralph Henschel (GGY)              7   3   3   6   3

Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)             7   5   6   4   6
Chad Cilsertin (KHD)              6   7   4   6   1

Shinji Makauchi (TJU)             6   3   6   1   6
Daniel Cervantes (AQL)            2   6   0   6   4

Andrew Baumgartner (KRY)          4   6   1
Anthony Powers (KHD)              6   7   6

Indah Susanti (PCU)               4   2   6
Jason Gordon (BRI)                6   6   7

Mariza Kaľat (KLS)                7   5   7   6
Rueben Martinez (RWE)             6   7   5   3

Janet Riley (ETM)                 6   4   6   7
Putra Dewangga (MWI)              0   6   3   5

Orsolya Szabo (GGY)               6   6   7
AAUGCC (EAS)                      2   0   5

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Doubles Competition - Round 1 - Top Half

Section 1
Antoño Iglesias/Lusinda Meriñol (KLS)                         1   0
Javier Carrasco/Tomas de Torquemada (BCA)                     6   6

Tamara Takacs/Albert Taussig (GGY)                            3   6   3
Danjiella Zovic/Thierry Garzala (NEG)                         6   2   6

Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)                              7   6
Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap/Tasya Han (FID)                       5   1

Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL)                                4   7   7
Bahari Zack/Diana Jansen (SHT)                                6   6   5

Section 2
Janelle Hood/Sarah Lee Vale (AIG)                             6   7
Zeta Juanis/Zahra Tusita (ERM)                                2   5

Glaucy Görög/Annis Van Der Beek (DCS)                         3   2
Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             6   6

Batera Siwara/Hemat Darwisa (ERM)                             6   6
Steve Schultz/Barnaby Reynolds (RWE)                          2   4

Mihai Publius Apilescu/Ion Marcus Ioanescu (NTN)              4   6
Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                                 6   7

Section 3
Odran Rudaski/Sigestan Joshi (DCS)                            6   6
Lola Watt/Sophie Rouson (SKH)                                 4   3

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 6   6
AAUGCC/SARA (EAS)                                             1   4

Azam Bestari/Amina Wira (KNC)                                 3   3
Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)                          6   6

Ramsey Lewis/Kelly Clark (AIG)                                6   7
Bianka Arendt/Armin Miksa (GGY)                               2   5

Section 4
Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)                         6   6   6
Allen Durham/Jason Harper (CRB)                               3   7   3

Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU)                       3   3
Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH)                              6   6

Oleg Ivanov/Artyom Petrenko (WSN)                             6   6   2
Alexander Nishikori/Priyan Raj (RAJ)                          7   3   6

Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN)     6   5   6
Karen Roth/Tom Crow (CSE)                                     4   7   4

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Singles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half (in 48 hours)

Section 1
[1] Dominika Lisicki (MTJ) vs Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)
[WC] Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs Sekar Laut (ERM)
[Q] Lara Navarro (AQL) vs [Q] Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)
[WC] Kendra Jackson (AIG) vs [15] Mattias Burges (MTJ)

Section 2
[WC] Kim Boi-An (RAJ) vs Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)
Haikal Jansen (SHT) vs [WC] Bala Guiss (BNJ)
[WC] Heather Long (AIG) vs Rog Ion Tralito (NTN)
Maddison Scott (ETM) vs [10] Danjiella Zovic (NEG)

Section 3
[6] Mindy Waterford (KHD) vs [Q] Lucy Muneer (SHT)
Joe Katsi (TJU) vs [25] Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)
[22] Batera Siwara (ERM) vs Bartholomew Pole (KHD)
Bianka Arendt (GGY) vs [12] Gaëlle Sellier (RCN)

Section 4
[3] Ricardo Toli (BRI) vs Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) vs [Q] Anthony Powers (KHD)
Jason Gordon (BRI) vs [WC] Mariza Kaľat (KLS)
Janet Riley (ETM) vs [16] Orsolya Szabo (GGY)

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Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half (in 48 hours)

Section 1
[1] Camille Fournier/Inès Fournier (RCN) vs Javier Carrasco/Tomas de Torquemada (BCA)
Danjiella Zovic/Thierry Garzala (NEG) vs [26] Michael Legrand/Juan Ortiz (KRY)
[20] Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ) vs Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)
Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL) vs [14] Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)

Section 2
[6] Oka Sulastra/Luh Putu Yundari (PCU) vs Janelle Hood/Sarah Lee Vale (AIG)
[Q] Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL) vs [30] Evgeny Kondratenko/Oleg Vlasov (WSN)
[19] Leo Garry/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI) vs Batera Siwara/Hemat Darwisa (ERM)
[Q] Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM) vs [12] Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)

Section 3
[8] Deanne Smith/Sara Zhuo (ETM) vs Odran Rudaski/Sigestan Joshi (DCS)
[Q] Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL) vs [31] Alan Sanchez/Alex Rivera (NWK)
[18] Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (KHD/ETM) vs [Q] Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)
Ramsey Lewis/Kelly Clark (AIG) vs [9] Arthur Leloup/Hildebrant Weisgerber (RCN)

Section 4
[3] Owen Simmons/Perry Walsh (KRY) vs [Q] Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)
Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH) vs [29] James Williams/Alexandra Helmand (KRY)
[22] Alexandra Barna/Ralph Henschel (GGY) vs [Q] Alexander Nishikori/Priyan Raj (RAJ)
Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN) vs [13] Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (TJU)

[Electrum]

Centralis Herald - Sports Section - Ameerah Gauchi

ELTA assesses options after high cost of holding Hamilton International revealed

The Electrum Lawn Tennis Association is counting the costs after the expensive upgrade to the Hamilton Tennis Park. Soon after its last hosting of the tournament, the HTP was transformed - the two Grandstand courts were demolished, and the main stadium was expanded to include a new roof, and upgraded to become a new super-structure (called The Cauldron) with two additional show courts all co-located in one area and an underground food court and merchandising area. Unfortunately, this year has been the first where Hamilton hasn't experienced the sizzling hot temperatures we've been used to, being rather cool and mild for this desert town. While weather forecasts suggest the mercury will pick up during the third round, athletes and spectators can expect cooler conditions during rounds 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the ELTA won't make that much money in this year's tournament, given that they were banking on spectators to go to the underground area (named The Zone) during the oppressively hot days of the first few rounds. The first few rounds have the most spectators (namely because there are more players playing), who visit the outer courts - these outer courts do not provide much shelter from the sun, making it the perfect incentive to seek shade and eat ice cream deep within the bowls of The Cauldron.

As a result of the extensive upgrades required to elevate the tournament to Grand Slam status, the ELTA is rumoured to be thinking about offloading the Grand Slam tournament to Somer, which hosted the Terranean Slam for one season. Somer, known for its gorgeous seaside reviews, was the most picturesque clay court tournament in the NSTT. Alternatively, as you might read in other newspapers, the ELTA might just hand the Grand Slam tournament to Mattijana, Recuecn or Banija, the other clay court nations. We do, after all, host the iconic Electrum Slam - it's got the name of our country, is more infamous, and we wouldn't be seen as stealing all the important tournaments for ourselves. It has been the pinnacle of the hard court season for six seasons now, and it is due to our great hosting capabilities that we've succeeded Ceni in the NSTT presidency. The ELTA has always been committed to give other up-and-coming tennis nations the opportunity to host tournaments - we've seen that with the successful debut of Les Championnats within the aegis of the NSTT, and The Grearish Union and Damukuni being selected to host tournaments for the first time later in the season.

Of course, we are probably going to miss the epic conditions we will see later in this tournament. Imagine playing for the Grand Slam in the oppressive heat over five sets. The winner would be a true warrior. The downside, however, is that these conditions may push players to breaking point, with the Hamilton International being criticised in the past for not suspending play during hot conditions, contributing to fatigue and injuries. While some of these concerns are mitigated by the cooling vents and cool-boxes, these are short-term, expensive solutions for a tournament which will last less than two weeks. It is probably for the best that the Hamilton International return to a Tier 1 tournament - players will not and should not put their bodies on the line for a high stakes competition worth 2,000 ranking points.

[The Andromeda Island Group]

Day 1
Opening Round
Hamilton International
10:30 am

Todd Richardson and Victoria Tran watched as Ramsey Lewis and Kelly Clark battled against Armin Miksa’s serve. Lewis and Clark nearly broke their opponents in the seventh and ninth game. The Andromedan duo has easily held serve throughout, but had difficulty breaking serve in the second. Neither wanted to go into a tiebreaker.

Just as Lewis and Clark got the advantage, Tran received a text from Brianna Van Pelt. It seems that Janelle Hood and Sarah Lee Vale had just won their match, 7-5 in the 2nd. Just as she finished reading the text, the crowd roared as Lewis & Clark finally won the game after three deuces. Lewis & Clark would win by a score identical to Hood and Vale’s win: 6-2, 7-5.

Both of the upper-ranked Andromedan doubles teams would advance to the 2nd Round. The fate of the other Andromedan duos, who advanced into the Opening Round via qualification, would be decided tomorrow.

7:00 pm

The two Andromedan doubles teams started at about the same time this morning and ended with roughly identical results. The two Andromedan singles players, Kendra Jackson and Heather Long, began their matches at just after 5pm. There is where the similarity ended.

Jackson won her Grand Slam debut in convincing fashion, only surrendering five games and winning 6-2 in the third over qualifier Jimi Rusman. She was shaking hands with Rusman after playing for just over two hours. In the locker room, she looked at the scores on her iPhone to see how Heather Long was doing.

At that moment, Long was up 2 sets, but she was down 5-1… 5-2 in the 3rd. Donat Kis, the 24th-seed, wouldn’t surrender so easily.

9:30 pm

Fats Sullivan & Brianna Van Pelt have early matches in the morning as does Richardson & Tran, so they weren’t at the match, which some have informally dubbed ‘The Long Kiss goodnight.’

Heather Long had won the first two sets convincingly. Donat Kis of Gergary caught a second wind and tied the match at two sets apiece. So far, in the 5th set, both players held serve up to the seventh, when Kis nearly broke Long. In the following game, Long capitalized on Kis’ being exhausted from trying to break her earlier. Up 5-3 in the third, Long would serve. As she did, Kendra Jackson, Belle Nichols and Catherine James all sat and discussed what went down and what was going down.

“You know, if any of us got a chance at this, we got to stick together,” Jackson said. “You’re here for Heather. She got the tough match this evening. We’ll both be there for you guys tomorrow.”

Belle Nichols faces Mihaela Prisco (NTN) while Catherine James faces 18th-seed Jean van de Kloor (TJU). In the unlikely event that they both win, they would face each other in the second round.

“We could use all the help we can get,” Nichols said.

“Ain’t that many strawberries in the whole of Electrum,” James said. “But I’m getting some sent up to my room in the morning.”

“Can’t hurt,” Nichols added.

“40-love.”

The crowd starts to cheer on Heather Long’s first match point. Long serves. Kis returns and Long hits it in the far court, just out of Kis’ reach.

“Game, set & match. Long.”

After perhaps the longest match of her career, Long looks forward to getting back to her room and soaking in a hot bath. She plans to check out Fats and Brianna’s match in the morning.

[TJUN-ia]

TJUN-ia's 2nd ever Grand Slam in its participation in NSTT events takes us back to Electrum. The Hamilton International began on the clay courts in unseasonably cool conditions and TJUN-ia had a lot of matches to watch. None of the so-called "Big 2" would be in action until tomorrow, and most of our doubles parings were already in Round 2 due to byes. So our focus will be on the players That are looking to join the Big 2 in the ranks of the elite. Here's how they got on...

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SINGLES
Section 1
Felipe de la Rosa (TJU) bt [WC] Acteus Linna (DCS) (6-0, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5)
El Matador kicked us off with an entertaining affair against Wildcard Acteus Linna from Diarcesia. He took the first two sets with relative ease before Linna staged a bit of a come back to take Set 3. The 4th went down to the wire but Felipe prevailed 7-5 to match his performance from the Slam in Centralis all those months ago. Can he go one better in Round 2? He will certainly try, but the only way he can is by beating the player to beat in the NSTT - Dominika Lisicki herself.

[15] Mattias Burges (MTJ) bt [Q] Austin McDanielson (TJU) (7-6(10-8), 3-6, 6-4, 6-0)
Speaking of Mattijana, it's 15th seed managed to beat The Cowboy but it certainly wasn't easy. The first set went to a tiebreaker that took a lot of effort for Mattias Burges to prevail. The Cowboy bounced back to take Set 2 but from here, Burges was in control - including a 4th set shutout. Austin was couldn't do enough to overcome his ranked opponent - it's back to the drawing board (singles wise) for The Cowboy...

Section 3
[Q] Lucy Muneer (SHT) bt Philippe Baloui (TJU) (7-5, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3)
An upset to be sure, but no one in the Sharktail camp will care about that. Lucy Muneer isn't one of the big names from the land of the Blue Monster, but she certainly held her own to take down L'artiste. Baloui falls yet against in the first round of a Grand Slam - let's hope the grass can give him the canvas to paint some great tennis...

Joe Katsi (TJU) bt [WC] Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap (FID) (2-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-2, 6-3)
As for The Kat of Horizon, he has made the 2nd round yet against. He lost the first set to Filindostan'ss Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap, but winning the Set 2 tiebreaker was the turning point in the match. The final 2 sets were a breeze and Katsi could leave with a smile on his face - although he would have done that anyway if he lost. 25th seed Ajla Vesnic of Mattijana awaits The Kat in Round 2 - is it too early to declare Thursday "TJUN-ia vs Mattijana"?

Section 4
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) bt [Q] Daniel Cervantes (AQL) (6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 1-6, 6-4)
The match of the day was certainly here, as Samurai Shinji duelled Daniel Cervantes of Aqual in a 5-set thriller. Aqual has been on the up ever since they debuted in Istria, and this match showed this perfectly. It was a back and forth affair, with both men giving it their all but someone had to win. In the end, it was Shinji who managed to finally break through to prevail and make it to the 2nd round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Fair play to Cervantes, he tried his best but in the end, he didn't have enough in the tank in order to win this match. Shinji's opponent will be Anthony Powers, a qualifier from Kohnhead who managed to pull off the upset over Andrew Baumgartner. He may be a nobody bu considering the great duels TJUN-ia and Kohnhead have had thus far in the NSTT, Powers shouldn't be taken for granted at all.

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DOUBLES
Section 4
Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH) bt Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU) (6-3, 6-3)
Finally to the doubles, where the tragedy of VuRa and Kaui Kama continued. South Kohnhead's Mary Owenter and Rowley Timple had beaten the TJUN-ians before and they did again with ease. Vuyani and Kaui can't seem to find any momentum in the NSTT, even though our other teams are flourishing. Maybe grass can finally give them something?

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TOMORROW'S MATCHES (Coverage Starts at 10:00 am TST)
Weather: 23C/73F - High westerly gusts expected
Singles Round 1 - Bottom Half
Section 5
[13] Valentina Spetsova (TJU) vs [Q] Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)

Section 6
[18] Jean van de Kloor (TJU) vs [Q] Catherine James (AIG)

Section 8
[Q] Harold Crawley (TJU) vs [Q] Burama Fadika (BNJ)

[Diarcesia]

Acteus Linna (DCS)                0   3   6   5
Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)           6   6   4   7

The crowd had been excited to see such a strong showing from Linna despite his loss. The tide was seemingly on his side with a tight 3-2 lead going into the fourth set. He was able to hold that lead until a very last gambit from de La Rosa, breaking the impasse and taking the game.

With a better showing than Round Two at stake, it was obvious that Felipe was the more aggressive of the two players. He seemed to get more in the way of the Linna's plans, trying to take the match to frustrate the Diarcesian. It was clear that it worked: he was on the back foot after a poor performance in the first set, would have to step up his game. Something that had been lacking for him was confidence. Sure, he had a long list of impressive results recently, but none of them felt like a breakthrough for the way he had played the tournament.

The second set was going well for Felipe as he went 3-1 up. It turned out to be the better set for Acteus. Regaining a better balance of finesse and power, which lacked in the last set, he had caused de la Rosa to struggle a bit, but could not find success as he lost it by three points.

The third and fourth set were at the crux of the match - a tough break for a player who was struggling with discipline in the last set. Acteus finally found his confidence coming out of the break, and found himself with the better hand. Pulling off one his better upsets in the third set showed that he belongs in a Grand Slam.

The crowd roared with approval as de La Rosa walked out of the court with a massive wave of applause. Acteus, walking next to him, bowed his head in response.

"That was a great performance by Felipe de la Rosa", Acteus said. "I'm proud of him."

[Springmont]

N° 10

Singles Competition - Round 1 - Top Half
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)           6   1   1   7   8
Caleb Johannan (NOW)              1   6   6   5   6

Doubles Competition - Round 1 - Top Half
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)                              7   6
Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap/Tasya Han (FID)                       5   1

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NEXT GAME
Singles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half 
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs Sekar Laut (ERM)

Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half
Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ) vs Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)

[Kohnhead]

It went well today for Kohnhead

The first Grand Slam has gone extremely well so far for Kohnheadian athletes as they had four singles in the top half of the draw competing. Three of them would get a win. Because it is a Grand Slam, 5 sets maximum can be played not the normal 3 so increased stamina is required.

Mindy Waterford (KHD)             1   6   6   6
Martin James Alberola (BCA)       6   2   2   1

Waterford the number 6 in the world had her first Grand Slam match ever and despite losing the first set 6-1 which was surprising as she was playing Martin James Alberola from The Kingdom of Big Carencia. Alberola is ranked over 100, and Waterford was able to dominate in the second part of the match allowing him to only win 5 games after taking set 1. Her next match is against Lucy Muneer from Sharktail, a nation we know quite well who actually had to qualify into her first ever NSTT tournament so it should be an easy win for Mindy.

Domenica Pavoni (DCS)             4   0   6   3
Bartholomew Pole (KHD)            6   6   2   6

Was Mattijana the start of a new and better Bartholomew Pole? It's sure looking like that as of now, as he easily beat Domenica Pavonia from Diarcesia who is ranked a little lower than Pole. Pole won the first two sets including a 6-0 win in the second, dropped the third, before easily winning the 4th to move on. In his next match we will truly see how good he is as he takes on Batera Siwara from Eraman the 22 in the tournament and 25 in the World.

Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)             7   5   6   4   6
Chad Cilsertin (KHD)              6   7   4   6   1

Cilsertin played a very long, and grueling match against Derek Dubrovnik who is ranked 53rd in the World and from Britonisea. While Cilsertin managed to survive through four sets, by the 5th fatigue just got to him ad he played poorly especially considering how long the first four sets took. The amount of time, plus Cilsertin's questionable stamina, in addition to the roaring heat of Hamilton was not a recipe for success.

Andrew Baumgartner (KRY)          4   6   1
Anthony Powers (KHD)              6   7   6

Wow, Anthony Powers is playing out of his mind. In his first career NSTT tournament he went up against 33rd in the World, and a brilliant player from Krytenia in Andrew Baumgartner and beat him easily in three sets. Powers has really surprised and in the next round will face Shinji Makauchi from TJUN-ia dun dun dun (dramatic music plays). Makauchi is ranked 60th in the World, easier than Baumgartner but is from TJUN-ia the country that is really becoming our NSTT rival. While Powers is not Mindy or Theresa Waterford, and Samurai Shinji is not van de Kloor or Valentina Spetsova it should still be a very entertaining match.

[Aqual]

Solid First Round for Aqual in Hamilton
HAMILTON, Etm.—With the weather surprisingly cooperating with the players today in the first round of the main draw, all but one Aqualian match went in favor of the given Aqualia. Hopefully they and the other Aqualias in the bottom half of the draw will continue this good fortune going forwards in the tournament (even as the temperatures begin to tick up). Detailed results from all matches today below.

Abelie Fontana (RCN)              3   6   3   4
Lara Navarro (AQL)                6   1   6   6

Lara Navarro is definitely better known in Aqual for her doubles pursuits this season, but she is shaping up very well in singles as well, taking out 21st seed Abelie Fontana of Reçueçn in four sets today. Navarro began well on serve, saving the single break point she faced in the first set with ease after having broken to thirty in the previous game. She carried that set without too much drama by six games to three. Having perhaps shocked the seeded player somewhat, Fontana came back with a vengeance in the second set, sparing no expense with winner after winner for a 6-1 lopsided win. However, Navarro finally managed to get her defensive game back, forcing the extra shot from the Reçueçn player, and thus getting more errors off her opponent's racquet. She thusly repeated the first set scoreline, 6-3. In the fourth set, both Navarro and Fontana were understandably fired up—the former, to clinch the match outright, and the latter, to prevent a fourth-set victory for Navarro and force it to a decider. With this being Navarro's first match in the best-of-five format, she had a bit more trouble on serve as her energy was beginning to drain, with the two players both dropping their service games early in the set. Ultimately, however, it was Navarro who consolidated her break for 4-2 before remaining on serve to be the first Aqualia to win a Grand Slam match this season, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. She will face fellow qualifier Elizabeth Quehall from Britonisea, who advanced today in a five-set, fifty-game match, in the Round of 64 the day after tomorrow.

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)              3   6   6   6
Peter Sitnikov (WSN)              6   3   1   4

In our last publication, we mentioned how Matéu Virxiliu was one of only two singles players from Aqual to qualify automatically for the main draw (alongside Bartolo Sabanero, who will play tomorrow). Although this confers many benefits, the downside is that Virxiliu has not yet had the same match experience as, say, a qualifier like Peter Sitnikov. Especially given Virxiliu's tendency to warm up during both matches and tournaments, it makes sense that Virxiliu actually dropped the opening set by a 6-3 margin. However, after warming up during the second set, in which although he was broken early he managed to recover to similarly win six games to three, he blew out the Waisnor player in great form in the third set, 6-1. However, he began to slow down in the fourth set, and Sitnikov rebounded to keep it close for a 6-4 victory, with the final scoreline being 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. He will face in the Round of 64 wildcard Kim Boi-An of Rajpore, who stunned the tenth-ranked player in the multiverse, Thierry Garzala, in a fifty-nine game, five set thriller today.

Shinji Makauchi (TJU)             6   3   6   1   6
Daniel Cervantes (AQL)            2   6   0   6   4

Cervantes, along with most of the tennis world and our readership, knew going into this match that it would be a tough one. Shinji Makauchi is ranked more than thirty spots ahead of the Aqualia and, along with the rest of TJUN-ia, has performed very well this season. This match today was an incredible one by both players, with either one having great individual sets, thanks largely to very defining points which acted as large shifts in momentum—a smash winner early in the match from Makauchi to set the pace, a string of long points topped off with forehand winners down the line in the middle of the second set from Cervantes, incredible gets by the TJUN-ian from all around the court throughout the third set, an ace and big service winners off Cervantes' racquet in the fourth, and finally an epic exchange at the net which Makauchi capitalized on late in the final set to take it 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 1-6, 6-4, in a monumental battle for the ages. It would certainly be a thrill to see this match-up again, especially on the faster pace grass and hard courts where Cervantes excels.

Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL)                                4   7   7
Bahari Zack/Diana Jansen (SHT)                                6   6   5

Another thrilling battle was in doubles between Aqualias Carla Tormo and Lara Navarro (playing in her fourth match in four days) and Sharktail's Bahari Zack and Diana Jansen. It cannot be said that either team was truly better than the other (arguably not even during the individual sets themselves, but certainly not the match as a whole), with the total points scored being within five points of each other.

Despite Tormo having such a solid and aggressive serve, the Sharktail team actually managed to break it twice in the first set with Navarro, not the strongest volleyer, at the net. Although the Aqualias managed to get one back, the damage had already been done, and they dropped the first set by six games to four.

Tormo's woes on serve continued throughout the second set, being broken in her first two service attempts at 0-1 and 2-3, respectively. As a result, Navarro was forced to serve to stay in the match at 2-5. Despite the lackluster service performance, Tormo remained an incredible force at the net, especially on her teammate's serve. Thanks to her volleying efforts, they managed to hold that game and get their first break back. The true challenge came with Tormo again serving from the baseline down 4-5. It looked bleak once again for the Aqualian team as they quickly went down two match points at 15-40, but a return from Jansen that bounced off the net and out of bounds and a gutsy drop volley from Tormo saved them from being sent packing early. Tormo managed to muster up another service winner before an unforced error from Zack gave them the hold they needed to even out in the second set. Two more routine holds later led to the ultimate showdown in the tiebreaker, which was surprisingly dictated by the serve, with only three points lasting more than four shots, with two of them won by Tormo/Navarro. Because of the serve's dominant influence (although it admittedly worked both ways, with a roughly even split of points won by the serving and receiving team in the tiebreaker), the game itself stretched on quite a while, with either team saving multiple set and match points. Finally, Carla hit the decisive volley winner on the backhand stretch, with the racquet raised well above her head to clinch the set 7-6(10).

The third and final set saw Tormo regain her confidence on serve, being broken only once in three games, although possibly at the expense of a tiring Navarro's service game, which was broken for the first time in the decider. However, both players were able to be just as aggressive as the Sharktail duo on the return, ultimately being able to break once more than they were late in the set to just narrowly progress through to the Round of 32, 4-6, 7-6(10), 7-5. They will there face fourteenth seeds Lance Mance and Ricardo Toli of Britonisea.

Glaucy Görög/Annis Van Der Beek (DCS)                         3   2
Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             6   6

Perhaps another example of the upside to playing qualifying matches is in Carlos Márquez' and Garbiñe Flor's surprise victory over the 38th ranked doubles players in the multiverse, Glaucy Görög and Annis Van Der Beek. Neither Aqualia ever faced so much as a break point, and the aggressive baseline game of both players helped them to return serve against the team from Diarcesia. Whereas Márquez and Flor have had the experience of match play here in Hamilton already this week, neither Görög nor Van Der Beek played any qualifying matches, possibly giving the edge to the Aqualian team. Flor's versatility and ability to turn baseline defense into offense at the net was simply impeccable in the second set, where she scored the most winners of any player on the court in either set. Following their impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory, they will face the thirtieth-seeded Waisnor team of Evgeny Kondratenko and Oleg Vlasov the day after tomorrow.

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 6   6
AAUGCC/SARA (EAS)                                             1   4

Probably the strangest possible experience for two teenagers to have in their Grand Slam main draw debut would be playing against two tennis-playing viruses. However, despite the sheer oddity of it all, Jordi and Rubén Pérez wasted no time displaying their own tennis skills as they stormed to a double, then triple break lead in the first set, allowing only one game to their opponents, AAUGCC and SARA, who, although skilled players, have seemingly found more recent success in their mixed-nation doubles than when paired together. They played much better in the second set, with not only much cleaner, more accurate shots, but also a more cohesive cooperation (which is vital when going up against the natural bond of two siblings). As a result, the EAS team broke Jordi's serve after the first deuce to go up 4-3, but were broken immediately by the Pérez brothers for the set to go back on serve, with Rubén managing to stave off the viruses' challenges with the help of his older brother at the net. With the pressure on AAUGCC to serve to stay in the match, the Aqualias managed to do just enough to break to thirty and guarantee them a place in the Round of 32 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory. The day after tomorrow, they will go up against thirty-first seeds Alan Sanchez and Alex Rivera from Northwest Kalactin.

The Toboso Chronicle again extends its best wishes to all the players advancing to the second round of their respective draws, and also to Bartolo Sabanero, Carla Tormo, Rafael Bautista and Paula Suárez, who will all play their first main draw matches tomorrow in another cool but windy day. Full results as usual to be printed and posted online.

[Electrum]

Cutoff.

Tomorrow's forecast: 32C/90F, no winds.

---

Singles Competition - Round 1 - Bottom Half

Section 5
Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (PCU)     6   6   4   6   6
Halima Fatty (BNJ)               3   4   6   7   4

Carmichael Brown (ETM)           6   4   6   6
Armani Mata (KLS)                4   6   3   4

Armin Miksa (GGY)                6   6   4   6   6
Mekar Laut (ERM)                 1   2   6   7   3

Bartolo Sabanero (AQL)           5   3   7   6   6
Martha McNeil (GRU)              7   6   5   3   3

Theresa Waterford (KHD)          6   6   7
Marcus Hathwar (ETM)             1   2   5

Allen Durham (CRB)               5   3   3
Audri Manford (SKH)              7   6   6

Valery Ushakov (WSN)             6   1   3   6   7
Clarence Zhu (CSE)               3   6   6   3   5

Valentina Spetsova (TJU)         2   6   3   6   6
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)         6   3   6   3   2

Section 6
Ngurah Putra Muliawan (PCU)      7   6   7
Ephraim Terry (RWE)              6   3   5

Rafael Bautista (AQL)            6   2   4   6   5
Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)          3   6   6   4   7

Amina Wira (KNC)                 3   6   7   2   3
Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU)       6   0   5   6   6

Sami Dominikanov (MTJ)           6   5   6   4   6
Alif Khadarim (NAZ)              1   7   1   6   8

Jean van de Kloor (TJU)          6   3   6   6
Catherine James (AIG)            2   6   4   3

Mihaela Ioana Prisco (NTN)       3   6   3
Belle Nichols (AIG)              6   7   6

Felix Anmaton (FAM)              6   3   6   6   3
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)            0   6   4   7   6

Naim Alex (SHT)                  7   6   6
Raja Ashrav (RAJ)                5   3   3

Section 7
Andrew Simmons (ETM)             6   7   4   6
Marat Dolganov (WSN)             3   6   6   2

Louisa Henderson (CSE)           6   7   6
Lucien Le Floch (RCN)            4   5   3

Hemat Darwisa (ERM)              6   6   2   1
Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ)             7   1   6   6

Juan Subdula (NWK)               7   6   6
Eutaur Jordaniscus (DCS)         6   4   4

SARA (EAS)                       2   6   5
Thedebrand Sanctiing (DCS)       6   7   7

Carla Tormo (AQL)                6   3   6   6   6
Kyle Anderson (BRI)              0   6   3   7   4

Maria Pariǧi (KLS)               1   2   7   4
Arthur Leloup (RCN)              6   6   6   6

Leo Garry (BRI)                  7   7   6
Paula Suárez (AQL)               6   5   3

Section 8
Syamim Kevin (SHT)               6   6   6
Tomas de Torquemada (BCA)        1   4   3

Harold Crawley (TJU)             6   2   6   6   2
Burama Fadika (BNJ)              2   6   7   3   6

Maria Julenic (MTJ)              6   2   7   1   3
Alan Sanchez (NWK)               2   6   6   6   6

Jeff Rogers (GRU)                2   4   7   4
Irina Elinova (NAZ)              6   6   6   6

Maria Sophia Lubis (PCU)         6   6   6   5   8
Ralph Newkarn (BRI)              7   1   4   7   6

Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)       3   6   6   6
Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)          6   2   3   1

Marco Vrient (NEG)               3   6   0   6   6
Irand Kolade (SAP)               6   1   6   4   4

Stephen Perez (KRY)              5   3   4
Rangga Septiandi Putra (MWI)     7   6   6

---

Doubles Competition - Round 1 - Bottom Half

Section 5
Arya Kusuma/Kadek Dwipayana (MWI)                             2   3
Chandra Wiguna/Andi Permadi (PCU)                             6   6

Jurgen DiPasso/Marco Vrient (NEG)                             2   6   6
Aron Menkir/Kassa Berihu (BNJ)                                6   2   3

Collin Hervey/Harry Granger (FAM)                             6   4   4
Ketut Artha Wiguna/Komang Ayu Chandrasari (MWI)               3   6   6

Fenrir Colf/Amy Yuan (SAP)                                    3   6   6
Esterina Picarelli/Tristan Delisle (RCN)                      6   2   4

Section 6
Fats Sullivan/Brianna Van Pelt (AIG)                          6   3   7
Túlius Tarquínio da Silva/Ápio Rog dos Santos (NTN)           0   6   5

Isaac Daud/Lucy Muneer (SHT)                                  4   7   2
Dwiyana Lutanto/Dwiyani Lutanto (MWI)                         6   5   6

Armani Mata/Mariza Kaľat (KLS)                                6   6   6
Amina Eba/Keleb Brehan (BNJ)                                  4   7   2

Vanessza Pataki/Marvin Weinwurm (GGY)                         2   6   6
Penny Bell-Watson/Laurie Simmons (CRB)                        6   4   3

Section 7
Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)                          1   6   6
Burama Fadika/Bala Guiss (BNJ)                                6   3   3

Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU)                                4   6   6
Todd Richardson/Victoria Tran (AIG)                           6   1   4

Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)                         7   6
Nicholas Evanson/Dimitrov Astin (SKH)                         5   3

Jasmina Soflik/Sofia Loranovic (MTJ)                          7   2   6
Nadia Hapsari/Mira Gandamayu (MWI)                            6   6   4

Section 8
Luna Wealsy/Annabeth Jackson (FAM)                            3   2
Juan Subdula/Niken Subdula (NWK)                              6   6

Luke Subdonez/Julia Devoningstan (NWK)                        6   6
Mihai Carolus Maro/Claudius Ion Varro (NTN)                   2   3

Mekar Laut/Sekar Laut (ERM)                                   6   4   6
Raja Ashrav/Milo Evans (RAJ)                                  4   6   4

Kurt Dragic/Felice Mareaux (NEG)                              0   6   4
Novita Nurdiansyah/Krisna Wibawa Tantan (FID)                 6   4   6

---

Singles Competition - Round 2 - Bottom Half (in 48 hours)

Section 5
[2] Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (PCU) vs Carmichael Brown (ETM)
[Q] Armin Miksa (GGY) vs [27] Bartolo Sabanero (AQL)
[20] Theresa Waterford (KHD) vs [WC] Audri Manford (SKH)
[WC] Valery Ushakov (WSN) vs [13] Valentina Spetsova (TJU)

Section 6
[5] Ngurah Putra Muliawan (PCU) vs Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)
Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU) vs [WC] Alif Khadarim (NAZ)
[18] Jean van de Kloor (TJU) vs [Q] Belle Nichols (AIG)
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD) vs [6] Naim Alex (SHT)

Section 7
[7] Andrew Simmons (ETM) vs [WC] Louisa Henderson (CSE)
[WC] Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ) vs [26] Juan Subdula (NWK)
[Q] Thedebrand Sanctiing (DCS) vs [Q] Carla Tormo (AQL)
Arthur Leloup (RCN) vs [11] Leo Garry (BRI)

Section 8
[4] Syamim Kevin (SHT) vs [Q] Burama Fadika (BNJ)
Alan Sanchez (NWK) vs [Q] Irina Elinova (NAZ)
[17] Maria Sophia Lubis (PCU) vs Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)
Marco Vrient (NEG) vs [WC] Rangga Septiandi Putra (MWI)

---

Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Bottom Half (in 48 hours)

Section 5
[2] Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (ETM) vs Chandra Wiguna/Andi Permadi (PCU)
Jurgen DiPasso/Marco Vrient (NEG) vs [27] Justin White/Joe Fernández (NWK) vs Bye
[17] Kim Li Bo/Mei Li Bo (TJU) vs Ketut Artha Wiguna/Komang Ayu Chandrasari (MWI)
[WC] Fenrir Colf/Amy Yuan (SAP) vs [16] Izzat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)

Section 6
[5] Elke Hartung/Karina Gerard (NEG) vs [Q] Fats Sullivan/Brianna Van Pelt (AIG)
Dwiyana Lutanto/Dwiyani Lutanto (MWI) vs [25] Jeremy Metagne/Elizabeth Corbisieri (KRY)
[21] Marko Juvan/Rikard Kampl (MTJ) vs [WC] Armani Mata/Mariza Kaľat (KLS)
Vanessza Pataki/Marvin Weinwurm (GGY) vs [11] Leanne Stewart/Anthony Kawasaki (ETM)

Section 7
[7] Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI) vs Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)
Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU) vs [28] Riley Dovatin/Melissa Turnface (KHD) vs Bye
[24] Jack Ho/Bradley Kohnface (ETM/KHD) vs [WC] Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)
Jasmina Soflik/Sofia Loranovic (MTJ) vs [10] Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (PCU) vs Bye

Section 8
[4] Tamara Hucsak/Dominik Lintner (MTJ) vs Juan Subdula/Niken Subdula (NWK)
Luke Subdonez/Julia Devoningstan (NWK) vs [32] Jeff Rogers/Martha McNeil (GRU) vs Bye
[23] Jaguar Zenteanite/Zeke Newham (BRI) vs Mekar Laut/Sekar Laut (ERM)
Novita Nurdiansyah/Krisna Wibawa Tantan (FID) vs [15] Bartolo Sabanero/Qualo Tabos (AQL)

[North Alezia]

SPORTSNEWS! NORTH ALEZIAN TEAM OBLITERATE EVERYONE ON SIGHT! ALL PLAYERS ENTER THE SECOND ROUND!

You might wonder, why can't we give a Sportsnews Update yesterday? The answer is that the matches that we play in is actually on the bottom half. And boy, do we have better surprise from you better than last round. We might only have Elinova left after qualification round. But we have players that play straight to the first round, plus our only doubles team. Apparently, we did exponentially well this time! No one got out in this round.

Sami Dominikanov (MTJ) 6 5 6 4 6
Alif Khadarim (NAZ) 1 7 1 6 8

First up, we got you the very scary match between Khadarim against Dominikanov of Mattijana. A very gruesome 5 set match between those two.S Sami showed dominance in the first round, only for the second round to be taken by Khadarim. Each players got two sets each on their pockets, thus giving us the tiebreaker, in which is also very hot. But, Khadarim dominated the entire match by hitting 8 games, thus giving Khadarim a game, a set, and a match! This means that we'll see Khadarim in the next round. But come to think of it, Khadarim could do better since sadly, it might've been his luck looking at how Dominikanov played. But whatever, he did his best, and we'll see him later on.

Next match for Khadarim:
[5] Ngurah Putra Muliawan (PCU) vs Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)
Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU) vs [WC] Alif Khadarim (NAZ)

Hemat Darwisa (ERM) 6 6 2 1
Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ) 7 1 6 6

Second, we got another good news from Ishaqtar's match. The first set resulted in a tiebreaker, giving Ishaqtar the final game. But then got obliterated temporarily by Eraman's Darwisa who only gives Ishaqtar a chance of only one game. But Ishaqtar gave Darwisa a hard one and beating Eraman's player almost entirely on the next two sets, thus giving Ishaqtar another spot for the second round!

Next match for Ishaqtar:
[7] Andrew Simmons (ETM) vs [WC] Louisa Henderson (CSE)
[WC] Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ) vs [26] Juan Subdula (NWK)

Jeff Rogers (GRU) 2 4 7 4
Irina Elinova (NAZ) 6 6 6 6

Next up, we have the Lady Pyaliva of Tennis, Irina Elinova! It's very impressive of Irina to go pass the qualification, then advancing to the second round, getting all sets without tie except for the third set when Jeff Rogers beat Irina in a tiebreaker. Because of that, the fourth set commenced, in which gave Irina the big chance, and finally defeated the GRU with a 4-6 game-set-match!

Next match for Elinova:
[4] Syamim Kevin (SHT) vs [Q] Burama Fadika (BNJ)
Alan Sanchez (NWK) vs [Q] Irina Elinova (NAZ)

Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) 7 6
Nicholas Evanson/Dimitrov Astin (SKH) 5 3

Not going to be outshadowed by the singles, our only double team for this Grand Slam obliterated (we used that word a lot, we know.) SKH's Evanson/Astin duet. Our Dream Team still have to fight after the opponent got 5 games, in which the 7th game that decided the set has to commence. Ishaqtar/Irin-Amirana won the set after Irin-Amirana who lost on qualification, smashed the behemoth out of the opponent. On the second set, things went easier for our team, defeating the opponent 6-3 and another very good Game-Set-Match for North Alezia.

This round might've gone well for us, but it is still not the right time to celebrate. There are many matches that our national team has to play in. Will we be able to pull this out? Don't miss our broadcast of Hamilton Grandslam only in ABA Channel 1, or press the red button on your ABA interactive set box, or you can watch it through ABA official website's live streaming!

Stay tuned for more SPORTSNEWS! to come!

[The Andromeda Island Group]

Day 2
Opening Round
Hamilton International
10:30 am

The young Andromedan duo of Fats Sullivan and Brianna Van Pelt dug themselves out of a hole. Down 5-3 in the third, they faced a two match points, but managed to break back. Before serving to even the deciding set, Sullivan and Van Pelt sat down for a spell.

“What just happened?” Sullivan asked.

“I was just about to ask you,” Van Pelt said. “I didn’t think you could get up that high.”

“Neither did I.”

After bringing the final set to five games apiece, Sullivan and Van Pelt sat down in their same spots.

“You good?” Sullivan asked. Van Pelt gave him that look. Sullivan looked back. Sullivan gently moved a lock of hair from Van Pelt’s face. They knew what they needed to do, and what would happen if they succeeded.

At that moment, unbeknownst to Sullivan or Van Pelt, Todd Richardson and Victoria Tran walked in after playing their final match. They look down and see Sullivan and Van Pelt ready to face whatever da Silva and dos Santos would bring.

“What is it?” Tran asked.

“They’re going to win this match.”

“How do you know?”

“You don’t see it? They’ve just found something, Vicki. Something two people can only have together.”

“But, they’re just kids. How do…”

The first rally of the eleventh game ended with Van Pelt ducking underneath a hard shot by Sullivan which painted the center line. Tran was amazed by what she just saw.

“Told you,” Richardson said.

Sullivan and Van Pelt ended the match winning five straight games, prevailing 7-5 in the third.

8:00 pm

John B. Galt and Julia Alexander were walking between courts. They had just watched Belle Nichols upset Michaela Prisco. Nichols hadn’t just won her third straight match in Hamilton, but she has apparently lost more than 20 pounds since her first match in Istria.

“Frankly, I wonder what’s gotten into Belle.”

“I think it’s more like what hasn’t gotten into her,” Alexander said. “We went down and had the breakfast buffet yesterday morning, and she only had one plate. She’s taking this seriously, John B.”

“I can see that,” Galt said. “Don’t get be wrong. She still looks good in a pair of sweat pants, but she’s much more into the matches now.”

Alexander and Galt arrived at the outer court where Catherine James was facing 18th-seed Jean van de Kloor from TJUN-ia. Galt last checked his iPhone, James had just evened the match at a set a piece.

9:00 pm

Belle Nichols joined the other Andromedans watching the James match just before the start of the fourth set. Based on how things were going, it appear that Nichols would face Van de Kloor in the next round. Nichols was joined by a youngish red-headed lady wearing a sun hat.

“You’re Belle Nichols.” The lady said this in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes,” Nichols replied. “And you’re Molly Jones.”

Since the better Andromedan players joined the NNTS, Molly Jones was experiencing her longest career winning streak, winning her last two tournaments on the Andromeda tour. She will definitely join the international tour after Hamilton.

“I’ve been watching this cat,” Jones said. “It looks like he’ll win this one, but I don’t think he can go the distance.”

“What makes you say that?” Nichols was curious as to how Molly Jones, an 18-year old fresh out of high school, could have such insight.

“You see, both he and James are emotional players. Those ups and downs aren’t enough by themselves to get you through five sets. You get him off his rhythm, he’ll fall over his own feet.”

“So, his nightmare opponent is a counter puncher?”

“Someone who has an overall game plan, and the discipline to execute it.”

“And… what sort of game plan is that?”

“Invite me up for room service later, and I’ll tell you.”

Nichols was wary of Jones. There were rumors crawling throughout the NSTT about certain female players. But Nichols was also curious about what Jones’ knows and how she knows it.

“It’s a deal.”

“See you in a few.”

Molly Jones walked down a few rows to congratulate Fats Sullivan and Brianna Van Pelt on their win. Nichols watched the match, hoping against all hope that her friend, Catherine James, still had enough in her to get to a decisive set.

[TJUN-ia]

The 2nd half of the 1st Round of the Hamilton international brought high winds to Electrum's Clay Grand Slam. With mixed luck yesterday, TJUN-ia hoped that their Big 2 can pull off some good results and hoped that Crawley could perform well in his expected exit. Here's how it went down.

Section 5
[13] Valentina Spetsova (TJU) bt [Q] Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN) (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2)
Scarlet advanced, but Qualifier Vladimir Mikhailov of Waisnor certainly was up for the challenge. The match ended up being a 5-set thriller in which Mikhailov led two sets to one, but Spetsova shook off the pressure to move past her opponent. Her reward is a Round 2 matchup with another player from Waisnor - Wildcard Valery Ushakov.

Section 6
[18] Jean van de Kloor (TJU) bt [Q] Catherine James (AIG) (6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3)
De Kloor of Toropo had a simpler match up against Qualifier Catherine James of The Andromeda Island Group. It started off back and forth with the match tied at 1 one set apiece, but then Jean found his momentum and managed to prevail. Like Scarlet, he will take another player from AIG in Round 2 - Qualifier Belle Nichols.

Section 8
[Q] Burama Fadika (BNJ) bt [Q] Harold Crawley (TJU) (2-6, 6-2, 7-6(6-2), 3-6, 6-2)
As for The Crawler, his journey did end but he went down fighting against Burama Fadka of Banija. The match was fast pace from the off and many though the momentum swung after winning the 4th set. But Fadika never gave and they took the 5th comfortably to move on. Crawley's time is up, but he certainly did well over the course of the tournament. He finally won 2 games and could have made it 3 if things went his way. The Crawler isn't a lost cause just yet...

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TOMORROW'S MATCHES (Coverage Starts at 10:00 am TST)
Weather: 32C/90F, no winds
Singles Round 2 - Top Half
Section 1
[1] Dominika Lisicki (MTJ) vs Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)

Section 3
Joe Katsi (TJU) vs [25] Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)

Section 4
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) vs [Q] Anthony Powers (KHD)

Doubles Round 2 - Top Half
Section 2
[Q] Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM) vs [12] Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)

Section 4
Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN) vs [13] Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (TJU)

[Kohnhead]

The bottom half goes well for Kohnhead

Theresa Waterford (KHD)          6   6   7
Marcus Hathwar (ETM)             1   2   5

Taking on Marcus Hathwar, someone we know quite well as he is partnered with Spencer Kohnhead for these last two tournaments but Hathwar has been known to do a lot better at doubles than singles, and this match showed it. Theresa dominated from start to finish, and the match ended quite early as it only went three sets. Next up Waterford will be taking on South Kohnhead's, Audri Manford. We know South Kohnhead quite well as given the name they are a variation of us to the South. The lore is confusing but Kohnhead never actually controlled the land that South Kohnhead controls now. Anyway Manford is ranked 97th in the World so Waterford should be expected to win.

Felix Anmaton (FAM)              6   3   6   6   3
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)            0   6   4   7   6

While Uppatin's clay season has not gone the way he expected, a five set win here is massive for him. While Anmaton from Freedom and memes is ranked in the 270s, and this should have been an easy win, it's good Uppatin was able to pull out a 5 set thriller. Uppatin will face 6th in the tournament Naim Alex in his next match from Sharktail, is an upset coming?


Tomorrow we will see the upper half with Mindy Waterford, Powers, and Pole all playing as well as Hathwar, and Spencer Kohnhead in their first match of the tournament.

[Diarcesia]

Juan Subdula (NWK)               7   6   6
Eutaur Jordaniscus (DCS)         6   4   4

The number of spectators was relatively low, considering the sweltering heat of the weather. Many of them watched from their televisions or devices.

"Hurry up, everyone!" Eutaur shouted to his group. "We only have a few minutes!"

The crowd had been waiting for this moment for sometime. The NSTT is now Eutaur's playground given that he has gone full pro, but his past tournaments leave a lot to be desired. Many thought Eutaur was only good enough to play in Diarcesia because he failed to replicate his success at Mercedini. One commentator said the 8th-ranker was "worthless" compared to players like Dominika Lisicki, Dewa Putu Adrian Putra, and Ricardo Toli since they were already well-known in the NSTT.

"I don't care if they say I'm not as good as these guys", Eutaur once said. "I'm good enough to play in the NSTT. I can compete with them. There's no reason why I can't be as accomplished as the greats. I just need to work hard and put in a fair amount of effort."

Eutaur was clearly motivated for this tournament. It would be his true grand slam, even though he had been saddled with bad luck with successive clay court early exits. That didn't stop him from fighting with everything he had, and he had no plans of slowing down once he faced Juan Subdula.

The match began with a long ball and backhand, before a fairly long diagonal line to the net caused the first point to be given to Juan. This player was on fire. He hit wide, and Eutaur found himself on the wrong place. 2-0.

Eutaur managed to catch up, and only narrowly lost this set. The second began with another backhand from Juan that Eutaur successfully returned. He got an early lead, but victory slipped from his grasp again. This rhythm was repeated in the third set as Eutaur lost momentum and cost him the game.

He was left with questions he asked to himself. What's keeping him from winning? He maed the most of his technical skill, at times keeping Juan at bay with a clever play, and yet it appears it's not enough. He had some soul-searching to do.

[Aqual]

Mixed Day for Aqual in Hamilton First Round
HAMILTON, Etm.—Today was certainly not as great a day for Aqual as the first round of the top half of the draw yesterday, but nevertheless two Aqualias advanced to the second round today, as well as Sabanero/Tabos automatically due to their bye from seeding. Results from all four matches below.

Bartolo Sabanero (AQL)           5   3   7   6   6
Martha McNeil (GRU)              7   6   5   3   3

On the surface, this match seemed like it was much closer than it "should" have been, granted Sabanero's success in the clay swing thus far and his seeding in this very tournament. However, although Martha McNeil is not seeded, the Grearish Union player is still ranked within the top fifty in the multiverse and is an extremely talented player. Sabanero was perhaps overconfident early on, being broken early in the first set before managing to dig himself out of a hole. However, Sabanero still lost the set after being broken once again while serving to stay in the set at 5-6. In the second set, McNeil again broke Sabanero's serve early, and the Aqualia this time could not recover in time to extend the set, instead falling 6-3.

Yet another early break in the third set made many fans watching in Aqual very anxious that the highest ranked Aqualia could very soon exit the singles tournament. However, Sabanero finally managed to find the right angles to pull off a break during the mid-portion of the third set before again breaking late in the set to clinch it by seven games to five. The Aqualian tenista managed in both the fourth and deciding sets to balance his power with more technical shots and a good variety, keeping his opponent guessing on any given serve, return or other shot and its respective pace, spin and angle. He won both of the latter sets by preventing McNeil from breaking any of his own service games while breaking the player from the Grearish Union's serve once in each set. In his post-match press conference, Sabanero said that he managed to come back to win by keeping a level head throughout the match, which he said was "too close for comfort, even [when he was] up a break in the fifth set." He commented on his struggles early on in the match by crediting McNeil's talents, his own aloofness and the high winds which he dealt poorly with and which caused many an unforced error. He advances 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 to face Armin Miksa, a qualifier from Gergary, in the second round in two days' time.

Rafael Bautista (AQL)            6   2   4   6   5
Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)          3   6   6   4   7

Rafael Bautista has struggled in all three of the clay warm-ups prior to the Hamilton International, but he has seen a return to his El Molino Open level in recent days during qualifying; although he lost in only the first round here, he played quite well against a strong opponent, Dietrich Cassarro, who is ranked forty-eighth in the multiverse (whereas Bautista is just outside the Top 100). His performance in the first set mirrored his qualifying matches, wherein he did not face a single break point whilst managing to break the Neu Engollon player's serve to fifteen early on. However, he hit more unforced errors than winners in the second set while Cassaro, having warmed up after the first set, was playing at near peak level. This trend continued into most of the third set, with Bautista making a slight comeback late, but not enough to overcome Cassarro's lead, dropping it 6-4. However, building off his momentum late in the third set, the Aqualia managed to take the fourth set (although Cassarro had a similar late surge) with the help of his signature, looping topspin forehand. The deciding set was easily the best, with an energetic crowd on the edge of their seats as both players were locked in a bitter struggle for every point of every game. Although there were six breaks of serve in a monumental back-and-forth, it was ultimately the higher-ranked player in Cassarro who emerged on top on the Neu Engollon player's fifth match point, having saved one from Bautista while serving down 5-4. Cassarro advances on after an incredible challenge from the Aqualian national number one, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Carla Tormo (AQL)                6   3   6   6   6
Kyle Anderson (BRI)              0   6   3   7   4

Carla Tormo was seemingly reliving only the best moments from yesterday's doubles win during the first set against Kyle Anderson today, breezing past the Britonisea player by six games to love. However, the difficulties she had on serve yesterday again haunted her not only in the second set, which she lost 6-3, but largely throughout the rest of the match. Her volley was as usual her biggest weapon, winning more than four dozen net points; although the serve and volley technique is universally known, Tormo also successfully approached the net regularly on the return (which was certainly a good move considering the state of her service game). This was especially seen when she carried the third set 6-3 thanks to solid work at the net. Noting this, Anderson forced Tormo back with some kick serves and deep, high-bouncing shots which allowed the Britonisea player to both hold serve and break Tormo's serve as well, although Tormo managed to break even to force a tiebreaker. Although the Aqualia adapted well to Anderson's tactics on the forehand side, she struggled to do the same with her one-handed backhand, and the Neu Engollion forced several errors from her thanks to this during the fourth set tiebreak, which Anderson won 7-4. Tormo continued to deal poorly with this strategy early in the decider, even going down a break, but turned the tide with a half-volley from No Man's Land to finally dispel it and regain the momentum of the game, wherein she broke back, and the set, which she won by six games to four to carry the match 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-4. She will face fellow qualifier Thedebrand Sanctiing of Diarcesia.

Leo Garry (BRI)                  7   7   6
Paula Suárez (AQL)               6   5   3

Paula Suárez's highly passive, opportunistic style dependent not on winners but simply on forcing the opponent to hit another shot by continuing the point, is enough to completely drain some players of their energy while also being virtually ineffective against others. For eleventh seed Leo Garry, it posed only a minor problem in the first two sets, where the Britonisea player was perhaps still figuring out the best strategy of ending points quickly and overpowering the Aqualia. Suárez even managed to get to a tiebreak in the first set, although she lost therein by a healthy margin (7-2), and extended the second set to 7-5; therefore, the match itself was by no means a blowout, and actually rather good for a newcomer up against such a highly-ranked opponent despite the straight-sets loss, 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-3.

We here at the Toboso Chronicle certainly hope to see more of Paula Suárez and all of our athletes who have already exited the competition in later tournaments (both domestic and abroad), but for now our attention is turned to the players who have advanced to the second round here in Hamilton. Results to come tomorrow from the matches of Lara Navarro, Matéu Virxiliu, Márquez/Flor, Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez and Tormo/Navarro.

[Springmont]

N° 11

Stonegripper National Park
A lack of crowds, but an abundance of beautiful flora and fauna, make Stonegripper National Park (13km from Meadbrook) an excellent place to visit, particularly for bird enthusiasts. This 19-sq-km park, once known as Stonegripper Reserve, is much less frequently visit than its busy neighbor, National Park of Meadbrook. The park's best-known feature is a Dogfeather bird reserve, an ornithological rich mangrove swamp. January to April is nesting season. There have been sighting of Montian very rare Silverpike stork, but more commonly spotted, even outside the bird reserve, are Clawmaggot horn-bills, Lampana swan and yellow-bright swallows, among others. Watchtower provide a terrific perspective for birdwatchers.

You can arrange camping trips within park, which allow you to watch animals at dusk and dawn - the two best times. Among the many services are bike rentals, free maos and plenty of advice. For eatery, Dogfeather Cafe is highly authentic and atmospheric old-school eatery in the Stonegripper National Park with marble-topped tables, wooden cabinets, swirling fans and much more.

NEXT GAME
Singles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half 
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs Sekar Laut (ERM)

Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half
Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ) vs Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)

[Electrum]

CUTOFF.

Forecast for tomorrow: 30C/86F - dry heat, no winds.

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Singles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half

Section 1
Dominika Lisicki (MTJ)           6   6   6
Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)          4   3   3

Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)          6   6   4   6  12
Sekar Laut (ERM)                 3   7   6   3  10

Lara Navarro (AQL)               4   7   7   6
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)          6   5   5   2

Kendra Jackson (AIG)             4   2   5
Mattias Burges (MTJ)             6   6   7

Section 2
Kim Boi-An (RAJ)                 6   4   3   6  10
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)             2   6   6   3   8

Haikal Jansen (SHT)              6   7   3   6
Bala Guiss (BNJ)                 2   5   6   4

Heather Long (AIG)               5   4   7   6   6
Rog Ion Tralito (NTN)            7   6   6   0   4

Maddison Scott (ETM)             6   4   7   0   3
Danjiella Zovic (NEG)            4   6   5   6   6

Section 3
Mindy Waterford (KHD)            6   6   6
Lucy Muneer (SHT)                3   2   3

Joe Katsi (TJU)                  6   6   3   3   6
Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)                0   4   6   6   3

Batera Siwara (ERM)              5   3   6   6   3
Bartholomew Pole (KHD)           7   6   4   4   6

Bianka Arendt (GGY)              7   5   2   3
Gaëlle Sellier (RCN)             5   7   6   6

Section 4
Ricardo Toli (BRI)               3   6   7   6
Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)            6   4   5   4

Shinji Makauchi (TJU)            6   7   6
Anthony Powers (KHD)             4   6   1

Jason Gordon (BRI)               6   2   7   6
Mariza Kaľat (KLS)               2   6   5   1

Janet Riley (ETM)                6   2   6   1   6
Orsolya Szabo (GGY)              4   6   4   6   3

---

Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half

Section 1
Camille Fournier/Inès Fournier (RCN)                          6   6
Javier Carrasco/Tomas de Torquemada (BCA)                     1   3

Danjiella Zovic/Thierry Garzala (NEG)                         0   6
Michael Legrand/Juan Ortiz (KRY)                              6   7

Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ)                                3   6   7
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)                              6   1   9

Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL)                                6   7
Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)                                3   6

Section 2
Oka Sulastra/Luh Putu Yundari (PCU)                           6   3   1
Janelle Hood/Sarah Lee Vale (AIG)                             3   6   6

Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             4   2
Evgeny Kondratenko/Oleg Vlasov (WSN)                          6   6

Leo Garry/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)                             3   7   4
Batera Siwara/Hemat Darwisa (ERM)                             6   6   6

Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                                 3   1
Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)                       6   6

Section 3
Deanne Smith/Sara Zhuo (ETM)                                  5   7   1
Odran Rudaski/Sigestan Joshi (DCS)                            7   5   6

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 7   6
Alan Sanchez/Alex Rivera (NWK)                                6   4

Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (KHD/ETM)                     6   4   6
Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)                          1   6   3

Ramsey Lewis/Kelly Clark (AIG)                                6   0
Arthur Leloup/Hildebrant Weisgerber (RCN)                     7   6

Section 4
Owen Simmons/Perry Walsh (KRY)                                7   6
Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)                         6   3

Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH)                              2   7   6
James Williams/Alexandra Helmand (KRY)                        6   6   8

Alexandra Barna/Ralph Henschel (GGY)                          6   6
Alexander Nishikori/Priyan Raj (RAJ)                          2   3

Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN)     2   2
Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (TJU)                   6   6

[Springmont]

N° 11

Singles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)          6   6   4   6  12
Sekar Laut (ERM)                 3   7   6   3  10

Doubles Competition - Round 2 - Top Half
Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ)                                3   6   7
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)                              6   1   9

The Tinderlounge University Tennis Academy (TUTA) Mini Stadium owned by the Tennis Association of Springmont (TAS) in Tinderlounge is currently undergoing renovations to improve facilities including a new dressing room, treatment room, doping test room, referee/ umpire room, secretariat room and meeting room. This TUTA Mini Stadium is used by the TAS Academy Under-15 and Under-16 squads as training centers. It is also the host court for the TAS Academy in the University League competition which will be launched soon.

The University League will be joined by several local universities such as Cordwell Univ., Groveaire Univ., As well as East Winbridge University, and Tinderlounge University. The tournament, which is expected to start in early 2021, will be a TAS platform to find new talent to add to the sting of tennis in Springmont.

The University League became a reality when Zicosoft agreed to be the main sponsor and contributed funds to make it a success. In addition, several major conglomerates in Springmont such as Grossblair Electronics, Mayorlarks Group and Krysoft Communication Group have also agreed to sponsor.

Commenting on the University League, the National Team Coach, Agus Sanjaya welcomed the creation of this league and for him it was one of the new landmarks for TAS to produce many more new talents in the sport of tennis here.

[Mattijana]

Hamilton Hotting up as all Mattijanan Favourites Progress

MFO SPORT

Jasmina Dulic, MFO Tennis correspondent

Dominika Lisicki and Mattias Burges cruised through to the third round of the Hamilton International with straight sets victories against their second round opponents.

Lisicki, top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, beat Tjunian Felipe de la Rosa 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in an evenly-contested, but ultimately comfortable match for the Mattijanan. having broken late on to take the first set, she made early inroads into the serve of de la Rosa in the second and third sets and despite a late fightback in which the Tjunian broke back, she served out the match in familiar fashion to progress to the last 32.
After a disjointed start in her four-set win against Barry Boa in the first round, this performance was much more like the ones we have become accustomed to this season. The big groundstrokes were once again finding the mark and helping to back up a serve that despite some late inconsistency, was blowing more hot than cold. Despite the tightness of the scoreline, this was always a match that Lisicki was favourite to win and at no point did she look unlikely to do so.

Also in section one of the draw, Mattias Burges progressed courtesy of another three set win, this time over Kendra Jackson from the Andromeda Islands. The 15th seed won the first two sets 6-4, 6-2 before Jackson threatened to take the third after breaking early. Burges rallied and had ultimately saved his best tennis for the end of the match as he broke back with an exquisitely-placed drop shot before stealing a match-winning break at 6-5 in the final set when his opponent netted.
The two top Mattijanans, and only ones remaining in the singles draw, are forecast to meet in two-rounds time if the pair avoid a surprise defeat in their third round games and it could be a fascinating match. The two have vastly differing, but equally effective styles and although Lisicki will of course be favourite, it could be an awkward match in her bid for a second successive slam.

The top Doubles team of Tamara Hucsak and Dominik Lintner received a bye through the first round of their tournament, but Sofia Loranovic and Jasmina Soflik scored a win against Mengwian duo Nadia Hapsari and Mira Gandamayu in three sets. The pair have had some promising results against similarly-ranked opponents in their first two tournaments and now face 10th seeds Komang Antari and Kadek Andreawati. The new-look duo of Rikard Kampl and Marko Juvan also enter the draw, seeded 21st as Mattijana's doubles cohort develops even more strength in depth.

Singles Struggles Persist in Second Round:

The third round of the singles draw contains only 2 Mattijanan players of the 8 that entered and there were familiar problems for some of the team's lower-ranked players. Sami Dominikanov lost in five topsy-turvy sets to Alif Khararim in his second round tie whilst Ajla Vesnic, now the Mattijanan number three after her fine run in Burges, lost to Tjunia's Joe Katsi despite nearly pulling off a heroic fightback from two sets to love behind.
Maria Julenic's struggles continued too, the former number two also losing in five in her first round.

It will be interesting to see whether chief selector Alex Dimitrov chooses to shake things up for the grass swing after the same group of players have struggled repeatedly over the first two swings of the year. Vesnic's run in Mattijana may mean she keeps her place for the grass, but Dominikanov has been holding his place courtesy of a good run in the first event of the year in Electrum, whilst Julenic has really struggled this year, slipping into the lower reaches of the world's top 100 despite playing at a high number of tournaments.

Returning youngster Dan Puklavec could be given a chance, whilst Jana Aliki also made her debut in Hamilton qualifying and could be given a run at some of the lower-tiered tournaments on the way. Still, it remains clear that strength in depth is an issue and what the TennisBand can to about that without just selecting more cabs off the rank is a bit of a mystery.
The production line of young players doesn't seem to be faltering, but converting those promising juniors into serious contenders seems to be more of the issue. Mattijana's top 2 are also the most experienced in the squad and other than when a good run for Julenic coincided with a real dip for Burges, no-one else has really threatened to break that bubble.

Vesnic could be the one to finally do it, and might fare better on the grass, but the new tier 2 tournament in the Grearish Union will take on more importance than usually afforded to a tournament in that category.

Are we being harsh? Maybe. It's certainly a luxury when you only have to worry about your number three-8 not making it past the second round when other nations struggle to get their number one through qualifying. Lisicki and Burges have a real chance to go very deep too. It's just a bit strange really.

[TJUN-ia]

The heat finally turned up to the Hamilton International. Temperatures as high as 32C/90F were present at Electrum's Clay Grand Slam, but it did nothing to stop the players today. With Singles and Doubles to keep an eye on, viewers in TJUN-ia were sure to be quite busy.

---

SINGLES
Section 1
[1] Dominika Lisicki (MTJ) bt Felipe de la Rosa (TJU) (6-4, 6-3, 6-3)
I mean, you can't blame El Matador here. Anyone would have issues trying to take down the No.1 player in all of Tennis, but to expect Felipe de la Rosa of all people to go out there and cause the biggest upset in the history of TJUN-ian tennis is just wishful thinking. To be fair, it wasn't as one-sided as many expected. While it was a straight-sets victory, El Matador certainly scored some good points against a player far above his level of play. He may have fallen, but he went down fighting to some degree. He still has Doubles to play, so this won't be the last we see him on clay...

Section 3
Joe Katsi (TJU) bt [25] Ajla Vesnic (MTJ) (6-0, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3)
At the last Grand Slam, The Kat of Horizon beat a ranked player before falling to someone unranked (in that case, SARA). Now he was looking overcome the fears that he would do the opposite. After beating a wildcard in Round 1, Joe Katsi squared up against a seeded opponent - 25th seed Ajli Vesnic of Mattijana.

To the surprise of many, it was the Kat who looked dominant at the start. The first 2 sets were his to claim and the usually happy-go-lucky Katsi was determined...as well as happy-go-lucky. But Vesnic wasn't just going to lie down for The Kat and so she fought back, taking the next 2 sets 6-3 each. To Set 5 it had to go but in the end, the tide swung yet again. Joe Katsi had done it again! He always seems to turn up at Grand Slams and now he was in the unchartered territory: the 3rd round. He looked almost in tears as he left the court, but now he must rest and prepare for the fight of his life. In Round 3 he will play 6th seed Mindy Waterford of Kohnhead. No matter how hard they try, the Waterford name always finds a way to fight a TJUN-ian player.

Section 4
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) bt [Q] Anthony Powers (KHD) (6-4, 7-6(6-2), 6-1)
Speaking of the rivalry between TJUN-ia and Kohnhead, it had another match to add to the series. Samurai Shinji was in action against qualifier Anthony Powers and while both men weren't the biggest names from their respected nations, both looked to change that today. In the end, it was to be Shinji's day but Powers could have won Set 2 if he just performed better in the tiebreaker. Makauchi now has to prepare for a very difficult contest in Round 3. He will take on the 3rd seed, Ricardo Toli of Britonisea. The runner-up in Centrais, looking to do one better in Hamilton. No matter what happens, Samurai Shinji has done well just to have the honour of facing one of the Top 3 players in the multiverse...

---

DOUBLES
Section 2
[12] Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (TJU) bt [Q] Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM) (6-3, 6-1)
Speaking of The Samurai, he and The Matador retuned to doubles action with a comfortable victory over Jimi Rusman and Lenta Rasmi - qualifiers from Eraman. It was comfortable in the first set and there was little resistance in the 2nd. I know it might seem ruthless but that's how it played out. Shinji and Felipe will play together in Round 3 against another pairing from Eraman - Batera Siwara and Hemat Darwisa, who pulled the upset over Leo Garry and Elizabeth Quehall!

Section 4
[13] Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (TJU) bt Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN) (6-2, 6-2)
As for one of the "rivals" of Shinji and Felipe, Scarlet and The Cowboy (or "Austina", if you believe the internet) were also comfortable against Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura and Maria Cláudia Amúlio of Natanians and Nosts. Try saying that quickly. 6-2 in both sets saw the 13th seeds avoid the upset. They will play in Round 3 against another seeded paring - the 22nd seeds of Alexandra Barna and Ralph Henschel of Gergary.

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TOMORROW'S MATCHES (Coverage Starts at 10:00 am TST)
Weather: 30C/86F - dry heat, no winds
Singles Round 2 - Bottom Half
Section 5
[WC] Valery Ushakov (WSN) vs [13] Valentina Spetsova (TJU)

Section 6
[18] Jean van de Kloor (TJU) vs [Q] Belle Nichols (AIG)

Doubles Round 2 - Bottom Half
Section 5
[17] Kim Li Bo/Mei Li Bo (TJU) vs Ketut Artha Wiguna/Komang Ayu Chandrasari (MWI)

[Kohnhead]

The competition in Hamilton starts to heat up

While Hamilton is always hot, the competition is really starting to heat up as more and more people get eliminated.

Mindy Waterford (KHD)            6   6   6
Lucy Muneer (SHT)                3   2   3

Taking on an over-matched Lucy Muneer from Sharktail, Mindy Waterford got the easy three set win. This match went by extremely quickly which was good as Waterford will have less fatigue to deal with in the coming days. She has only lost one set so far, in two matches but next she faces Joe Katsi from you guessed it TJUN-ia. Katsi is ranked 70th in the World compared to Mindy's 6th, so she should be able to get the win, but as my colleague over in TJUN-ia put it "No matter how hard they try, the Waterford name always finds a way to fight a TJUN-ian player." The rivalry is continuing to heat up her in Hamilton.

Batera Siwara (ERM)              5   3   6   6   3
Bartholomew Pole (KHD)           7   6   4   4   6

Pole, took on a top 25 player in Batera Siwara from Eraman, and managed to come away with a five set thrilling win. Pole has really turned his NSTT career arc around with these last two performances and could be close to breaking into the top 50 with his run. He will play Gaëlle Sellier from Reucen (a previous host) who is ranked 14th in the World. It would be quite an upset if Pole could pull it off.

Shinji Makauchi (TJU)            6   7   6
Anthony Powers (KHD)             4   6   1

The underdog run of Anthony Powers came to an end against a TJUN-ian player of course. Samurai Shinji proved too much for the up and coming Powers but Powers showed something this tournament and although he isn't one of the BIg 4 from Kohnhead, he has cemented himself as the 5th or 6th best which is great to see. The more options the better. Powers could have tied the match at one set apiece in the second set but his tiebreaker performance left a little to be desired and that lost him his confidence.

Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (KHD/ETM)                     6   4   6
Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)                          1   6   3

While it took them three sets, the pairing of Hathwar and Kohnhead has certainly worked out quite well, and both have benefited from it. Taylor and Williams were both competing in their first tournament from Diarcesia. Next up they play Arthur Leloup and Hildebrant Weisgerber who are expected to beat the Kohnhead and Electrum pairing.

[Diarcesia]

News from the Hamilton International

The Diarcesians have a long and proud tradition of bringing dual nationals to the global stage. One of these athletes, Anthony "Swordfish" Taylor, for example, was from the Pheonixian Empire. Having completed his studies in Diarcesia and a former amateur player in tennis, the Swordfish is an amalgamation of several different talents.

Today however, Taylor and his partner Nathan Williams fell to the duo of Spencer Kohnhead and Marcus Hathwar. The game was held with the high westerly gusts proving to be a difficult situation for the Diarcesians.

When a reporter asked Anthony Taylor what he thought of the defeat, he seemed a bit upset, looking troubled. It is clear that he was handling the situation poorly.

"I don't want to talk about it", he told the reporter. "That would just be petty."

Regaining composure after a few moments, he added, "It's not bad, I can do this next time." He seemed apologetic for his words and tried to brighten the mood. "I know it's late. We played a shoddy doubles game and we're going back to practice rightaway. Gotta take the hard road, right?"

[The Andromeda Island Group]

Day 3
Second Round
Hamilton International

10:45 am

Ramsey Lewis and Kelly Clark had just arrived at the Janelle Hood/Sarah Lee Vale match against the 6th seeds from Pemecutan. They had just lost their match that morning, but the feeling after this particular loss wasn’t like most losses. They both acknowledged that a new, younger cast of characters would play the parts in this new, International Chapter of Andromeda Tennis.

They entered the court where two of those new cast, Janelle Hood and Sarah Lee Vale, were even at a game apiece. The game score was 30-40. Hood was waiting in the back court while Vale was waiting to counter the Pemecutan’s serve. Vale stared down the server. After a couple of sets, Vale could guess where his serve would go.

Janelle Hood had played tennis on the Andromedan tour in singles and also wrote erotic fiction under a pseudonym. Sarah Lee Vale taught history and government at Andromeda City Girl’s High School for a couple of years before making a comeback to tennis after having played in college. Vale’s aunt, former Andromedan President Sarah Vale, had also taught social studies at the same school.

Vale countered the Pemecutan’s serve. They had their first break of the deciding set. It looked as if an upset was in the making over the 6th seeds who had a bye into the second round.

Hood and Vale had been in a relationship before they became professional doubles players. Hood was the tennis coach at Vale’s high school. The two have been inseparable ever since. They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They knew each other’s rhythm to the point where much of what they communicated to each other was unsaid. It was the same dynamic that Ramsey Lewis and Kelly Clark still had, knowing that their time as tennis players was now over.

As Hood and Vale prevailed 6-1 in the third, Lewis, despite the pain, smiled, knowing that the torch had been passed into good hands.

9:00 pm

Mattias Burges had won the previous two sets over Kendra Jackson on Court #4, but the third was even until the previous game. Jackson had been looking for a chance to break Burges, but to no avail. She came close a couple of times. At the same time, Burges also came close to breaking her in her last few service games. She had to hold serve to force a tiebreak.

Jackson occasionally looked up at the sky between points, looking for a ray of hope. She was sure that there was still a chance when a sunbeam pierced through the clouds near the horizon. But now, against Mattias Burges, she saw the sun setting. As much as she tried to motivate herself, she knew that her day was over.

She lost her last service game, and the match. 7-5 in straight sets.

9:00 pm.

Heather Long’s first match in Hamilton was a marathon, lasting more than four hours. She played, knowing that after Hamilton, she would effectively be the best singles player from the Andromeda Islands.

Long and her opponent had split 12 games in the third, resulting in a tie breaker. Long was down two sets. She hadn’t been able to break her opponent once. She had felt as if she were trying to stop a tidal wave. If she lost this tie-break, she would lose the match. She looked up into the stands. Some of her compatriots were watching.

At that moment, Long closed her eyes. She could feel a gentle, comforting breeze. For a few seconds, it felt to her as if the crowd was gone. She was only aware of the cool, comforting, gentle breeze.

11:00 pm

Long had won the tiebreak. She then won eight straight games, blanking Rog Ion Tralito in the fourth and going up 2-0 in the deciding set before he was finally able to hold serve again.

As Long and Tralito traded the final games of the closing set, she felt as if she were just about to take a morning stroll. She had somehow been transported to a different plane, where it seemed that her opponent had been standing still and the ball was bouncing just right. It didn’t seem like she was down two sets when the tiebreaker started. Instead of fighting against the tide, she chose to ride the wave.

“Game. Set. Match. Heather Long.”

After shaking hands with her opponent, Long smiles and waves to a cheering crowd. As she heads to the locker room, she realizes that she has arrived.

[Recuecn]

Sellier gripped the ball with her thumb and two fingers. It had been a battle to get even this far, but here she was, round two, in her second match against a Gergarian. The first match had gone to the full five sets, which had been absolutely draining. Now she'd lost the first set again, but she'd made it to the fourth without losing another and now she led two sets to one. She'd served the first game of this set and won easily, but then Bianka had taken the next one, and they'd alternated that way twice more. Now it was 3-3, and Sellier was serving again, and she knew she'd have to find a way to win not only this game, but to break Bianka soon.

The ball in her hand felt soft and fuzzy. She pressed her thumb into it, hard, denting it in, before bouncing it up and down a couple times. She rotated it in her hand again, then bounced it with her racket. Well, alright. She had to do this sooner or later.

She tossed the ball into the air, her eyes following it up as it hung in the sun for a moment, then flitting back down to the net across from her. Her arm swung over her shoulder, there was the feeling of ball on racquet strings, that felt good, and then–right into the top of the net. The ball boy darted out, and she had another already; this time she didn't hesitate. Thwack. The ball skimmed the topped of the net and dropped over. That wasn't it.

A third serve. Come on, Sellier thought. This is it. The serve felt good: hard and fast and low and everything it should be. No net this time: it flew perfectly into the service box and Bianka wasn't ready for it. She reached out, but the serve was placed too well this time and she had no chance.

"Fifteen-love."

Sellier gritted her teeth. Three more to go, then the next game where she'd finally have to break Bianka. She could do it. Another serve, and Bianka got her racquet on it this time, but it went wide.

"Thirty-love."

She was almost there.

[Aqual]

Another Mixed Day in Hamilton
HAMILTON, Etm.—On the heels of a mixed day for Aqual yesterday, today's matches in the second round ended in mixed results for the Aqualias competing, with three wins and two losses. Full results from all of the matches in the dry, windless Electrumite heat below.

Lara Navarro (AQL)               4   7   7   6
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)          6   5   5   2

Lara Navarro's match-up in the Round of 64 was against Elizabeth Quehall, who, although also a qualifier, is ranked nearly a hundred spots above Navarro in singles at 56th in the multiverse. Her Britonisea opponent played well throughout the match, but especially early on when fatigue had not yet set in, taking the first set after consolidating the fourth break of serve in the set for 6-4. Quehall continued in good form throughout the second set, although Navarro managed not to fall behind late in the set this time, instead actually breaking while the Britonisea player attempted to serve to stay in the set at 5-6. Although Quehall played a very aggressive game in the third set, apparently vying for the momentum a 2-1 set lead would garner, an equally strong defensive game from Navarro actually managed to repeat the second set with a late break for another 7-5 victory. The 2-1 set lead was evidently crucial, as Navarro felt more emboldened while fatigue began to strike Quehall (whose last match was a gruelling five-setter) as the heat of the sun never relented. A quick 6-2 set propelled Navarro into the third round, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-2, where she will face Mattias Burges of Mattijana.

Kim Boi-An (RAJ)                 6   4   3   6  10
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)             2   6   6   3   8

Matéu Virxiliu faced wildcard Kim Boi-An in the Round of 64 today, going up against an opponent who shocked the tennis world by ousting Thierry Garzala in the first round in the fifth set by nine games to seven. This will certainly draw comparisons to this match, which will no doubt be remembered for its deciding set as well, which ultimately went to the player from Rajpore by ten games to eight. However, we should not forget Virxiliu's valiant efforts earlier in the match, showing off his great athleticism and dedication in his second and third set victories (6-4 and 6-3, respectively). Sadly, his 2-1 set lead slipped away from him as Boi-An equalized in the fourth set by a 6-3 margin before that incredible fifth set. Although Virxiliu was first to break in the decider for 2-0, Boi-An forced it back on serve by breaking for 2-3. The Rajpore player then managed to not only consolidate but also break the Aqualia's serve again, before a service hold forced Virxiliu to serve to stay in the match down 5-3. He managed to accomplish that before breaking to fight on to equalize the set 5-all. However, the pressure was again thrust onto Virxiliu as Boi-An held quickly. This pattern repeated itself until Virxiliu actually managed to break serve at 7-all with an incredible on-the-run winner. However, Virxiliu succumbed to Boi-An's relentless attacks on his serve for the wildcard to survive at 8-all. With the momentum having suddenly shifted to the Rajpore player's favor, the Aqualia eventually folded on both the return and the serve, and it was Kim Boi-An who advanced 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. Virxiliu spoke with the wisdom of a more experienced player in his post-match press conference, saying that "although I have always believed that every last point mattered, what I learned today was that I can never simply 'go easy' in any point, or 'play it safe,' because when your shots are too safe, they just simply won't cut it."

Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL)                                6   7
Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)                                3   6

Both Carla Tormo and Lara Navarro have been quite successful so far in both singles and doubles here in Hamilton, and they kept this streak going with a straight-sets victory over Lance Mance and Ricardo Toli. Although they held only a one-break advantage over the Britonisea team in the first set and the second was decided by a tiebreaker (not exactly the most dominating performance), it was a good showing nevertheless. Tormo's serve looked much better today, at least holding more often that not today, and Navarro fared relatively well at the net, where she has sometimes looked out of her element. Neither Aqualia dropped their serve in the first set, although all four players had shakier service games as the match wore on and the heat did not abate, with the second set ultimately having no winner after twelve games. In the tiebreaker, Tormo served first, which meant overall she actually served fewer points than any of the other three players, which possible gave a slight edge to the Aqualian team. They luckily won that first point as Toli hit an error off the serve, and they capture their first mini-break soon afterwards. With Navarro serving, Tormo was simply incredible at the net, clinching both of her service points with volley winners for a 4-1 lead. The Aqualias got their second mini-break on the point afterwards with an untimely double fault for 5-1. However, the subsequent change of ends seemed to benefit the players from Britonisea, who won the next point after a short rally and got back one of their minibreaks with Tormo serving. However, they were forced to serve to stay in the match at 3-6; the Britonisea team managed to save only the first of Tormo' and Navarro's three match points, as a forced error put the Aqualias into the Round of 16, 6-3, 7-6(4). There they will take on Jo Royalwood and Bob Lightford of Springmont.

Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             4   2
Evgeny Kondratenko/Oleg Vlasov (WSN)                          6   6

Perhaps competing in singles gives an advantage to those players in doubles, as Carlos Márquez and Garbiñe Flor lost their match today against Evgeny Kondratenko and Oleg Vlasov; Flor was never entered into singles here in Hamilton, while Márquez exited the qualifying draw in the second round. Although they were quite competitive in the first set, even managing to break serve once, dropping the set 6-4 seemed to take the wind out of their sails, so to speak, and they had only lukewarm opposition to the Waisnor players as they carried the second by six games to two. However, we are certain to see more of both of these players in both singles and doubles as the year goes on, and hopefully the experience of playing in a Grand Slam will have provided them with some invaluable lessons.

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 7   6
Alan Sanchez/Alex Rivera (NWK)                                6   4

However, competing in singles seems not to be a prerequisite for success for brothers Jordi and Rubén Pérez, who won in straight sets over Alan Sanchez and Alex Rivera today. The doubles specialists were very solid on serve, being broken only a single time early in the match. Their natural synergy gave them just the slightest edge they needed in the first set tiebreak, which they won narrowly after the second change of ends by an 8-6 margin after a forehand sailed wide from the Northwest Kalactin team. The second set was also hotly contested, although the nine break points from either team were only capitalized on once, with the Pérez brothers finally breaking in the tenth game to progress to the Round of 16, 7-6(6), 6-4. The Aqualias will next go up against Odran Rudaski and Sigestan Joshi from Diarcesia.

Make sure to check the next publication of the Toboso Chronicle tomorrow for more results from round two of the Hamilton main draw, as well as on our website, as Carla Tormo and Bartolo Sabanero will compete in singles, with Sabanero and Qualo Tabos also making their Hamilton debut in doubles.