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

[North Alezia]

SPORTSNEWS! HAMILTON TIME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

Even though the previous Mattijana Open turns out to be an utter disaster for North Alezia (even though we are fairly new in), we still had a lot of potential. And we're going to put our capabilities to test, again!

Qualifier 6
[6] Alex Rivera (NWK) vs Dan Puklavec (MTJ) OR Anthony Powers (KHD)
Milene Harman (DCS) vs Qadar El-Sharoun (NAZ)

It looks like Qadar El-Sharoun don't have to put another fight. Because he'll play against Milene Harman without playing against another player like Puklavec v Powers. His coach said that Qadar is pretty well-trained and well-spirited to play.

Qualifier 12
[12] Clarence Zhu (CSE) vs Ikram Fawz (SHT) OR Jana Aliki (MTJ)
Rosemarie Strobl (GGY) vs Muhammad Harun (NAZ)

We got another one of our players just playing in a qualifier without fighting for a place like Fawz vs Aliki. From what we see from him, he seems pretty motivated to try and very energetic. And yes, we use unsavory methods to give you the best prespective in our SPORTSNEWS.

Qualifier 13
[13] Novita Nurdiansyah (FID) vs Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) OR Kassa Berihu (BNJ)
Catherine James (AIG) vs Feder Nadala (RAJ)

On to the single ladies game! Looks like in order to face Novita Nurdiansyah, our lady of the ball Nur Irin-Amirana still has to compete against Kassa Berihu in a fight for a place against Novita. On the other side, we have James v. Nadala.

Qualifier 27
[27] Felice Mareaux (NEG) vs Irina Elinova (NAZ)
Maria Crown (SPM) vs Khadijah Sims (AIG)

Looks like everyone in this qualifier will just cut to the cheese. No qualifying to just be against another contestant in the qualifier. Looking at the roster, Irina is one of the best female singles in North Alezia.

Now on to the direct players! These players don't have to qualify, because they earned what the organizers call (we would also like to use this chance to thank our organizers in Electrum, love what you'd done and created) a wild card. A wild card means that any player has the chance to go straight to the game without even qualifying first! Really unique...

Section 6
[31] Sami Dominikanov (MTJ) vs [WC] Alif Khadarim (NAZ)

Looks like we'll be meeting the player who's representing the previous tournament on this series, Mattijana! Wonder how this'll turn out? Hopefully it'll went well for us.

Section 7
[WC] Louisa Henderson (CSE) vs Lucien Le Floch (RCN)
Qualifier 14 vs [WC] Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ)

And what do we have here? Dariq will play against a player from the qualifying player from Qualifier 14! Real interesting. If indeed the system will be done this way, it would be between these people to play against Ishaqtar.

Qualifier 14
[14] Hemat Darwisa (ERM) vs Alexander Thorton (CRB) OR Srekislas O'Driscoll (DCS)
Tasya Han (FID) vs Thomas McThomas (FAM)

This would be a really strong and must not pass to watch round.

Now on to the doubles game! We... only sent one doubles. We did this to test our best doubles team in International Standard of Tennis Playing.

[24] Jack Ho/Bradley Kohnface (ETM/KHD) vs Bye
[WC] Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) vs Qualifier 10

And once again, Ishaqtar - Irin-Amirana still have to wait who will be their opponent on Qualifier 10! We can see through our unsavory methods that they can't wait to see. Y'know, we'll promise you that what we mean by unsavory methods, we meant not the bad ones. We still maintain modesty in our news searching. And we'll eventually tell them. And by the way, here's the Qualifier 10 so you can look out who'll be against our only doubles for this Grand Slam!

Qualifier 10
Nicholas Evanson/Dimitrov Astin (SKH) vs Boris Lopez/Feder Nadala (RAJ)

And before we go, we have a comment from Ish Mizat Darurrahman, our Minister of Sports!

As Minister of Sports, I would like to say good luck to all of our players. Play nice, and Play it safe. And don't forget to kick their ***es in match once in a while. Not literally, but in defeat them in tennis.

We don't know how will our team play. Will it be better than our good-enough-but-still-unsatisfactory play back in Mattijana? We'll know when we can finally broadcast the games to your beautiful homes only on ABA Channel 1 !

[The Andromeda Island Group]

The Crown Hotel & Casino
Hamilton, Electrum
Day 1 of Qualification
Afternoon

Fats Sullivan was sitting at a poker table. Sullivan looked much younger than the players lady he was facing. Brianna Van Pelt stood behind Fats, looking ever so much like the devoted girlfriend.

Fats sized up his competition. The most formidable opponent was the tall woman to his left with the pageboy haircut. The two clean cut dudes to his right were likely to fold and the Electrumite High Roller across the table… he was the wild card.

The woman pushed all of her chips on the table. This would be the final hand. Fats looked at the two guys to his left.

“Not today,” Fats said. He wasn’t about to leave with less money than he had when he arrived.

“Too rich for my blood.” The light skinned brother to Sullivan’s left threw his cards down. Meanwhile a tall attractive woman whispered something into the ear of the clean-cut dude.

“I’m out,” the clean-cut dude said. This left the tall woman and the high roller.

“Call it.” The high roller pushed out his remaining chips.

The man put his cards on the table. He had a flush. The woman revealed a better hand, a straight flush.

“Damn,” Sullivan said under his breath.

Sullivan showed his cards to Van Pelt, revealing that he would have won.

----------

Sullivan and Van Pelt just arrived at a restaurant in the casino. A waiter was serving them.

“We’ll need six menus,” Sullivan said. “The rest of us will be here in a few minutes.”

Fats and Brianna were going to meet Heather Long here as well as three of their friends, Roosevelt Todd, Mayfield Brown and Megan Sinclair. The latter three will likely be on the International tour after the Hamilton International.

“You see Lucius Webb didn’t even mention us on the Andromeda Sports Connection.”

“What’s to mention. We’re on the International tour, but Janelle and Sarah Lee are the best of us.”

“They mentioned almost everyone else.”

“Don’t sweat it, Fats.” Roosevelt Todd arrived. The eldest grandson of the first President of the Allied States, William Roosevelt Todd shook Sullivan’s hand and air-kissed Brianna.

“So, how’s Joppa?”

Todd is a student at the University of Joppa, majoring in Government and English.

“It’s hard to stay focused, man. Classes kickin’ my ass. And there’s so many distractions on campus.”

“Brother, that’s why Bre and I are getting married.”

“What?” Todd is surprised.

“Rosie, you know that Bre and I….”

“For a long time, yes.”

“We’re all but there anyway. We should make it official. They have quickie marriages in Electrum.”

“Oh my. You too?”

Mayfield Brown and Megan Sinclair arrived. They also attend the University of Joppa and are among the Andromedan elite. Brown’s aunt and Megan’s father are also former Presidents of the Andromeda Islands.

“We should do it on the same day,” Sinclair suggested.

“But baby,” Brown interjected. “What if I find someone better than you?”

Sinclair playfully taps Brown on the head.

“And who would that leave you with, Todd?”

Just at that moment, Heather Long walked in. She spotted the others and walked over to her table. As she sits to Fats Sullivan’s left.

“Sorry about interrupting your scam, but I had to make sure you little so-called con artists didn’t cough up all your credits.”

“Sometimes, you change strategy mid-game,” Fats said. “You play it by ear.”

“It actually worked perfectly,” Todd said. “Especially for you.”

“Wait.” Long looks around their table. “This is the same arrangement.”

Nearly everyone at the table looked around. Long (the tall lady) sat to Sullivan’s left. Aside from Brianna and Megan Sinclair, Roosevelt Todd (the light-skinned brother) and Mayfield Brown (the clean-cut dude) sat in the same spots they did at the poker table.

“Where’s Mr. high roller,” Brown asked. “Maybe he can pay for our meals.”

“He already has,” Long said.

[Aqual]

Familiar and Fresh Faces Represent Aqual in First Grand Slam
HAMILTON, Etm.—The grand finale of the clay court swing of tennis is the Hamilton International, where the temperature is sure to be as hot as the rallies. The four familiar Aqualian singles players of the swing are all returning to the court for their first Grand Slam, as well as four new singles players and two new doubles teams. Today, ahead of the qualifiers, we are giving a glimpse into the profile of each of our players new to the international circuit and into the schedule of the tournament at large.

Singles

First up is Lara Navarro, who is known to Aqual due to her performance on the doubles court with partner Carla Tormo, but has heretofore not played any singles matches internationally this year. The highly energetic twenty-one year old will certainly be keen to utilize the skills she has picked up from her clay court doubles matches here in Hamilton, as well as her signature defensive groundstrokes and on-the-run topsin winners. Hopefully her incredible energy will be able to withstand not only the heat of the competition but the heat of the sun. She faces of against Zi Iles of Rwekazaland first before the deciding round of qualifying, where she will face either third-seeded in qualifying Jessica Moreaux of Krytenia, Paula Dough of South Kohnhead or Alya Elyas of Sharktail.

Doubles partner Carla Tormo is also entered in a singles draw for the first time this season. Although her hard-hitting, aggressive serve-and-volley game is in many ways better suited to faster hard or grass courts, her time on the doubles court during the clay swing has forced her to make some crucial adjustments to her game which could surprise some in her singles run. Needless to say, the experienced twenty-nine year old and sixteenth seed in qualifying will prove a challenge for whoever she faces before the main draw (potentially Hugh Smyth, Maryanne Nelson, Azam Bestari and/or Azam Bestari).

Daniel Cervantes has a similarly fast pace game as Tormo, albeit admittedly without the advantage of having adapted for doubles. The Aqualia number two will need to fight for his position in the main draw as the tenth seed in qualifying against either Lenta Rasmi or Milo Evans before again facing off against either Lance Mance or John Andrews.

La Rana Open quarterfinalist and Aqualian top ten Carlos Márquez will make his international debut in Hamilton. Although it seems his best performances have so far come on hard courts, he has tremendous potential on clay as well (reaching the Round of 16 in El Molino Open), with a great baseline game and a good kick serve which he summons in clutch points. He has the benefits of both youthful energy and experience at twenty-six years of age, and he will be a fierce competitor in this and future tournaments. He goes up against Grady Maccay of Kohnhead first, and if he manages to win there will face Banija's Deseret Weaverton, the eighteenth seed in qualifying. He would then face either Krytenian Ross Algersuari or Hildebrant Weisgerber of Reçueçn for a spot in the main draw. He will also team up with doubles partner Garbiñe Flor as the second-seeded doubles team in qualifying against Carrol Water and Cherrie Kane of Sharktail.

The national number one, Rafael Bautista, has frankly struggled on the international tour. He hopes to revive his ever-dominant (in Aqual, at least) clay court game as the twenty-first seed in qualifying against Solarampa's Sally Hopkins. If he manages to progress to the final round of qualifying, he will compete against either Georgia Bassett or Victoria Martin for a place in the main draw.

Paula Suárez is the last new Aqualia to compete in singles this time around, and little is known about her. At twenty years of age, she has no social media to speak of and manages to escape the peering eyes of both the public and the press. In every recorded post-match interview or press conference she has given, Suárez has spoken softly and given short answers. Her shyness is reflected in her game, as well, opting more often to cause forced errors from the other side of the net (thanks to her highly technical game) than going for winners; even when she does manage to hit one clear past her opponent, it is usually due to opportunism or chance than a high pace shot. She goes up against Joe Fernández of Northwest Kalactin. If her quiet game manages to progress further, she will face the winner of twenty-third seed in qualifying Maria Cláudia Amúlio and Amina Eba.

Two Aqualias were automatically entered into the singles main draw; twenty-seventh seed Bartolo Sabanero will face Martha McNeil of the Grearish Union, while Matéu Virxiliu will face a qualifier.

Doubles

Garbiñe Flor is another new face; although she plays both singles and doubles back home in Aqual, she has only entered into doubles here in Hamilton alongside Carlos Márquez. Like Lara Navarro, she has a very strong baseline game, but is much more aggressive with it, often using her groundstrokes to set up her approach to the net, where her volleys have just enough pace at just the right angle to put away points. She is the same age as Márquez at twenty-six, and the two seem to have good chemistry on the court, although they have not played as many matches together as the other Aqualias in the doubles draw. They, as the second-seeded team in qualifying, will face the Sharktail team of Carrol Water and Cherrie Kane.

Brothers Jordi (nineteen) and Rubén (seventeen) Pérez have been playing tennis together virtually their entire lives. Although they are very young (and have little experience playing at the highest level), their natural bond on the court is incomparable to any of Aqual's other doubles teams. Both are very outgoing and are quite popular on social media for their dance videos together (moreso even than for their tennis!). They will face Banija's Halima Fatty and Deseret Weaverton in qualifying.

Two Aqualian doubles team advanced automatically to the main draw: fifteenth seeds, Istria Open runner-ups and Mattijana quarterfinalists Bartolo Sabanero and Qualo Tabos will receive a bye in the first round, while Carla Tormo and Lara Navarro will face Sharktail's Bahari Zack and Diana Jansen.

We hope you will check back tomorrow for full results of a busy qualifying day here at the Hamilton International on our website and in our printed volume of the Toboso Chronicle.

[Electrum]

Cutoff!

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Singles Qualifying - Round 1

Ivan Belosorochko (WSN)               6   6
Joe King (FAM)                        2   1

Corey Todd (RWE)                      6   6
Boris Lopez (RAJ)                     2   3

Paula Dough (SKH)                     5   3
Alya Elyas (SHT)                      7   6

Zeta Juanis (ERM)                     6   6
Jason Harper (CRB)                    3   1

Aron Menkir (BNJ)                     6   4   6
Grace Kovalt (KHD)                    4   6   2

Dan Puklavec (MTJ)                    3   4
Anthony Powers (KHD)                  6   6

Fatima Wells (CSE)                    4   5
Paisley Boyd (RWE)                    6   7

Joeseph Mystery (FAM)                 4   3
Joyce Moore (CSE)                     6   6

Abdullah Jelilal (CSE)                6   6
Patrick Landson (SKH)                 2   0

Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                     6   6
Milo Evans (RAJ)                      2   2

Ella Nager (SKH)                      6   6
Tomas Faet (SAP)                      3   3

Ikram Fawz (SHT)                      4   6   1
Jana Aliki (MTJ)                      6   2   6

Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)                6   7
Kassa Berihu (BNJ)                    0   6

Alexander Thorton (CRB)               3   2
Srekislas O'Driscoll (DCS)            6   6

Muhammad Ali (FAM)                    1   6   3
Lucy Muneer (SHT)                     6   2   6

Hugh Smyth (RWE)                      6   6
Maryanne Nelson (CRB)                 0   0

Taras Barantsev (WSN)                 5   5
Zahra Tusita (ERM)                    7   7

Grady Maccay (KHD)                    3   6   3
Carlos Márquez (AQL)                  6   2   6

---

Singles Qualifying - Round 2

Qualifier 1
Austin McDanielson (TJU)              6   6
Ivan Belosorochko (WSN)               3   2

Julia Devoningstan (NWK)              6   3   6
Terence Wilde (RWE)                   3   6   2

Qualifier 2
Luke Subdonez (NWK)                   2   2
Corey Todd (RWE)                      6   6

Ralph Henschel (GGY)                  4   7  10
Nazri Robert (SHT)                    6   5   8

Qualifier 3
Jessica Moreaux (KRY)                 2   6   6
Alya Elyas (SHT)                      6   1   2

Lara Navarro (AQL)                    6   4   7
Zi Iles (RWE)                         4   6   5

Qualifier 4
Eckehard Blumenberg (GGY)             7   6
Zeta Juanis (ERM)                     5   4

Stefan Zimmerman (MTJ)                1   5
Lusinda Meriñol (KLS)                 6   7

Qualifier 5
Chad Cilsertin (KHD)                  7   1   8
Aron Menkir (BNJ)                     6   6   6

Elizabeth Lee (AIG)                   6   1   9
Roger Novak (RAJ)                     4   6   7

Qualifier 6
Alex Rivera (NWK)                     3   6   5
Anthony Powers (KHD)                  6   2   7

Milene Harman (DCS)                   6   6
Qadar El-Sharoun (NAZ)                3   4

Qualifier 7
Elke Hartung (NEG)                    3   6   1
Paisley Boyd (RWE)                    6   4   6

Vanessza Pataki (GGY)                 6   6
Brian Dreevy (FAM)                    3   4

Qualifier 8
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)               7   6
Joyce Moore (CSE)                     5   1

Anton Yarovikov (WSN)                 6   6
Jonathan StarJoe (SAP)                3   4

Qualifier 9
Mekar Laut (ERM)                      7   6
Abdullah Jelilal (CSE)                6   2

Ioana Amulio Constantinescu (NTN)     3   6   3
Franky Hartley (RWE)                  6   4   6

Qualifier 10
Daniel Cervantes (AQL)                7   2   6
Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                     5   6   4

Lance Mance (BRI)                     7   6
John Andrews (NOW)                    5   2

Qualifier 11
Armin Miksa (GGY)                     6   1   7
Ella Nager (SKH)                      1   6   5

Kadek Adi Wiranatha (PCU)             3   6
Antoño Iglesias (KLS)                 6   7

Qualifier 12
Clarence Zhu (CSE)                    6   6
Jana Aliki (MTJ)                      4   3

Rosemarie Strobl (GGY)                1   2
Muhammad Harun (NAZ)                  6   6

Qualifier 13
Novita Nurdiansyah (FID)              2   1
Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)                6   6

Catherine James (AIG)                 6   3   8
Feder Nadala (RAJ)                    0   6   6

Qualifier 14
Hemat Darwisa (ERM)                   6   6
Srekislas O'Driscoll (DCS)            3   4

Tasya Han (FID)                       6   3  11
Thomas McThomas (FAM)                 0   6   9

Qualifier 15
Justin White (NWK)                    3   4
Lucy Muneer (SHT)                     6   6

Sydney Meeuswen (DCS)                 6   6
Fenrir Colf (SAP)                     2   2

Qualifier 16
Carla Tormo (AQL)                     7   6
Hugh Smyth (RWE)                      6   4

Azam Bestari (KNC)                    2   3
Brock Zireb (NOW)                     6   6

Qualifier 17
Márcus Gabriel Alencastro (NTN)       6   7
Zahra Tusita (ERM)                    4   5

Domenica Pavoni (DCS)                 7   6
Esterina Picarelli (RCN)              6   2

Qualifier 18
Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)               6   7
Carlos Márquez (AQL)                  4   5

Ross Algersuari (KRY)                 6   6   2
Hildebrant Weisgerber (RCN)           1   7   6

Qualifier 19
Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi (PCU)            2   6   6
Keleb Brehan (BNJ)                    6   3   3

Jack Watson (KRY)                     5   6
Penny Bell-Watson (CRB)               7   7

Qualifier 20
Burama Fadika (BNJ)                   6   7
Priyan Raj (RAJ)                      1   6

Jack Ho (ETM)                         6   2   6
Abimanyu Dewandana (MWI)              1   6   4

Qualifier 21
Rafael Bautista (AQL)                 6   6
Sally Hopkins (SAP)                   3   2

Georgia Bassett (KRY)                 6   6
Victoria Martin (CRB)                 2   1

Qualifier 22
Kurt Dragic (NEG)                     3   6
Maria Pariǧi (KLS)                    6   7

Oka Sapta Wiguna (MWI)                6   6
Ayu Diah Padmi (MWI)                  4   4

Qualifier 23
Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN)            7   6
Amina Eba (BNJ)                       5   3

Paula Suárez (AQL)                    7   7
Joe Fernández (NWK)                   5   6

Qualifier 24
Dylan Brown (SKH)                     2   6   6
Martin Tomek Jr. (SAP)                6   4   3

Thibaut Berthelot (RCN)               2   6
Thedebrand Sanctiing (DCS)            6   7

Qualifier 25
Martin James Alberola (BCA)           6   4   6
Franklin Grimes (CSE)                 2   6   3

Elizabeth Bisher (SKH)                6   0   6
John B. Galt (AIG)                    0   6   4

Qualifier 26
Marcus Hathwar (ETM)                  6   6
Alexander Nishikori (RAJ)             2   3

Lidya Prajanti (MWI)                  6   6
Widya Hartati (MWI)                   3   4

Qualifier 27
Felice Mareaux (NEG)                  6   1   1
Irina Elinova (NAZ)                   1   6   6

Maria Crown (SPM)                     6   6
Khadijah Sims (AIG)                   2   2

Qualifier 28
Harold Crawley (TJU)                  6   3   7
Hailey Cermer (SKH)                   4   6   5

Judith Alexander (AIG)                4   4
Diana Jansen (SHT)                    6   6

Qualifier 29
Belle Nichols (AIG)                   6   6
Mukesh Ali (FAM)                      4   0

Pauline McCartney (CSE)               6   6
Tristan Delisle (RCN)                 3   1

Qualifier 30
Mihai Caeso Mihailescu (NTN)          3   6   6
Peter Sitnikov (WSN)                  6   2   8

Roberto Perez Balboa (BCA)            6   2   5
Laurie Simmons (CRB)                  2   6   7

Qualifier 31
Komang Agus Artawan (PCU)             6   6
Diaon Faet (SAP)                      3   4

Sintya Dewi Arimbi (MWI)              6   3   0
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)              2   6   6

Qualifier 32
Krisna Wibawa Tantan (FID)            5   7   2
Jimi Rusman (ERM)                     7   5   6

Athena Piper (KRY)                    6   6
Baako Procházka (DCS)                 3   1

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Doubles Qualifying - Round 1

Darin Barron/Cruz Rivas (RWE)                                 6   6
Milicent Broon/Carter Kanasaw (KHD)                           1   3

[Waisnor]

FNC NEWS

The first two qualifying rounds of Hamilton International in Electrum have passed. They were attended by athletes from Waisnor.

Ivan Belosorochko (WSN)               6   6
Joe King (FAM)                        2   1

Austin McDanielson (TJU)              6   6
Ivan Belosorochko (WSN)               3   2

The first participant from our country was Ivan Belosorochko, who easily defeated in the first round Joe King from Freedom and memes: 6-2, 6-1. However in a meeting with Austin McDanielson from TJUN-ia in second round problems started right away. The first set was lost with a score of 6-3, in the second round, McDanielson also won with a score of 6-2, thus knocking Belosorochko out of the tournament.

Taras Barantsev (WSN)                 5   5
Zahra Tusita (ERM)                    7   7

Taras Barantsev played with Zahra Tusita from Eraman. This match, according to commentators, was one of the most intense in the qualifying rounds, but it did not work out in favor of Taras. In the first round, Taras first had an advantage, but Zahra was able to return to the game and won a set with a score of 5-7. In the second set, there was a tense struggle from the very beginning, however, due to Barantsev’s mistake in the last game, Zahra was able to win in the set again with a score of 5-7, thus moving on.

Anton Yarovikov (WSN)                 6   6
Jonathan StarJoe (SAP)                3   4

Anton Yarovikov played with Jonathan StarJoe from Solarampa. In the first set, Anton immediately took the initiative into his own hands and without much difficulty won the first set with a score of 6-3. Jonathan was able to impose a more intense struggle in the second set, but he made a mistake that Yarovikov was able to use and won with a score of 6-4, going further.

Mihai Caeso Mihailescu (NTN)          3   6   6
Peter Sitnikov (WSN)                  6   2   8

Peter Sitnikov met with Mihai Caeso Mihailescu from Natanians and Nosts. In the first round, Peter was able to win with a score of 6-3. In the second set it became clear that Sitnikov allowed himself to relax, which Mihai took advantage of, winning the set with a score of 6-2. The third set was held in an atmosphere of intense struggle, where Peter was able to win with a score of 6-8, passing further in the tournament.

Sintya Dewi Arimbi (MWI)              6   3   0
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)              2   6   6

The last participant from Waisnor in the qualifying rounds was Vladimir Mikhailov, who met with Sintya Dewi Arimbi from Mengwi. Vladimir lost the first set with a score of 6-2, however, in the second score he took revenge, winning with a score of 6-3. In the third set, Mikhailov destroyed Sintya without letting the enemy win a single game.

[The Andromeda Island Group]

Day 2 of Qualification
Hamilton Tennis Park

9:30 am

Belle Nichols’ match started at 9:00. She held her serve and nearly broke her opponent in his last service game. After holding her serve, the first set was tied at 4 games apiece.

Nichols was thinking about the night before, when she was in her air-conditioned hotel room, eating some of the best frozen strawberries she had ever tasted. She was kind of wishing she had some chilled strawberries right now. Both she and her opponent are sitting on benches. Nichols started to grab a bottle of water from her cool box and sees two cups of frozen strawberries. She reads the writing on each cup.

This is for now…

…and this is for after match point.

Apparently, someone had read her mind. She puts a cool strawberry in her mouth. She won eight straight games, and the match.

2:30 pm

Both Catherine James and Liz Lee had matches that started at 11am. James was lucky to have a match on one of the show courts. James had a few other players in her cheering section. Julia Alexander lost her match that morning and was talking with Fats Sullivan and Brianna Van Pelt. She tried one of the strawberries that Fats offers her.

“I could have used one of these this morning,” Alexander said.

“I had a good run at the casino last night,” Sullivan said.

“These strawberries are awesome.”

“They’re grown special here. You eat them chilled and you almost forget how hot it is when you’re playing.”

The match was tied at 6-6 in the third. James held serve as Frogger Federer asked the ref for a bathroom break. James looked up at Sullivan in the stands. Sullivan started texting James. James read the message on her iPhone.

“Check your cool box,” the message said.

James checked her box and saw a cup of chilled strawberries, just like the ones she had last night in her room. She got another text from Fats.

“You’re welcome.”

7:00 pm

Liz Lee’s match was on what her teammates have dubbed the really super far court. Tournament officials had suspended play on the far courts until about an hour ago. Lee and her opponent held both of there serves after play resumed.

Most of the Andromedan players on sight had ventured out to Lee’s court. Some of them were surprised by what they saw.

“Is that Liz?” Janelle Hood looked surprised to see how Lee looked.

“It’s Liz after an afternoon outside in Hamilton in July,” Vale said.

“She’s darker than you, Sarah Lee.”

“She’s almost as dark as…”

Fats Sullivan and Brianna Van Pelt walked in. Fats carried a fresh load of chilled strawberries in his little cooler. He looked out at Liz Lee

“Holy…”

“Don’t make a…”

Van Pelt saw Liz Lee, but didn’t quite believe that someone could turn more than three shades darker in a matter of hours.

“I couldn’t believe it, either,” Sullivan said. “From Snow White to Sista Girl in a matter of hours.”

“And… she looks good.”

With her opponent doing whatever in the locker room, Sullivan walked over to Liz Lee’s bench and pulled out two cups of chilled strawberries.

“You got to try these,” Sullivan insisted. “Right now.”

Lee ate one of the chilled strawberries.

“What’s up, Fats? You want something?”

“Yeah,” Fats admitted. “Save the other cup for when you beat Novak Choke-a-vich.”

7:20

After eating the first cup, and part of the second, Lee manages to win 9-7 in the deciding set over Roger Novak.

As she shakes her opponent’s hand, she reconsiders her initial opinion of Fats Sullivan. At first, she thought he was no good. Now, she knows that he isn’t half bad. She would take time to reconsider a lot of things in the next few days.

[TJUN-ia]

Qualifying Day at Hamilton International was always going to be very interesting, no matter what happened. Qualifying for a Grand Slam is always considered a major achievement, so many players fight tooth-and-nail just to have the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the NSTT. Two TJUN-ian players looked to make it to Electrum's 2nd Grand Slam - here's how they got on.

We begin with The Cowboy of Austin McDanielson - not really happy with having to play at this stage in the first place, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to wait until Round 1 was over before he could take part as he waited for an opponent to be decided. It would turn out to be Waisnor's Ivan Belosorochko, who beat Joe King from Freedom and memes in straight sets. But The Cowboy made sure Ivan was speedily taken down in straight sets too. A bit cruel? Maybe, but in the NSTT you need to do stuff like that in order to succeed. The Cowboy will play for a spot in the tournament tomorrow when he takes on Julia Devoningstan of Northwest Kalactin.

[1] Austin McDanielson (TJU) bt Ivan Belosorochko (WSN) (6-3, 6-2)

And then we had The Crawler. Harold Crawley knew his opponent would be Hailey Cermer of South Kohnhead before a ball had been struck but, as this match-up was in Round 2, he still had to wait a bit before stepping onto one of the outer clay courts. Looking for his first win in the NSTT, the 28th seed in Qualifying took a tight Set 1 6-4. But Cermer didn't want her journey to end here: South Kohnhead may not be a good as regular Kohnhead, but you still have to be careful when playing against them. She took Set 2 6-3 to set up a deciding set. The play was tight throughout but in the end, The Crawler prevailed. Fucking finally! It may be a qualifying match, but that didn't weaken the smile that was on the face of Crawley when he left the court. He had finally won, the pain was over. Now he had to prove this performance wasn't a flash in the pan. He will play for a place in the tournament tomorrow, against Diana Jansen of Sharktail.

[28] Harold Crawley (TJU) bt Hailey Cermer (SKH) (6-4, 3-6, 7-5)

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TOMORROW'S MATCHES (Coverage Starts at 20:00 pm TST)
[1] Austin McDanielson (TJU) vs Julia Devoningstan (NWK) - Singles Qualifying Round 3
[28] Harold Crawley (TJU) vs Diana Jansen (SHT) - Singles Qualifying Round 3

[Kohnhead]

An okay first day for the bottom tier Kohnheadian tennis athletes

While Mindy Waterford is ranked 6th in the World, and her sister is ranked in the top 25, Kohnhead also has some unranked athletes due to the extra athlete rule at the Grand Slams. For the first time, Kohnheadian players participated in a grand slam, and it went okay.

Aron Menkir (BNJ)                     6   4   6
Grace Kovalt (KHD)                    4   6   2

Taking on Aron Menkir of Banjia, a nation we have become quite familiar with in the NSTT, Grace Kovalt competing in her first tournament on the NSTT looked okay. Menkir was also in his debut and the match could have gone either way. Ultimately, Menkir won in a three set affair, as Kovalt despite a strong second set to win it faded late in the third losing 4 of the last 5 games.

Dan Puklavec (MTJ)                    3   4
Anthony Powers (KHD)                  6   6

In his first match of the NSTT, Anthony Poweres took on Dan Puklavec from Mattijana, the gracious hosts of the last tournament. Just like the last match our rookie was faced against a rookie from another nation but this time, Powers emerged victorious. He would move on to the second round of qualifying which we know the results of.

Grady Maccay (KHD)                    3   6   3
Carlos Márquez (AQL)                  6   2   6

Another three set loss suffered by a rookie Kohnheadian, as Grady Maccay battled Carlos Márquez from Aqual. Maccay would suffer the loss but just like Kovalt, he went down fighting.

Chad Cilsertin (KHD)                  7   1   8
Aron Menkir (BNJ)                     6   6   6

The return of Cilsertin led to him having a bye in the first round of qualifying but in the second he was faced with taking on Aron Kenkir of Banjia. The same Aron Menkir that had defeated Kovalt in the first round. Despite Cilsertin barely winning two of the sets with both of his two set wins going to extra games. Cilsertin will be playing 53rd ranked Derek Dubrovnik from Britonisea in his next match. Maybe Cilsertin can make some noise in his 3rd NSTT tournament?

Alex Rivera (NWK)                     3   6   5
Anthony Powers (KHD)                  6   2   7

Taking on Alex Rivera, someone ranked in the 90s from Northwest Kalactin we all expected Powers to lose but miraculously he managed a three set win that went down to the wire in the last game. Powers appears to be the best of the rookies from Kohnhead, and from the looks of it will be the 4th on the grass tier 2 tournament from Kohnhead as Theresa is expected to be ineligible.

Darin Barron/Cruz Rivas (RWE)                                 6   6
Milicent Broon/Carter Kanasaw (KHD)                           1   3

In the only doubles match of the first round of qualifying, Broon and Kanasaw competed against Barron and Rivas from Rwekazaland. Both duos were competing in their first NSTT tournament but from the start Broon, and Kanasaw just looked straight up out matched which is not good to say the least.

[Springmont]

N° 8

The fourth child of five siblings, she was born in Royalwick Precinct, Meadbrook on 5 July 1998. The daughter of Colonel Dean Crown and Liz Crown received her basic education at the Royalwick Precinct School and furthered her education at the Springmont Military Academy.

While in the army, Maria's talents were detected and absorbed in the army sports team and represented the military in various domestic tennis tournaments. Her excellence was further highlighted when she was selected to represent the country by TAS for the world championship series at NSTT (Clay Court) circuit with Carlos Thirdspade, and doubles partner Jo Royalwood / Bob Lightford. At the Championnats Nationaux de Reçueçn, Maria lost three sets to her opponent Felipe de la Rosa from TJUN-ia. At the Mattijanan Open, she lost to her opponent, Dylan Brown of South Kohnhead. Luck was on her side, when at Hamilton International VI, Maria got her first victory when she defeated Khadijah Sims of The Andromeda Island Group with a straight set.

Hopefully her exposure to the world championships will give her the advantage to go further in the next level.

Qualifier 27
Maria Crown (SPM)                     6   6
Khadijah Sims (AIG)                   2   2

[Diarcesia]

Qualifier 14
Hemat Darwisa (ERM)                   6   6
Srekislas O'Driscoll (DCS)            3   4

Now on to the second set!

O'Driscoll's serves started with a pretty short one, which made it difficult to find a position where he will not give up the ball. It seemed like a simple move, but it was a problem to get the timing down from the sudden change of direction. This lead to him getting caught near the back pocket of the net, as he is already trying to hit the ball with his backhand. This was where Darwisa's forehand came in to play.

Darwisa's forehand was a little slower, but it was a threat. After one good shot from him, all openings for O'Driscoll disappeared. O'Driscoll tried to hit the ball a little higher, but he didn't had enough range to hit it with enough force stem the opponent's rally.

When O'Driscoll finally found his zone, it was too late for the Diarcesian player. The ball was already in the net for Hemat Darwisa to take the sixth point and win the qualifier!

[North Alezia]

SPORTSNEWS! FIRST DAY GONE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL!

The first day of qualification for our tennis players in the Hamilton Grand Slam resulted in a quite a celebration for the national team and probably millions of dollars of damages due to our national fans jumping up and down out of happiness and surprise! Why? apparently many of our players made it through the next stage this round.

Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) 6 7
Kassa Berihu (BNJ) 0 6

First up, we can see that Nur Irin-Amirana, our Aisyah of Alezian Tennis definitely giving Kassa Berihu no chance of even getting out safely in the first set. Completely obliterating Kassa with 6-0 on Nur's 1st set. Kassa starts to fight back, though (anyway, we also want to say good job ti Kassa Berihu and thank you for being a strong rival). Almost winning the entire set and almost giving the match another set. But Nur Irin-Amirana fights back with winning the tiebreaker giving 7-6 for Nur. This means that Nur won the additional match and will play again to decide who's going to the second round, and surprise... surprise.

Qualifier 13
Novita Nurdiansyah (FID) 2 1
Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) 6 6

Nur Irin-Amirana did it again! This time not giving Novita Nurdiansyah, who is a pretty good player herself even a chance of getting a set! This time, Aisyah of Alezian Tennis obliterated FID winning both sets with no tiebreaker! This means that Nur Irin-Amirana will go to the 2nd round.

Qualifier 27
Felice Mareaux (NEG) 6 1 1
Irina Elinova (NAZ) 1 6 6

Another of our female players made it through as well! Irina Elinova, a pretty well known tennis player in her region of Pyalivostok brings another player to the 2nd stage! Both Irina Elinova and Felice Mareaux made one set, and thus a very decisive third set has to ensue. And guess what, Irina didn't gave any chance for Felice (you fought well, thank you) beating her on the third set, thus giving North Alezia even more reason to celebrate!

Okay, we have other players playing in the competition on the first round. And there's also good news from the male singles. But not entirely, though.

Milene Harman (DCS) 6 6
Qadar El-Sharoun (NAZ) 3 4

First up, sadly Qadar El-Sharoun has to wait on his accomodation in this Grand Slam. He can't fight against Milene Harman in this. Qadar did put up a big fight, almost giving Qadar a set! But Milene Harman of DCS defeated one of our players by getting the entire match without any kind of tiebreaker, only leaving Qadar by 3 and 4 games each set! But Qadar won't give up, though. He said to the ABA Sportsnews that he'll have another chance of proving himself, because he was being approved by the Alezian Tennis Association for playing in other matches around the world. Hopefully he can do a better job on more matches to come, that YOU won't miss in ABA CH 1!

The next one brings a lighter news for us.

Rosemarie Strobl (GGY) 1 2
Muhammad Harun (NAZ) 6 6

Another of our players bring another win for us! This time, M. Harun didn't give any any ANY chance whatsoever, destroying Rosemarie Strobl with the entire two sets going to Muhammad Harun! This means that we'll see him again on the next round!

Looking at the scores, this means that we'll see Nur Irin-Amirana, Irina Elinova, and Muhammad Harun on the next round! There's still more players to qualify, though. And we still have players left waiting for their turn to add North Alezian players to the next round. And there's still our only doubles player in the Grand Slam that hasn't competed yet! How will our team's performance turn out on the next day? Stay Tuned on ABA Sportsnews or you can watch the entire match on ABA CH 1 or on ABA Interactive (which you can access using the red button in your TV set) OR on ABASports.co.az .

[Aqual]

Great Day in Qualifying for Aqualias
HAMILTON, Etm.—There were seven total matches in qualifying today featuring Aqualias, with six wins by the time the last point was played, and five Aqualias will battle it out again tomorrow for a spot in the main draw of singles, as well as both of Aqual's doubles teams that drew into the qualifiers. Results from all of today's matches and a brief schedule of tomorrow's qualifiers below.

Grady Maccay (KHD)                    3   6   3
Carlos Márquez (AQL)                  6   2   6

Carlos Márquez, a newcomer to the international circuit, scored his first win in the NSTT against fellow newcomer Grady Maccay in the first round of qualifying this morning. Márquez opened strong with a handful of strong service games thanks to his powerful kick serve mentioned in our previous publication which allows him to open up the court and wear down his opponent. Some skillful returns from the baseline gave Márquez the decisive break in the opening set. The Kohnhead player would not readily give up, however, holding easily before also breaking for the first time early in the second set. Márquez only managed to hold twice afterwards in that set, allowing Maccay to break a second time for 6-2. Things looked desperate for the Aqualia when Maccay broke in the second game of the decider before consolidating for a daunting 3-0 lead. However, Márquez finally refound his form on serve, again utilizing the kick serve out wide, before loading his returns with high pace topspin to break three times consecutively to win the last six games and finish the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Truly an impressive comeback for a player with little international experience.

Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)               6   7
Carlos Márquez (AQL)                  4   5

However, his second match proved to be much less successful for the greenhorn. Likely worn down from his earlier match in the morning, his second match in qualifying against eighteenth seed Deseret Weaverton took place in the relative heat of the afternoon (there was a brief but notable suspension of play following the first set due to excessive heat). This showed when, late into both sets, Márquez collapsed on serve, all but giving away the first set to thirty and succumbing to the pressure of two match points in the second set serving down at 5-6. Additionally, his return game was nowhere near the level of his first match of the day, although that may also be a credit to the more skilled player from Banija. Although he lost this match 6-4, 7-5 and won't be advancing to the main draw, it was a valiant effort; he will also be staying in Electrum for his doubles match in qualifying alongside Garbiñe Flor tomorrow.

Lara Navarro (AQL)                    6   4   7
Zi Iles (RWE)                         4   6   5

Another exciting three-setter in qualifying today was Lara Navarro's season debut in singles against Zi Iles. Although Navarro has proved herself a skilled tenista in all facets of the game, she seemed a bit rusty in her singles game, removed from her now more familiar position as a teammate on the doubles court with Carla Tormo. This was evident in more than a few unforced errors going wide (into the doubles alley) and sometimes horrendous positioning and movement on the court. Nevertheless, her defensive play from just behind the baseline managed to put her over the top late in the first set after more than six breaks of serve, six games to four.

The second set was also riddled with breaks, as it seems both the Aqualia and the Rwekazaland player were much more comfortable and confident returning than serving. Ultimately it was Iles who made the decisive break of serve and consolidation to clench the second 6-4.

The third set was a stark opposite of the first two, with both players finally having found their rhythm on serve. The first break was by Navarro at 40-AD to go up by 4-3, but Iles broke to stay in the match at 5-3 and consolidated for 5-all. However, Navarro continued to apply pressure on Iles by holding with relative ease to force Iles to serve to stay in the match at 5-6. On her third match point after the second deuce of the game, Navarro looked down and out of the point as her opponent from Rwekazaland sent a powerful shot cross-court from near the net; however, Navarro's signature on-the-run forehand down the line again shocked Iles and the crowd. The passing shot landed right in the back corner of the net, giving Navarro the hard-fought win, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. She will face Krytenian Jessica Moreaux for a spot in the main draw.

Daniel Cervantes (AQL)                7   2   6
Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                     5   6   4

Daniel Cervantes has had mixed results not only internationally on clay, but back home in Aqual, as well. His serve-reliant game and fast pace flat shots are not well-suited to the slower, higher bouncing surface, and he especially struggles in rallies that extend past ten shots, which are much more common on clay. However, he dominates short points, which was seen especially in the first set, where he won a startling 81% of points under four shots. He was broken only once in the first set, which points to his high points won on first serve percentage (77%). However, he also gave only lukewarm resistance to Lenta Rasmi's service points, although he managed to narrowly break it twice in the first set to clench it 7-5.

In the second set, the player from Eraman found the key to dealing with Cervantes' serve, managing several return winners and errors off the return to both lower the Aqualia's percentage of short points won to 58% and break twice relatively comfortably. Cervantes had still not found Rasmi's weak point on serve, and he won less than a third of return points in the second set, which he lost 6-2.

The third set was by far the most evenly matched, with Cervantes both upping his service game and amount of short points won as well as finally being able to reliably and consistently compete against the Eraman player's serve. With Cervantes winning over 65% of service points and over 40% of return points, he managed to break twice and be broken only once late in the set, which he won by six games to four to advance to the next round of qualifying 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. He will go up against Britonisea's Lance Mance to qualify for the main draw.

Carla Tormo (AQL)                     7   6
Hugh Smyth (RWE)                      6   4

Carla Tormo, like Lara Navarro, made her season debut in singles today in Hamilton qualifying, going up against Hugh Smyth. Although she was not completely up to form either, she seemed more composed than her doubles counterpart on the singles court today, with her solid service game only being broken once in the match. It occurred whilst serving at 2-3 in the first set. After a slew of errors from Tormo's racquet, the player from Rwekazaland found just the right opportunity at 30-40 to break with a clean backhand winner cross-court. In the crucial seventh game immediately afterwards, however, Tormo managed to break back with a couple of forced errors and a couple of volley winners that she so often executes superbly in doubles. Although the remainder of the set was on serve, the momentum was certainly with Tormo heading into the tiebreaker, as she had won a much greater share of points on serve than Smyth had, with the Aqualia often testing the Rwekazaland player's serve but coming up just short. In the tiebreaker, then, Tormo won all five of her points on serve whilst getting two mini-breaks to her name for a 7-3 victory.

Going into the second set, it again appeared that Smyth could not answer Tormo's strong service game, while the Aqualia also struggled to convert in the crucial moments, only finally breaking in the tenth and final game of the set at 30-40 (her first match point) to move to the final round of qualifying by a 7-6(3), 6-4 margin. She will there face Brock Zireb of Nowenah.

Rafael Bautista (AQL)                 6   6
Sally Hopkins (SAP)                   3   2

The number one player within Aqual's borders and holder of both the Aqualian major titles this year certainly needed a convincing win today in qualifying for the Hamilton International, after a string of disappointing results in the international clay court swing. Thankfully, he managed to do that against Sally Hopkins in straight sets. His service game was never in serious question, only being forced to save one break point during the match at 2-1 in the first set. Additionally, he returned with an aggressiveness that has frankly been largely absent during most of his international matches so far. His highly energized game allowed him to break early in the match and apply enough pressure on the receiving end in the first set to put it away 6-3 with a break of serve. In the second, he again found a crack in the Solarampa player's serve early in the set, and he never relented on his own serve, keeping Hopkins just out of reach of a comeback. Eventually, the pressure of serving down 2-5 to stay in the match got to the less experienced player, and Bautista broke at 15-40 to seal his matchup with Georgia Bassett of Krytenia.

Paula Suárez (AQL)                    7   7
Joe Fernández (NWK)                   5   6

The last match of the day featuring an Aqualian player was that of soft-spoken youngster Paula Suárez against Joe Fernández. As expected, Suárez's match was a close one due largely to her opportunism and propensity to simply "keep the rally going" rather than going for riskier shots and winners (as a result, it was also one of the longest matches at just over two hours and twenty minutes despite being only two sets thanks to the longer average point duration). The truly "exciting" points were truthfully few and far between, with most actually favoring the player from Northwest Kalactin, who had a baker's dozen more winners than the Aqualia, albeit also more unforced errors and much more forced errors. Also, Fernández had four double faults in both sets compared to Suárez's only one in the entire match; although her shots may not be powerful rockets, they are certainly very precise and accurate. This certainly helped her to capture the first set, when at 5-6 30-all Fernández double faulted, setting up the set point for the Aqualian player, which she converted when her opponent sailed a forehand long.

The second set, despite the tense scoreline, was not much more exciting than the first, and neither the players nor the crowd seemed especially energetic (although that was perhaps also a consequence of the radiating heat). The climax was of course the tiebreaker, though even that was rather "tame" compared to others despite lasting sixteen points. Ultimately, another untimely double fault from Fernández serving for the set at 7-6 and a rare winner from Suárez on a passing shot set up match point at 8-7, when Fernández dumped the return into the net for the Aqualia to progress 7-5, 7-6(7) to face Maria Cláudia Amúlio from Natanians and Nosts tomorrow.

Although there were no doubles qualifying matches today featuring Aqualias (there was only one in general), two teams from Aqual will compete tomorrow to join Bartolo Sabanero/Qualo Tabos and Lara Navarro/Carla Tormo in the main draw: Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor and brothers Jordi and Rubén Pérez. We here at the Toboso Chronicle wish them and all of our Aqualian competitors in action tomorrow in the final round of qualifying the best of luck, and we invite our faithful readers to check back then for full results from all those matches.

[Electrum]

The Turnip: What TENNIS really means!
by Primmy Primmy Primrose

[Electrum]

Cutoff. The next cut-off is in 48 hours. If multiple roleplays are submitted, they will be considered as one larger whole (in other words, just post one roleplay instead of two).

Tomorrow's forecast: 23C/73F - perfect for practice during the break day
Day after tomorrow's forecast: 18C/64F - unseasonably cool

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Singles Qualification

Austin McDanielson (TJU)            6   6
Julia Devoningstan (NWK)            1   2

Corey Todd (RWE)                    5   6   4
Ralph Henschel (GGY)                7   2   6

Jessica Moreaux (KRY)               1   4
Lara Navarro (AQL)                  6   6

Eckehard Blumenberg (GGY)           6   7
Lusinda Meriñol (KLS)               2   5

Chad Cilsertin (KHD)                6   6
Elizabeth Lee (AIG)                 3   1

Anthony Powers (KHD)                6   6   6
Milene Harman (DCS)                 7   3   2

Paisley Boyd (RWE)                  7   7
Vanessza Pataki (GGY)               6   5

Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)             6   6   6
Anton Yarovikov (WSN)               7   3   0

Mekar Laut (ERM)                    6   6
Franky Hartley (RWE)                2   1

Daniel Cervantes (AQL)              1   7   6
Lance Mance (BRI)                   6   5   4

Armin Miksa (GGY)                   6   6
Antoño Iglesias (KLS)               4   2

Clarence Zhu (CSE)                  6   6
Muhammad Harun (NAZ)                4   2

Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)              5   4
Catherine James (AIG)               7   6

Hemat Darwisa (ERM)                 6   6
Tasya Han (FID)                     4   3

Lucy Muneer (SHT)                   6   6
Sydney Meeuswen (DCS)               4   3

Carla Tormo (AQL)                   3   6   6
Brock Zireb (NOW)                   6   1   2

Márcus Gabriel Alencastro (NTN)     6   6   3
Domenica Pavoni (DCS)               7   4   6

Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)             6   3   6
Hildebrant Weisgerber (RCN)         3   6   0

Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi (PCU)          1   7   3
Penny Bell-Watson (CRB)             6   5   6

Burama Fadika (BNJ)                 7   3   6
Jack Ho (ETM)                       6   6   4

Rafael Bautista (AQL)               6   6
Georgia Bassett (KRY)               1   3

Maria Pariǧi (KLS)                  4   6   6
Oka Sapta Wiguna (MWI)              6   2   4

Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN)          2   6   0
Paula Suárez (AQL)                  6   2   6

Dylan Brown (SKH)                   7   2   4
Thedebrand Sanctiing (DCS)          5   6   6

Martin James Alberola (BCA)         6   3   6
Elizabeth Bisher (SKH)              2   6   3

Marcus Hathwar (ETM)                6   5   6
Lidya Prajanti (MWI)                4   7   3

Irina Elinova (NAZ)                 6   6
Maria Crown (SPM)                   1   1

Harold Crawley (TJU)                6   6
Diana Jansen (SHT)                  0   1

Belle Nichols (AIG)                 4   6   7
Pauline McCartney (CSE)             6   4   5

Peter Sitnikov (WSN)                7   6
Laurie Simmons (CRB)                5   4

Komang Agus Artawan (PCU)           4   5
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)            6   7

Jimi Rusman (ERM)                   7   6
Athena Piper (KRY)                  6   4

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Doubles Qualification

Arya Kusuma/Kadek Dwipayana (MWI)                             7   5   6
Darin Barron/Cruz Rivas (RWE)                                 5   7   0

Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             6   3   6
Carrol Water/Cherrie Kane (SHT)                               2   6   3

Mihai Publius Apilescu/Ion Marcus Ioanescu (NTN)              7   6
Katelyn Barnes/Maryanne Nelson (CRB)                          6   4

Fats Sullivan/Brianna Van Pelt (AIG)                          3   7   6
Opal Moore/Delilah Long (CSE)                                 6   5   2

Samuel Howe/Leon Reed (CRB)                                   7   1   4
Alexander Nishikori/Priyan Raj (RAJ)                          5   6   6

Allen Durham/Jason Harper (CRB)                               6   6
Josiah Smith/Gobias Woods (CSE)                               3   4

Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)                         6   6
Konstantin Ulyanov/Lev Barkov (WSN)                           4   4

Todd Richardson/Victoria Tran (AIG)                           6   6
Tua Tomek III/Martin Tomek Jr (SAP)                           2   2

Erin Maldry/Alexander Dumor (KHD)                             2   3
Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                                 6   6

Nicholas Evanson/Dimitrov Astin (SKH)                         6   6
Boris Lopez/Feder Nadala (RAJ)                                2   4

Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)                          7   7
Eliza Holmes/Theresa Tennis (CSE)                             6   6

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 4   6   6
Halima Fatty/Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)                          6   0   3

Zeta Juanis/Zahra Tusita (ERM)                                6   1   6
Kim Boi-An/Roger Novak (RAJ)                                  3   6   3

Burama Fadika/Bala Guiss (BNJ)                                6   6
Sally Hopkins/Jonathan StarJoe (SAP)                          1   2

Tomas Faet/Diaon Faet (SAP)                                   3   1
Antoño Iglesias/Lusinda Meriñol (KLS)                         6   6

William Wuttah/Nick Radon (SKH)                               5   6   5
Luna Wealsy/Annabeth Jackson (FAM)                            7   4   7

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Below will be the first batch for scorination (in 48 hours).

Singles Draw - Round 1 - Top Half

Section 1
[1] Dominika Lisicki (MTJ) vs [WC] Barry Boa (SAP)
[WC] Acteus Linna (DCS) vs Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)
[WC] Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs [WC] Caleb Johannan (NOW)
[28] Taylor Bates (CSE) vs Sekar Laut (ERM)
[21] Abelie Fontana (RCN) vs [Q] Lara Navarro (AQL)
Karina Gerard (NEG) vs [Q] Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)
[WC] Kendra Jackson (AIG) vs [Q] Jimi Rusman (ERM)
[15] Mattias Burges (MTJ) vs [Q] Austin McDanielson (TJU)

Section 2
[8] Thierry Garzala (NEG) vs [WC] Kim Boi-An (RAJ)
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL) vs [Q] Peter Sitnikov (WSN)
[Q] Paisley Boyd (RWE) vs Haikal Jansen (SHT)
[30] Livinia Moore (ETM) vs [WC] Bala Guiss (BNJ)
[24] Donat Kis (GGY) vs [WC] Heather Long (AIG)
Rog Ion Tralito (NTN) vs Sarah Dinsdale (KRY)
Maddison Scott (ETM) vs [WC] Jaiden Kjellberg (FAM)
[10] Danjiella Zovic (NEG) vs [WC] Gracelyn Corinly (SKH)

Section 3
[6] Mindy Waterford (KHD) vs [Q] Martin James Alberola (BCA)
Philippe Baloui (TJU) vs [Q] Lucy Muneer (SHT)
Joe Katsi (TJU) vs [WC] Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap (FID)
[25] Ajla Vesnic (MTJ) vs Niken Subdula (NWK)
[22] Batera Siwara (ERM) vs [Q] Penny Bell-Watson (CRB)
[Q] Domenica Pavoni (DCS) vs Bartholomew Pole (KHD)
Bianka Arendt (GGY) vs [WC] Samuel Howe (CRB)
[12] Gaëlle Sellier (RCN) vs [Q] Eckehard Blumenberg (GGY)

Section 4
[3] Ricardo Toli (BRI) vs [Q] Ralph Henschel (GGY)
Derek Dubrovnik (BRI) vs [Q] Chad Cilsertin (KHD)
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) vs [Q] Daniel Cervantes (AQL)
[29] Andrew Baumgartner (KRY) vs [Q] Anthony Powers (KHD)
[23] Indah Susanti (PCU) vs Jason Gordon (BRI)
[WC] Mariza Kaľat (KLS) vs [WC] Rueben Martinez (RWE)
Janet Riley (ETM) vs [WC] Putra Dewangga (MWI)
[16] Orsolya Szabo (GGY) vs AAUGCC (EAS)

Doubles Draw - Round 1 - Top Half

Section 1
[Q] Antoño Iglesias/Lusinda Meriñol (KLS) vs Javier Carrasco/Tomas de Torquemada (BCA)
Tamara Takacs/Albert Taussig (GGY) vs Danjiella Zovic/Thierry Garzala (NEG)
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM) vs Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap/Tasya Han (FID)
Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL) vs Bahari Zack/Diana Jansen (SHT)

Section 2
Janelle Hood/Sarah Lee Vale (AIG) vs [Q] Zeta Juanis/Zahra Tusita (ERM)
Glaucy Görög/Annis Van Der Beek (DCS) vs [Q] Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)
Batera Siwara/Hemat Darwisa (ERM) vs [WC] Steve Schultz/Barnaby Reynolds (RWE)
{Q] Mihai Publius Apilescu/Ion Marcus Ioanescu (NTN) vs [Q] Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM)

Section 3
Odran Rudaski/Sigestan Joshi (DCS) vs Lola Watt/Sophie Rouson (SKH)
[Q] Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL) vs AAUGCC/SARA (EAS)
Azam Bestari/Amina Wira (KNC) vs [Q] Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)
Ramsey Lewis/Kelly Clark (AIG) vs Bianka Arendt/Armin Miksa (GGY)

Section 4
[Q] Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS) vs [Q] Allen Durham/Jason Harper (CRB)
Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU) vs Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH)
Oleg Ivanov/Artyom Petrenko (WSN) vs [Q] Alexander Nishikori/Priyan Raj (RAJ)
Iohanna Márcia Enderssen-Moura/Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN) vs [WC] Karen Roth/Tom Crow (CSE)

[Mattijana]

Mattijana Open Turns Eyes Towards Slam After Clay Swing Success

MFO SPORT

The Organisers of the Mattijanan Open have turned their attention towards securing the rights to the NSTT's Clay Court Grand Slam after a successful tournament in Burges last week. The tournament at the TennisKlubBurges, soon to be re-named the NasinalTennisZentrum in preparation for the bid, gained good feedback from other nations during the week-long event.

Tournament director Sophia Regner said that her team were pleased with how international fans had engaged with the event and were keen to explore rumours from within Electrum that current holders Hamilton were keen to give up the rights to the Slam. They face a potential challenge from Beconailles in Recuecn, who also hosted an excellent clay-court tournament, as well as other venues within Electrum. Istrija, Banija might also be outsiders having held the tier-2 tournament that started the clay swing off.

Burges' main strength is its tennis infrastructure. Despite hosting 110 singles players and 57 doubles teams, the site used only 16 of its 22 available courts, not including practice courts that could potentially be repurposed into minor competitive courts for the early rounds. The site just the other side of the Juliana river from the city centre is modern, spacious and thanks to the arrival of international tennis, also quite wealthy.
Another big selling point is one that neither Regner nor her colleagues at the Mattijanan Department of Sport can do anything about - the Burges climate. One of the big talking points before the Hamilton International is the oppressive heat in the Electrumite desert, something made even more problematic by the long, gruelling rallies facilitated by the clay.

Measures have been taken by the tournament organisers to mitigate the health risks of such conditions, such as heat breaks when the temperature reaches its highest levels, cool boxes and most bizarrely, a moveable cold air blower for players to use between games. Ultimately though, these measures won't erase the problem and the sustainability of them is also something that may come under scrutiny, particular as some of these measures are also being used to cool fans on the outside courts.
Whilst not exactly the wintery wasteland of the far-north, the temperate climate in Burges makes for a pretty comfortable atmosphere during summer and although the breeze does bring its odd rain break, the tournament last week ran with fairly few stoppages with temperatures generally peaking around the 20-25 degree mark. It's vastly different to what athletes will face over the next couple of weeks.

Where the NSTT may have reservations is in the experience and popularity of the tournament amongst the tour itself. The recent edition of the Mattijanan Open was just it's second and only the first as a tier one event. It's an event, lets not forget, that is still in its infancy and the cohort of athletes competing perhaps reflected that. Pemecutanese tennis chose not to send it's top-ranked players, as did Neu Engellon and Tjunia. Being snubbed by established tennis nations in favour of the other tier one tournament in Beconailles isn't encouraging for the tournament's hopes of once again receiving a promotion, especially as the venue in Recuecn can offer similar conditions to those in Burges, as well as a passionate fanbase of its own.

Having said that, the limited feedback offered by visiting nations is good and teams did seem keen to engage with the local culture. Hopefully that experience will be enough to encourage the big guns to visit town, but until then, the NSTT may want to see more, especially without the amplifying factor of Mattijanan success at the tournament.

Anyhow, there's a slam around the corner and despite the other talking points, there's gonna be a lot of tennis to talk about, particularly from a Mattijanan perspective.

[Waisnor]

FNC NEWS

Hamilton International Qualification Round passed, which was attended by tennis players from Waisnor.

Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)             6   6   6
Anton Yarovikov (WSN)               7   3   0

The winner of the last round, Anton Yarovikov, met with Elizabeth Quehall from Britonisea. In the first set, none of the rivals wanted to give the game to another, but Anton was able to beat Elizabeth with a score of 7-6. However, in the second set, Elizabeth was able to impose a fight on Yarovikov and win with a score of 6-3, and in the third set player from Britonisea dominated Anton, preventing him from winning a single game, thus knocking him out of the tournament.

Peter Sitnikov (WSN)                7   6
Laurie Simmons (CRB)                5   4

Peter Sitnikov, another Waisnorian started in the qualifying rounds, played with Laurie Simmons from Croblade. In the first set, the athletes played on an equal footing, but at the end of the set Peter was able to snatch the victory with a score of 7-5. The second set was held in such an atmosphere of confrontation, and it ended almost the same way - Peter pulled out a victory in the last game, thus passing on in the tournament. The next match Sitnikov will play with Matéu Virxiliu from Aqual.

Komang Agus Artawan (PCU)           4   5
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN)            6   7

Vladimir Mikhailov met with Komang Agus Artawan from Pemecutan, a pretty strong tennis power. At the beginning, Mikhailov felt pressure from Komang, but then he managed to win in the set with a score of 6-4. In the second set, the rivals were equal and did not want to concede a game to an opponent, but still Mikhailov was stronger and pulled out a victory in the match with a score of 7-5.

Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)                         6   6
Konstantin Ulyanov/Lev Barkov (WSN)                           4   4

A couple from Konstantin Ulyanov and Lev Barkov met with Bahia Baggio and Srekislas Amoretto from Diarcesia. In the first set, as in other matches involving players from Vaysnor, the rivals went almost head to head, but a pair from Diarcesia managed to beat Konstantin and Lev with a score of 6-4. The second set went in the same setting and ended with the same score. Thus, a couple from Waisnor was knocked out of the tournament.

[TJUN-ia]

It was the final day of qualifying at the Hamilton international in Electrum. On this day, Grand Slam dreams would be made and broken across the outer clay courts of the Hamilton Tennis Park. Round 3 in the singles, Round in the Doubles but numbers don't mean anything when your fighting for a spot in one of the biggest events on the NSTT Calender. TJUN-ia had 2 men looking to make it to the proper tournament and many knew it wouldn't be easy. But it seems that didn't matter...

[1] Austin McDanielson (TJU) bt Julia Devoningstan (NWK) (6-2, 6-1)
[28] Harold Crawley (TJU) bt Diana Jansen (SHT) (6-0, 6-1)

Both The Cowboy and The Crawler took comfortable straight-set victories in their matches, to the surprise of many back in TJUN-ia. How did this happen?

Well, let's start with Austin McDanielson and his match against Julia Devoningstan of Northwest Kalactin. He definitely looked in control and looked as if he had a point to prove. Many say he has: with all the success he has had with Scarlet in the doubles, his singles form seems...OK? I know not everyone expects all of TJUN-ia's "both draw" players to perform brilliantly in both draws - they just want them to play well in any situation without shortening their life expectancy - but there is a vocal minority who feels that he has to perform as well as Spetsova in order to "have the honour" of playing with Spetsova. With him not getting into doubles action until Thursday at the earliest, he can focus all of his attention on his matchup in Round 1. He will take on the 15th seed, Mattias Burges of Mattijana, after the off-day tomorrow.

Now onto Harold Crawley. Where the hell did this come from, mate? The typical Crawley match-up is known for being either his opponent demolishing him or it goes all the way until someone (usually him) breaks and falls. But this...this was something else. The Crawler always took his matches seriously up until this point, but this was just...pure domination. He looked like a different player out there - gone was the happy-go-lucky emotions he usually does in public and in its place was a determined man who wanted nothing more than to win. It may be striking to many who are used to him, but it seems to be working. The TJUN-ian who couldn't win a match to save his life has now won 2 on the bounce and he looked like someone who wants to play - very well. We will see how he does on Wednesday in the Bottom Half of Round 1.

Tomorrow is an off day for all players, as they get a chance to practice in perfect weather conditions (23C/73F according to local weather reports). But it is also Secretary-General Day, the day that celebrates the birthday of the guy who founded both TJUN in U2 and TJUN-ia in U3 - who just so happens to be the leader of this fine nation. It is a day for TJUN-ians to relax, but the only sport on the telly will be the ARWC group game against the Mathuvan Union. Tuesday will kick-off the tournament proper under "unseasonably cool" conditions of 18C/64F.

But before we go, we must address a little remark made by a writer for Mattijana's MFO SPORT. They were talking about the recent open the nation held in Burges when this little pearl was dropped:

It's an event, lets not forget, that is still in its infancy and the cohort of athletes competing perhaps reflected that. Pemecutanese tennis chose not to send it's top-ranked players, as did Neu Engellon and Tjunia. Being snubbed by established tennis nations in favour of the other tier one tournament in Beconailles isn't encouraging for the tournament's hopes of once again receiving a promotion, especially as the venue in Recuecn can offer similar conditions to those in Burges, as well as a passionate fanbase of its own.

A few things on this. Firstly, I guess it is an honour for TJUN-ia to be considered an "established tennis nation" when we are only playing in our 7th tournament. I guess they don't remember that we literally debuted in the NSTT a few months back in Centralis but I guess when you have two players in the 7 Singles players and 3 Doubles Pairings in the NSTT Top 100 than apparently it's easy to not remember. Secondly, the TFT didn't intend at all to "snub" the Mattijana Open! They have 12 players that they have to ensure get equal opportunity to perform at the biggest stage in multiversal tennis. Burges didn't receive Valentina Spetsova, but they still got to see Jean van de Kloor! Can't the TFT just split its many players between 2 equal tournaments without overlap?!

Enough ranting for today. We'll see you on Tuesday morning for the start of it all...

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DAY AFTER TOMORROW'S MATCHES (Coverage Starts at 10:00 am TST)
Singles Round 1 - Top Half
Section 1
[WC] Acteus Linna (DCS) vs Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)
[15] Mattias Burges (MTJ) vs [Q] Austin McDanielson (TJU)

Section 3
Philippe Baloui (TJU) vs [Q] Lucy Muneer (SHT)
Joe Katsi (TJU) vs [WC] Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap (FID)

Section 4
Shinji Makauchi (TJU) vs [Q] Daniel Cervantes (AQL)

Doubles Round 1 - Top Half
Section 4
Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU) vs Mary Owenter/Rowley Timple (SKH)

[Springmont]

N° 9

Singles Qualification
Irina Elinova (NAZ)                 6   6
Maria Crown (SPM)                   1   1

We are fortunate today to have the opportunity to interview TAS manager Roland Ghaffur about the world of tennis and the ongoing NSTT tournament.

Tennis Association of Springmont (TAS): As we know, the Hamilton International VI Championship is a tournament on a clay court, what are the advantages of a clay court over a regular court?

Roland Ghaffur (RG): Simply put, clay courts are user-friendly courts. It makes the player less injured while playing there because of his softness. It is also more comfortable and cool than playing in other fields as clay absorbs hot and heat. The condition is that it is well maintained as it is frequently watered.

TAS: Does it say, playing in the clay courts will help players better?

RG: Yes, it helps because the clay court surface slows down the ball a bit, and gives the player a chance to catch and shoot back. For example, an hour of practicing on a clay court, the player will get more shots than any other court due to his slightly slowing bounce and giving them time to grab the ball. This will give them consistency, and it's great for players who are rising to get that consistency. They can improve their shot, either forehands or backhands.

TAS: Did anyone say this clay court needs special care?

RG: True, baselines, sidelines must always be repainted, it must also always be watered to get the appropriate softness and moisture.

TAS: Finally, what is your comment on the achievements of our athletes at Hamilton International VI

RG: As I always say, for me, the results are not important, but the experience and opportunity to play with the world champion is still valuable and should be taken as self-motivation to be more successful

NEXT GAME-
Singles Draw - Round 1 - Top Half
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs Caleb Johannan (NOW)

Doubles Draw - Round 1 - Top Half
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM) vs Pablo Cedric Kilapkilap/Tasya Han (FID)

[Kohnhead]

Day 2 of Hamilton goes better

Chad Cilsertin (KHD)                6   6
Elizabeth Lee (AIG)                 3   1

Cilsertin took on Elizabeth Lee from The Andromeda Island Group, who was competing in her second NSTT tournament, with the first coming at Istria. Cilsertin as expected dominated to move on to the main draw, where he will play Derek Dubrovnik from Britonisea, who is ranked 53rd in the World. Cilsertin will be a big underdog, but he is ready to try and win.

Anthony Powers (KHD)                6   6   6
Milene Harman (DCS)                 7   3   2

Powers played Milene Harman from Diarcesia in a tough three set match which saw him pick up the upset against a top 150 player. Powers in his first tournament (a major) has made the main draw. He will play the 29 in the tournament Andrew Baumgartner from Krytenia in which he will be a massive underdog. Powers has upside and even if he loses this will have been a successful tournament and one he can build upon.

Erin Maldry/Alexander Dumor (KHD)                             2   3
Jimi Rusman/Lenta Rasmi (ERM)                                 6   6

Taking on the pair of Rusman and Rasmi from Eraman, two players who have never played in a NSTT tournament before, Maldry and Dumor lost. Maldry, played in a tournament earlier this year but lost in her first match. Paired with Dumor in this one, the same exact thing happened. Where/when we see either of these players again is the question?


That was all of the games played by Kohnheadian athletes yesterday at Hamilton. On day 3 Mindy Waterford the number 6 in the World, and one of the favorites to win Hamilton will take the court for the first time.

[Diarcesia]

Bahia Baggio/Srekislas Amoretto (DCS)                         6   6
Konstantin Ulyanov/Lev Barkov (WSN)                           4   4

After many false starts in previous tournaments, the recent slew of advances among Diarcesians had the fans excited, with this result being no exception. However, they will face Allen Durham and Jason Harper, one of the few players who stood out from the pack with a convincing beating of Josiah Smith and Gobias Woods.

This was not the end of the tournament. There are still more exciting matches to come.

[WC] Acteus Linna (DCS) vs Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)

Before analyzing this, I watched the two players' prior tournaments. Felipe de la Rosa had a slight advantage in that he was playing with a more experienced team. I also had time to watch from the stand as Felipe helped beat Mattijana's Tamara Huscak and Dominik Lintner in the Reçueçn semifinals.

[Q] Domenica Pavoni (DCS) vs Bartholomew Pole (KHD)

Domenica Pavoni qualified past the initial gauntlet and Bartholomew Pole has redemption in mind after Acteus Linna surprised the audience with his underdog victory. The two players have a lot at stake. They wanted to prove to their country and the world that they were worthy of taking a grand slam title. I speculate that Pole doesn't want to be lumped in with Eutaur Jordaniscus as an overrated local #1-ranker.

Glaucy Görög/Annis Van Der Beek (DCS) vs [Q] Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)

This one should be quite easy for Görög and Vanderbeek. All the training done for the upcoming XIV Olympics might just give them a shot at grabbing the doubles trophy.

Odran Rudaski/Sigestan Joshi (DCS) vs Lola Watt/Sophie Rouson (SKH)

This is still a long shot for Rudaski and Joshi in my opinion. I had to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with their composure as they made the most of their little matériel. The two had to overcome a lot of nerves on the flight from Diarcesia to Electrum: they were the first of the Diarcesian players to arrive here. Not only did they have to deal with press and fans eager to see them win, but they also had to prepare for the worst.

Azam Bestari/Amina Wira (KNC) vs [Q] Anthony Taylor/Nathan Williams (DCS)

As expected, the two top-level pairs should be quite matched tomorrow. Azam Bestari and Amina Wira are a little slower on average, but they have a more timely release that made up for it, in addition to a much faster first step.

[North Alezia]

SPORTSNEWS! FIRST DAY GONE WELL, SECOND DAY GONE NOT TOO WELL...

The North Alezian team were unlucky this round. Almost all of our players that advances through the 2nd round fails to enter the next round. In this Sportsnews, We'll dissect each match.

Clarence Zhu (CSE) 6 6
Muhammad Harun (NAZ) 4 2

First up, M. Harun can't beat Clarence Zhu of CSE. We actually expect something like this to happen to our Muhammad Harun. He was still new to the game, and still less in experience. M. Harun couldn't break a set in this match.

Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) 5 4
Catherine James (AIG) 7 6

Second, We predicted Nur Irin-Amirana to get to the next round easily. Sadly, she is not fast enough for Catherine James. But, Irin-Amirana puts out a great fight against the opponent. Our team has actually been criticized by Tennis fans and masters alike. It was commented that North Alezian players are indeed strong, but too slow on speed. That means, the team has to increase more on the footwork of the team. Literally, don't skip leg day.

Irina Elinova (NAZ) 6 6
Maria Crown (SPM) 1 1

Not all hope's lost, though. Irina Elinova almost completely obliterated Maria Crown of Springmont, only giving Crown one game each set, only to be bashed by Irina. Irina is indeed one of our best players in here. Hopefully Irina Elinova can keep her performance safe and sound.

There are still few players from North Alezia that still untested yet. But their match is coming. And how will our doubles team play out? Stay tuned for more Sportsnews and watch the Hamilton Grand Slam on ABA CH 1, through live streaming, or through your ABA Interactive set box by pressing the red button on your remote control!

[The Andromeda Island Group]

The Concluding Matches of Qualification
Hamilton Tennis Park

10:20 am

Mayfield Brown and Megan Sinclair will likely be one of the doubles teams representing the Andromeda Islands in the next big tournament. Megan Sinclair’s father, former President Louis Sinclair, spent much of his late political career as Minister of Foreign Affairs, so Megan often hears about moves being made in that department.

“You know, rumor has it that Richardson and Lewis are both being kicked upstairs.”

“What’s that?” Brown was engrossed in the game. Richardson aggressively batted back an attempted smash. Their opponents faced match point on their serve, down 5-2 & love-40.

“Ramsey Lewis is supposed to be the new Ambassador to the World Assembly, while Richardson will become the Ambassador to Electrum.”

“What about Tran?”

“She’s looking to stay on. She’s ranked 9th in singles. She should squeak into the top 8 after how she did back home.”

Richardson & Tran win 6-2, 6-2

11:55 am

Sometimes, paying it forward pays off.

Fats Sullivan and Brianna Van Pelt battled back, gaining their first break of the match in the final game of the second set, avoiding the tie break. This morning wasn’t anywhere near as hot as it was when they watched Lee’s match, but it was still pretty intense.

The payoff occurred when Moore & Long (CSE) requested a bathroom break after going down a break in the third. Van Pelt checked her phone, then looked in the cool box. There were two cups of chilled strawberries.

“Fats, you want some strawberries?”

“We got strawberries?”

Sullivan looked up to find Liz Lee in the stands. He couldn’t tell if she won or lost her match, but he was glad that she returned the favor.

“Not just yet.”

After Brianna Van Pelt and Fats Sullivan won 6-2 in the 3rd, they savored the fruits of victory.

5:00 pm

Heather Long and Roosevelt Todd had been watching Belle Nichols and Pauline McCartney play for the past few hours. Elizabeth Lee waited for Nichols to serve out the second set before joining Long and Todd.

“So, Miss Lee, what’s the verdict?”

“Yesterday took a lot out of me.”

“She lost,” Long and Todd said in unison.

“So now what?” Long was curious.

“I’m not sure.”

“Look. There’s Cat!” Todd said.

Catherine James looked happy as she came over to meet with her friends.

“Miss James?”

“Well, you know how I complained about that long match yesterday?”

“Yes,” Long said. “What about it?”

“That was nothing compared to what my opponent went through. Mr. Nur Irin-Amirima endured TWO matches in the past two days, and he was still puttin’ it on.”

“You did win, right?” Todd was curious.

“7-5, 6-4. But it wasn’t all cut-throat. He was a gentleman. You know, with the heat and all the competitive juices boiling over, it’s not easy to just be decent. You just never know with some people.”

“Yeah,” Lee said. “Sometimes, life brings some trick shots.”

6:20 pm

Nichols managed to break McCartney midway through the 2nd set. Since then, neither Nichols nor McCartney had come close to a service break in the first ten games of the final set. It’s been a hard day’s night… until now.

Nichols is up 30-40 and looks determined to serve back anything McCartney sends her way…and… paints the sideline with a straight shot out of McCartney’s reach.

“Game, Nichols.”

After Nichols serves out the match, she shakes hands with McCartney. She motions to Catherine James to come down to the front row. They whisper something to each other just before high fiving each other. Nichols runs to the locker room.

“What’d she say?” Todd asks.

“She said ‘I am the Walrus.’”

“Cuckoo-Catchoo!”

[Eraman]

CHAPTER 13
THE GRAND SLAM

Batera Siwara went on to reach the Round of 16 of the Matijjana Open, levelling his achievement in Recuecn. He managed to beat Novita Nurdiansyah from Filindostan and Jessica Moreaux from Krytenia before crashing out of the tournament to the eye-catching Bartolo Sabanero from Aqual in a hard-fought match.

After reaching the semi-final of Banija Open and the round of 16 in the last 2 tournaments, Batera Siwara is now ranked 25th in the world and will lead Eraman tennis players into their first grand slam ever, the Hamilton International.

The contingent from Eraman consists of 8 players that make up 8 singles and 4 doubles including 4 young debutants in the international stage, Jimi Rusman, Lenta Rasmi, Zeta Juanis and Zahra Tusita. However, the nation's hope is solely put on the shoulder of the local tennis darling, Batera Siwara. Not much is expected from the other 7 players.

6 of the players, the 4 debutants, Mekar Laut and Hemat Darwisa had to play in the qualifying rounds but only 3 players managed to get through to the first round with 3 of the debutants, Lenta Rasmi, Zeta Juanis and Zahra Tusita crashing out very early in the qualifying rounds.

The more experienced Mekar Laut and Hemat Darwisa had no trouble beating their respective opponents in the qualifying round while Eraman junior champion, Jimi Rusman barely managed to beat Krisna Wibawa Tantan from Filindostan before putting in a more convincing performance against Athena Piper from Krytenia to reach the first round.

Batera Siwara and Sekar Laut who had a bye to the first round of the Hamilton International will begin their journey in Electrum against Penny Bell-Watson and Taylor Bates respectively while Jimi Rusman is expected to have a tough match with Kendra Jackson from the Andromeda Islands Group.

The real challenge begins now.

[Pemecutan]

Tuesday, 14 July 2020 (Anggara Umanis Wuku Landep, Pawukon 1780)

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---

So Long, Wiranatha

Pemecutan Puri, Pemecutan - The hype and euphoria of Hamilton International have to be put aside after a shocking news come from one of Pemecutanian player. After going back to the country from an early defeated in Qualifying Round of Hamilton International, Kadek Adi Wiranatha gives a shocking revelation. The veteran tennis player have decided to retired from professional tennis and stated that Hamilton International was his last tournament. The 34 year old player was one of the first Pemecutanian professional tennis players when PTA decided to joined NSTT tournament back in 2015. He was a diligent and hard-working player although with lack of luck. Throughout his professional career, Wiranatha could not shine more like his other teammates. He usually lost earlier in the tournament he entered. And he was prone to injury which made him unable to joined more tournaments. It is believe that this situation have made him depressed. He was intended to take a break before NSTT went into a long hiatus.

In the new season, Wiranatha also couldn't show his best performance. Several injuries kept prevent him to entering more tournaments than his teammates. And it's seems that his lack of luck still follows him. Hamilton International was just his second tournament so far. And in both tournament he entered, he always lost earlier. But it seems like he have lost his interest again in playing. After he went back to the country, Wiranatha was admitted to the hospital as his hip injury become sever again. And with his worsen health condition, he decided to retired from professional tennis competition.

"I may not be in any competition again in the future but it won't stop me from contributing more to Pemecutan tennis," says Wiranatha during his retirement speech.

"It is such a sad news. But I respected his decision. He is a good player. It's just that he tend to get injured easily which makes him hard to accomplish more. He is a dear friend of me and we are about the same age. It will be harder for us to compete with younger player with such condition," says Ngurah Putra Muliawan on an interview during his practice in Hamilton.

Rumour has it that Wiranatha will focused on his injury treatment while also being selected as a coach at Batubulan Tennis Club. Wiranatha retirement added a concern of Pemecutan decline in tennis professional. Just last week, Oka Sulastra stated that he will focused on Double competition more and might be leaving Single competition in the future. Concern also arise about Ayu Ratih Kemalasari worse results and two Pemecutanian young players that still unable to show their best performance.

There is also accusation about favouritism inside PTA, Pemecutan tennis governing body. Sports critics saw that higher ranked players are given larger tournament slots than lower ranked players and newcomers. The accusation is dismissed by Surya Prabawa, PTA spoke person.

"There's no such thing as favouritism. We are trying to give a fair amount of tournaments for each players so they can developed their skills and also maintain their ranked," says Surya Prabawa.

So long, Wiranatha. All the tennis fans will definitely miss you. Hopefully you will succeed to produce great, young and talented players for the future of Pemecutan. We all wish you luck and recover soon.

[Aqual]

Full Slate of Aqualias Headed for Main Draw
HAMILTON, Etm.—It was a good day for tennis in Aqual yesterday as all five singles players and both doubles teams vying for a spot in the main draw of the Hamilton International managed to do so (Carlos Márquez is the only Aqualian player to have lost thus far, having done so the day before in qualifying). Today, the Aqualias took advantage of the fair weather to rest up and get some practice in ahead of round one of the tournament proper tomorrow. Full results and day one schedule below.

Jessica Moreaux (KRY)               1   4
Lara Navarro (AQL)                  6   6

Lara Navarro seemed much more composed on the singles court today (not her usual environment this season) than her last match in qualifying. In the first set, she stormed to an enormous early lead with a double break over Jessia Moreaux before sealing the set with only her second ace of the match to that point.

The Krytenian managed to hold for only the second time in the match (albeit for also the second time in a row) to open the second set with good use of serves out wide opening up the court. Navarro responded with some good serving of her own to even the score before utilizing some solid returns from just within the baseline to break first in the second set and go up 2-1. However, Moreaux had plenty of fight left, and managed to break back with four straight points in a game that lasted less than three minutes. The player from Krytenia was then able to hold in similarly impressive fashion, before the Aqualia could turn her game around and again hold the baseline to hold her service game for 3-2. Navarro again dismantled Moreaux's serve, this time from well within the baseline on the return. Buoyed by the break of serve, Navarro laid down some of her best serves of the match to force her opponent from Krytenia to serve to stay in the match at 2-5. Despite the momentum having shifted greatly towards the Aqualia, Moreaux managed to hold at 40-30 with an unforced error off of Navarro's racquet than clipped the net cord but failed to go over. A combination of nerves from Navarro in serving for the match at 5-3 and a re-energized Moreaux led to the second set going back on serve, five games to four. However, the Aqualian player knew the pressure was still on Moreaux to serve to stay in the match, and she exploited it to force some errors from Moreaux that would have otherwise been makeable just by returning the ball into the deep court time after time to seal the match 6-1, 6-4. Navarro will go on to face the 21st seed from Reçueçn Abelie Fontana in singles and will pair up with Carla Tormo to take on Bahari Zack and Diana Jansen from Sharktail in doubles. (Although this will mean Navarro will have played four matches in as many days, hopefully the break today and the cool weather forecasted for tomorrow will translate into a refreshed player with enough energy to make it through the first round.)

Carla Tormo (AQL)                   3   6   6
Brock Zireb (NOW)                   6   1   2

Carla Tormo and Lara Navarro seemed to swap performances from their last singles qualifying matches, as in this match it was Tormo who struggled early on with her form against Brock Zireb. The player from Nowenah was simply much more consistent in the first set, while Tormo gave Zireb many free points from nearly two dozen unforced errors in just those nine games. However, once Tormo finally got a grip on her ball control, she powered through the court, providing winner after winner in dominant second and third set wins, dropping only three of the last fifteen games. If she can manage that kind of performance going forward in singles (and in tomorrow's doubles match with Navarro against the Sharktail team of Zack and Jansen), she could surprise many.

Daniel Cervantes (AQL)              1   7   6
Lance Mance (BRI)                   6   5   4

Daniel Cervantes certainly took his time getting warmed up in this match, dropping the opening set by six games to one against Lance Mance before only just managing to hold on in both of the latter sets to get the win and the position in the main draw. In the first, he looked incredibly tense, and his shots had nothing behind them; this continued well into the second set, when the player from Britonisea held a 5-2 lead and it looked to be the quick end of Cervantes' run in Hamilton. However, the Aqualian number two somehow managed to muster up some of his hardest-hit serves of the night to force Mance to serve it out. However, Cervantes' return game was also peaking, and he from that point did not look back in either his serving or returning games, winning the last five games of the second set decisively to take it 7-5 and force the decider.

To begin the third and final set, with Cervantes still in nearly untouchable form, Mance dropped serve to fifteen twice in both the first and third games, while Cervantes held easily in both the second and fourth games to race out to 4-0, double break lead which appeared nearly insurmountable. The player from Britonisea finally managed to hold in the fifth game of the set, breaking Cervantes' run of nine straight games. With Cervantes serving at 4-1, a double fault, two easy misses and a surprise drop shot from Mance were enough to secure one of the breaks back for 4-2, which Mance managed to consolidate for 4-3. While it appeared that the third set was shaping up to be a sudden comeback for the Britonisea player, the trend from thereon was instead for the serving player (perhaps fatigue began to set in, as both players dumped returns from relatively weak serves into the net, or sailed them long or wide). Therefore, Cervantes held on with the decider going on to remain on serve, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. He will face yet another strong challenge from Shinji Makauchi of TJUN-ia tomorrow in the Round of 128.

Rafael Bautista (AQL)               6   6
Georgia Bassett (KRY)               1   3

It seems Rafael Bautista almost has something to prove in this tournament, as he has for the second successive time been totally dominant in his qualifying match here in Hamilton. Perhaps he needed the shock of losing in earlier international clay court tourneys to finally bolster his drive for self-improvement, which he has certainly shown in the stark differences between his showings in the last couple of days and earlier in the swing. Against Georgia Bassett, Bautista was nigh short of perfection in the opening set, easily winning the last six games for a 6-1 first set victory, before going on to once again not drop a single service game in the second, whilst breaking once early on to hold off the resurgent player from Krytenian later in the match. He moves on to the main draw unscathed and seemingly in a good rhythm. He will also benefit from two days of practice before his next match in the Round of 128.

Maria Cláudia Amúlio (NTN)          2   6   0
Paula Suárez (AQL)                  6   2   6

It is very interesting to watch Paula Suárez play, and especially to watch what her competitors do against her defensive, even passive style. She faced Maria Cláudia Amúlio yesterday in the final round of qualifying, and her opponent seemed to be at a loss to what to do at all in the first set. The player from Natanians and Nosts simply couldn't manage to get a shot past Suárez for the first four games, and when finally Amúlio began to take an aggressive approach by going up to the net more often, it was too late in the set to make much of a difference, as the Aqualia won it 6-2. However, going into the second, the Natanians and Nosts player utilized a serve-and-volley approach that was quite effective; although not often used on clay courts in the modern era, against a player like Suárez it allowed for Amúlio to never face much of a serious threat on serve in the set, and a healthy dose of net points on the Aqualian player's serve gave the couple of breaks needed to carry the second by six games to two. One of the chief advantages to Suárez's style, however, is that by getting as many balls in play as possible and lengthening each point, it serves also to significantly wear down the opposing player. Coupled with Electrum's summertime heat, Suárez used this tactically to her advantage, pointedly placing her shots so that her opponent would be forced to run around the court to return them. The final set, therefore, showed the importance of stamina under these conditions, as Amúlio simply could not withstand this tiresome play, paving the way for Suárez to impressively sweep the final set for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 victory, guaranteeing her place in the bottom half of the main draw.

Carlos Márquez/Garbiñe Flor (AQL)                             6   3   6
Carrol Water/Cherrie Kane (SHT)                               2   6   3

Carlos Márquez and Garbiñe Flor were the first Aqualias to play a doubles match in qualifying of a Grand Slam yesterday, as the second-seeded team in qualifying going up against Carrol Water and Cherrie Kane. They justified their seeding early on by coming out swinging, breaking in the very first game to fifteen before quickly consolidating thanks to Márquez's kick serve setting up easy volleys for Flor. The Aqualian team would again break the serve of the duo from Sharktail in the fifth game, opening up a double break lead which would ultimately hold by the end of the set with a 6-2 margin.

The second set was much more competitive, with a continual back-and-forth between the two teams. Although both teams traded breaks throughout the middle-to-late part of the set, it was ultimately the Sharktail team that prevailed by finally consolidating their break in the ninth game to win it 6-3.

Although Flor dropped the first game of the deciding set (as Márquez is not as talented as she at the net), the Aqualias managed to rebound by likewise breaking in the next game. With Márquez serving, although it was a hard-fought game from both sides, ultimately the combination of Márquez with powerful groundstrokes from the baseline and Flor with sharp volleys from the net proved too much for the Sharktail team, and the Aqualian pair consolidated after the second deuce, giving them the momentum they needed to break serve in the following game, which would in the end be the decisive break, as the rest of the set continued on serve, with Márquez/Flor taking it 6-3 to advance 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. They will face Diarcesia's Glaucy Görög and Annis Van Der Beek in the Round of 64 tomorrow.

Jordi Pérez/Rubén Pérez (AQL)                                 4   6   6
Halima Fatty/Deseret Weaverton (BNJ)                          6   0   3

Another first for Aqualian tennis was Jordi and Rubén Pérez becoming the first siblings to play in any international doubles match, let alone a Grand Slam qualifier. They went up against the team of Halima Fatty and Deseret Weaverton (the latter of which is the only player to have defeated an Aqualia in Hamilton qualifying, having beaten Carlos Márquez in singles two days ago), and their nerves were more than evident early on. Still, however, they managed to put up a good fight in the first set, even breaking the serve of the team from Banija once while managing to hold their own serves thrice (although both brothers also dropped their serve once in the opening set as well). In the second set, however, the brothers began to feel more comfortable and confident on court, which was obviously reflected in the scoreline, with neither brother facing so much as a break point on serve while breaking both of their opponents' service games in a set that lasted only twenty-six minutes. The final set, although not as convincing of a win for the Pérez brothers, was arguably their best, as both teams were truly giving it their all. They fended off a couple of break points both early and late in the set, and managed to convert on their second themselves in the fourth game. Their performance on serve was truly remarkable, with the teamwork of the server giving the other brother a chance to attack the return allowing the duo to win all of their service games in the final two sets while also holding their weight on the receiving end. They advance to the main draw by a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 margin, where they will face an interesting (to say the least) match tomorrow in the main draw opposite AAUGCC and SARA.

In addition to all of the matches being held in the first round of singles and doubles tomorrow in the main draw, Matéu Virxiliu, who was entered automatically into the draw due to his ranking, will face qualifier Peter Sitnikov of Waisnor. Although he comes into the match without the benefit of having played a match here in Hamilton already, he has spent lots of his off time on the practice courts, and he is certainly raring to go in his first ever Grand Slam appearance. Good luck to him and all the competitors tomorrow; we as always here at the Toboso Chronicle will bring you the full results from then both online and in print.