[Tennis/NSTT] Indoor hard court season 7 [RP/Results]

by **United Adaikes** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 1:33 am

The Adaikesians show consistency, proceed to the next round of the Ubung Open.

Indigo Crawford has been playing consistently well, both in her matches in the singles and doubles events. Though still floored with some unforced errors (we call that 'rookie mistakes'), also finding a good rhythm in doubles with her partner, Dale Carman, she has shown exceptional growth as a striving tennis rookie.

In the singles event, Crawford defeated Adabian Amarsin Gandas. Though she cruised easily in the first set, winning it at 6-2, she stumbled upon a few errors that cost her some games but was able to win the set and the match, 7-6. She is set to face Gnejsian Georg Heraklit, seeded number 15, in her next match.

The other Adaikesian playing in the singles event, Derby Cuellar, took an upset win against world number 24 Gnejsian Fredrik Stagnelius. While the first set was not easy for the two players, Cuellar took the first set, 7-6. Also tied in the second set at 3-3, Cuellar exploited some errors made by Stagnelius to take the set and the match, 6-4. She will face Waisnorian Vladimir Mikhailov in the next round.

In the doubles event, Aaren Seabrooke and Lacey John won their match against Beepeep Ivo Dhjukharevic and Waisnorian Daniil Rogov. Seabrooke and John dominated the first set, already leading at 5-0, before letting their opponents score one game over them but regaining the last game to win the set, 6-1. Both pairs struggled in the second set before Seabrooke and John ultimately won the set and the match, 7-6. They will face seed number 7 TJUN-ians Shinji Makauchi and Felipe de la Rosa in their next match.

In an interview, coach Titong Cansino also shared that they will be reviewing the second sets of their previous matches here in Pemecutan to see if there is something that they can notice that makes it difficult for their players to win the second set.

However, Crawford and Carman finished the match quickly, 6-1, 6-2, against Styliani Kelesdou and Georgios Tiskas of Brookstation. Komang Antari and Kadek Andreawati of Pemecutan, seeded number 12 in the tournament, will be their opponents in the next round.

by **Gnejs** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 4:03 am

Endings
Fredrik Stagnelius folded his last pair of socks and put them with the others in his bag. That was it, he was done. All done and ready to go home. A bit earlier than he had hoped and expected. So early in fact, that he hadn't even been able to overcome the jetlag he acquired from the trip down to Pemecutan. He had crossed so many time zones and turned night and day upside down so many times travelling here he was still having trouble getting a grip on the time of day, constantly alternating between being extremely lethargic and awake, and not being able to get any good sleep.

That hadn't done him any favours in the opening game, for sure. Then again, he didn’t want to mark this as the root cause of his failure. The other Gnejsians had travelled the same length and all managed fine. Maybe he was just more sensitive. Or maybe he just wasn’t playing that well. Ok, he obviously wasn’t playing that well, but was that because of the jetlag, or was he just really not playing well. He was uncertain.

And now he had to consider that trip home. It had been gruelling getting here, and then he had started out well-rested. Now he was a wreck, the bags under his eyes rivalling his luggage in size. Would all those hours on planes and trains and layovers in foreign countries somehow balance out the jetlag he currently had? Would it be like going back in time, in a sense, and upon returning to home soil his internal clock would be 'rejiggered' to its normal settings after doing the whole thing in reverse? Or, would going through all that again further muddle up his system and leave him hanging on the brink of insanity? You could just never know with these things.

Heraklit had suggested that Fredrik should get drunk. Really drunk. "Then you'll just pretty much sleep and stumble your way through all of it," he had reassured Fredrik while patting him on the back. It was an idea, and it might have had some merit if the trip hadn't been so incredibly long and divided into so many distinct pieces. Whiskey-induced sleep during that first long flight sounded pretty great, but he had never handled being hungover well. Being hungover at an airport in a foreign place, struggling to reach a connecting flight, that sounded even worse. No, no booze.

Ideally he would've liked to stay in Ubung for a few more days. Watching a bit of tennis and getting properly acclimatized. Despite being unsure, he did feel like getting himself balanced out could make the trip home slightly easier. He had asked GTF liaison Herman Tegnér if there was any possibility of postponing his return a few days. Tegnér had said no. His ticket was fixed for that particular day. That seemed strange, Fredrik had interjected, because how could his ticket be fixed to a certain day when there was no way of knowing how long he'd be staying. Not that it had been all that likely, but he could've reached the semi-finals, for example.

Tegnér had said the GTF had specific travel arrangements and had stand-by opportunities for travel during all post-match days, so when Fredrik had lost, this particular ticket was made out for him. But that also seemed strange, Fredrik continued, because then there were other tickets for other days. Tegnér said that's not how the arrangement works. Fredrik had asked how the arrangement did work, but Tegnér had just scolded him and said it wasn’t his job to explain that to him. Fredrik let the thing go and said that he'd just pay for his own trip home and stay on down in Ubung privately. "I'm afraid that's not possible," Tegnér had said. "You're here as a representative of the Union and the GTF, and not as a private citizen. The Union paid to get you down here, and it's against the rules for you to gain that kind of unjust benefit."

Fredrik zipped his bag and took one last look at his hotel room. "Until next year, then."

by **Britonisea** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 4:17 am

Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin - NEWS
http://www.bvc.com/news

24th November 2021
Live from Ubung, Pemecutan

CONFIRMED: JASON GORDON WILL PLAY ALONGSIDE RICARDO TOLI IN THE NSTT SINGLES...

After Ralph's Newkärn dramatic 26 game final set swung in favour of his opponent, his aim to dethrone Jason Gordon as Britonish Number 2 is over...

Ralph Newkärn surprised us all by making it as far as the Round of 16 in the Mercedinian Open which gave us a real treat to watch as he lost to his friend Ricardo Toli, the eventual champion. Newkärn is full of surprises, even now it seems, as he battles it out with 15th seed Georg Heraklit in a super long final set - making organisers at the Britonish Open chuckle as they remember their strict rules of keeping tennis matches short and sweet by having sudden death games and supertiebreakers. Though, one could argue that the old fashioned way of battle to the death does stir up some drama and keeps the audience entertained for longer. Ralph Newkärn didn't have the best of starts as his opponent won the first set, signalling the Newkärn may have to step up in order to be have a chance of staying within the competition. We know that Ralph is a fighter with evidence of this being shown at his impressive five setter with Toli only a month or so ago. Ralph managed to take the second set from Georg - not as quickly as Georg took the first but Ralph seemed pretty pleased with himself as they returned to the benches after the second. However, in what was probably one of the longest matches at the Ubung Open ever, Ralph and Georg battled it out - never dropping a break to stay with each other for 25 games before Ralph lost it on his serve right at the end. Ralph, despite his low ranking, has been playing exceptional tennis as of late and is now definitely in line to one day become the Britonish Number 1 but will need to work hard for it. It is expected now that he will be entered for some of the major competitions automatically which will mean we will see a lot more of Ralph in the new year. After his match, he spoke about it saying "Yes, it's disappointing that I lost, someone had to though. I was up against a seeded player and I felt as though I really gave him a run for his money. I hope it shows to everyone that I mean business and while my ranking is basically the same as last year's, I intend to enter double the number of tournaments I entered this year so that could only be good news for me."

Ralph's loss meant that Jason Gordon is now confirmed to be part of the ITT Britonish Team with no other Briton able to pip him for second place. Gordon beat 16th seed Joe Katsi in wonderful style after taking his revenge over an almost gameless first set for him. Gordon managed to dig deep and work hard for the next two sets which saw him take them both comfortably, meaning that he makes it in to the final 32. His next opponent is a wildcard, Obungo Okungu who had a slightly longer match yesterday.

Ricardo Toli wiped away his opponent, only conceding one game out of 13 to win his match in the shortest match of the day. Coming off the back of his fantastic Doubles' win which saw him alongside Elizabeth Quehall only concede 5 games, Ricardo wasn't too exhausted and aimed to get his singles' opponent off the court as quickly as possible. Ricardo is now due to play Alya Elyas - a wildcard.

by **Brookstation** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 5:11 am

LAST WOMAN STANDING

Trent Crimm

Ubung, Pemecutan : The second day of the Ubung Open was by far the most disastrous day for Brookstation. The second day saw the exit of both the Brook pair of doubles and more importantly of the best Brook singles player, Styliani Kelesdou. As of now, Mirella Xanthou is the only Brook player remaining in the singles draw.

20 year old Mirella Xanthou cruised her way to the Round of 32, defeating 13th seeded Jeff Rogers of The Grearish Union. Mirella told that she never thought that she would be able to defeat Jeff Rogers, following a series of bad plays in the Mercedian and the River Cities Open. Mirella
had a terrible first set, not being able to get a single score. However, this did not demotivate her and she made a brilliant comeback in the second set. Competition was not easy as Rogers was not someone who would give up so easily either, but at the end Mirella got the upper hand. The third set was going to be the deciding one. Mirella kept herself cool and managed to pull up a win despite of valiant efforts from her opponent.

On the other hand, Styliani Kelesdou suffered a shocking loss to Rodrick Uppatin. Styliani was not able to cope up with her pace properly, giving her opponent the upper hand. Rodrick played it well hitting the ball at different points of the court. Styliani was not able to cover the entire court properly. She was pretty much disappointed about the result and will be looking forward to the next Grand Slam.

In the doubles, Styliani had a second chance to advance but luck was really against her. Georgios and Styliani who are just occasional doubles players didn't really expect much of from the doubles draw.

However, the bigger disappointment of the doubles was Konstadinos Papadimitrou and Alexios Lakovakis losing against Diana and Haikal Jensen. The pair had re united after a long time and had great expectations from the tournament. Diana and Haikal dominated the match and didn't give the opportunity to Konstadinos or Alexios to make a comeback. There are rumours which state that there was a lack of co ordination among the two men. Konstadinos used to play better with Styliani as his partner but now he saw an early exit with his partner with whom he had reached the semi finals of the Olympics.

Mirella will face Foger Rederer in her next match. Foger Rederer has already become a famous figure in the tennis circle and the mere age of 18. Foger had recently reached the finals of the Mercedian Open and acquired a gold medal in the 15th Summer Olympics. Defeating Foger would probably be one of Mirella's biggest achievement. " Last day, Foger was singing during the match but this time I wont let him go that easy. Instead, I would be looking forward to create a situation in which I can sing tunes of the legendary band, Beatles instead. Bring it on Foger." she said in a press conference after yesterday's match.

by **Pemecutan** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:05 am

Day - 3

Single Round 32

Lonus Varalin (1) (CEN)              0   6   6
Lucas Parvash (W) (ACS)              6   4   2

Mirella Xanthou (Q) (BRO)            2   6   4
Foger Rederer (ADB)                  6   4   6

Michael Loy (W) (DEX)                5   6
Rodrick Uppatin (Q) (KHD)            7   7

Jean van de Kloor (10) (TJU)         7   3   6
Martin Khalizniakov (Q) (BPE)        5   6   1

Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (Q) (PCU)       3   4
Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (7) (PCU)     6   6

Georg Heraklit (15) (PUG)            6   1   6
Indigo Crawford (W) (UAD)            2   6   1

Ngurah Putra Muliawan (5) (PCU)      4   4
Armin Miksa (W) (GGY)                6   6

Ricardo Toli (9) (BRI)               6   6
Alya Elyas (W) (SHT)                 4   3

Ardil Navsal (2) (CEN)               6   5   5
Dorotea Granit (Q) (PUG)             4   7   7

Jason Gordon (Q) (BRI)               6   7
Obungo Okungu (W) (NYK)              1   6

Andrew Simmons (6) (ETM)             2   6   6
Goran Bogdanovich (W) (BPE)          6   2   2

Janet Riley (11) (ETM)               7   2   6
Johmer Vales (Q) (CEN)               6   6   4

Valentina Spetsova (4) (TJU)         7   6   7
Dusan Ventaromovich (Q) (BPE)        5   7   5

Dioro Hansil (14) (CEN)              3   3
Arne Oxwald (Q) (PUG)                6   6

Mindy Waterford (8) (KHD)            6   4   6
Teegan Sosa (GRU)                    3   6   4

Vladimir Mikhailov (12) (WSN)        6   6
Derby Cuellar (Q) (UAD)              3   3

Double Round 32

Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (1) (ETM/CEN)             6   6
Ralph Henschel/Walther Rapp (GGY)                   3   2

Ana Radkkar/Eva Radkkar (13) (ACS)                  6   6
Teegan Sosa/Jeremy Glass (GRU)                      3   1

Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (8) (TJU)     6   6
Muhammad Pratama/Bungso Kiat (W) (SDR)              4   3

Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (12) (PCU)           6   6
Indigo Crawford/Dale Carman (UAD)                   4   3

Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (3) (CEN)            6   4   6
Tunjung Marif/Budi Darmawan (SDR)                   4   6   2

Anthony Kawasaki/Jack Ho (15) (ETM)                 5   2
Diana Jansen/Haikal Jansen (SHT)                    7   6

Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (7) (TJU)         6   5   6
Aaren Seabrooke/Lacey John (W) (UAD)                2   7   4

Massimo Recinella/Oscar Recinella (10) (SOR)        6   6
Miguel Taberon/Pedro Arrachar (ACS)                 1   4

Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (2) (KHD/ETM)       7   1   6
Foger Rederer/Emily Romanescu (W) (ADB)             6   6   3

Liam Penderyn/Jac Iegis (16) (CEN)                  6   0   1
Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI)                          3   6   6

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (5) (GRU)                 6   2   8
Jan Turovets/Vitaly Vakov (WSN)                     4   6   6

Riley Dovatin/Melissa Turnface (9) (KHD)            6   0   5
Izaat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)                   4   6   7

Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (4) (ETM)              6   6
Alexandra Barna/Cecilia Riesz (GGY)                 3   0

Oka Sulastra/Luh Putu Yundari (14) (PCU)            4   2
Fiorenzo Tartoni/Andrea Vergnani (SOR)              6   6

Val Korekal/Luciano Crepaldi (6) (CEN/SOR)          6   6
Dusan Ventaromovich/Martin Khalizniakov (BPE)       3   3

Bradley Kohnface/Erin Maldry (11) (KHD)             5   4
Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)                7   6

by **Pemecutan** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:51 am

Day - 4
Round 16 - Single || Round 16 - Double

Time

Morning Session - Start at 10 AM
Afternoon Session - Start at 1 PM

Baruna Court

Morning Session
Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (KHD/ETM) (2) vs Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI)

Afternoon Session
Dorotea Granit (PUG) (Q) vs Jason Gordon (BRI) (Q)
Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (ETM/CEN) (1) vs Ana Radkkar/Eva Radkkar (ACS) (13)

Nusa Indah Court

Morning Session
Lonus Varalin (CEN) (1) vs Foger Rederer (ADB)

Afternoon Session
Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (CEN) (3) vs Diana Jansen/Haikal Jansen (SHT)
Valentina Spetsova (TJU) (4) vs Arne Oxwald (PUG) (Q)

Gangga-1 Court

Morning Session
Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU) (5) vs Izzat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)

Afternoon Session
Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (PCU) (7) vs Georg Heraklit (PUG) (15)
Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (ETM) (4) vs Fiorenzo Tartoni/Andrea Vergnani (SOR)

Segara-1 Court

Morning Session
Armin Miksa (GGY) (W) vs Ricardo Toli (BRI) (9)

Afternoon Session
Andrew Simmons (ETM) (8) vs Janet Riley (ETM) (11)
Val Korekal/Luciano Crepaldi (CEN/SOR) (6) vs Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)

Gangga-2 Court

Morning Session
Mindy Waterford (KHD) (8) vs Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN) (12)

Afternoon Session
Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (TJU) (7) vs Massimo Recinella/Oscar Recinella (SOR) (10)

Segara-2 Court

Morning Session
Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (TJU) (8) vs Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (PCU) (12)

Afternoon Session
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD) (Q) vs Jean van de Kloor (TJU) (10)

by **Adab** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 1:20 pm

THE ADAB TIMES
The Most Trusted Voice in the Nation, Est. 1878

TENNIS

Ubung Open: Rederer Exits Doubles, but Marches Past Xanthou to Round of 16 in Singles

Elymur Amwan
Friday, November 24, 2034

UBUNG – Qualifier Mirella Xanthou forced a third set but in the end could not stop Adabian number one Foger Rederer from winning their match 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 to advance to the singles round of 16 at Pemecutan’s Ubung Open and set up an encounter with world number one Lonus Varalin.

Rederer’s win over Xanthou in the round of 32 will go some ways towards assuaging the disappointment of his and Emily Romanescu’s 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 exit in the doubles round of 16 against Spencer Kohnhead and Marcus Hathwar, which left Rederer as Adab’s sole remaining representative in the tournament.

Rederer was the favorite coming into the match and got off to an impressive start in the first set, breaking Xanthou’s serve in the first game and utilizing a mixture of volleys and slices to send Xanthou running all over the court after the ball. Xanthou did offer some resistance but found herself largely unable to lure Rederer into rallies, with the Adabian rapidly coming up to the net to produce point-ending putaways.

Conserving his energy against his scrambling opponent, Rederer cruised to an easy 2-6 win to take the first set, but Xanthou found her groove in the second set, demonstrating capable point construction as she sprinted back and forth across the width of the court to return Rederer’s shots. Rederer gradually retreated towards the baseline to meet Xanthou’s passing shots but ended up committing several errors which allowed Xanthou to run away with games, going up 5-3 before Rederer saved two set points to cut the lead to 5-4 and give himself a lifeline in the set. Xanthou would have none of this, however, firing off an ace against the Olympic gold medalist on her way to taking the tenth and final game and forcing a third set.

The third set saw Xanthou quickly go up 3-0 on the back of her immaculate defense, with an occasionally tired-looking Rederer finding his best shots either going far beyond the court or easily returned to him. At this point, the crowd would be forgiven for thinking that the Adabian would finally meet his fate at Xanthou’s hands, but Rederer began to fight back, fully retreating to the baseline and meeting Xanthou in rallies, winning points with his powerful forehand even as he expended more of his energy. Xanthou’s game collapsed as Rederer gained the upper hand in those rallies, blasting a series of passing shots and well-timed slices to end the rallies and erase Xanthou’s three-game lead. Rederer then went up 3-4 before Xanthou somewhat rediscovered her form with another ace to tie it again at 4-4, but by this time Rederer was in control, pulling away in the final two games with aggressive shots to advance to the round of 16.

Rederer now finds himself facing Varalin, who defeated wildcard Lucas Parvash 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 to secure his own ticket to the round of 16, in what is perhaps the most anticipated matchup of the tournament, pitting the Olympic gold medalist and Mercedinian Open finalist against the world number one.

The thought of facing Varalin was never far from Rederer’s mind. “Yeah, if I do end up facing Lonus, it will be an exciting match, for sure, and I’m more than ready for it,” Rederer said in the post-match press conference.

“Lonus is the best player in the world right now and I’m looking forward to facing him, here or in some other tournament down the road. I say bring it on.”

Now he gets his wish.

by **Gnejs** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:43 pm

Dorotea Granit’s diary - 25.11.21

06.30.
Dear diary. Just woke up. I’m on fire.

06.35.
Dear diary. I’m not literally on fire, as in parts of me are not actually burning. It’s a way of saying that my game is great. Honestly, it’s a pretty common expression and I don’t really see why I should have to spell it out.

06.40.
Dear diary. Metaphor. That’s the the word. It’s a metaphor.

07.30.
Dear diary. Back from breakfast. Had eggs. Weird. I suspect they put something in the water when boiling them. Some sort of zest. I don’t like it.

08.00.
Dear diary. It was so sweet coming back from that 4-6 with a double 7-5. Navsal said some nice things after the game. I guess he’s an ok dude.

09.00.
Dear diary. I’m up against a Gordon something. Don’t know much about him, except that he’s the guy who thrashed Björnstjärna in the River Cities. That don’t impress me much; I’ve trashed her multiple times.

09.15.
Dear diary. Turns out that Gordon actually won in the River Cities. I guess that’s kind of impressive.

12.00.
Dear diary. Back from training. Oxwald and Heraklit pulled through as well. They’re up against Spetsova and Putra. I’ve kicked Spetsova’s ass before. Oxwald won’t. Heraklit acts all relaxed, but he won’t last two sets against Putra on home turf. I’ll be the last one standing, mark my words.

12.30.
Dear diary. Disconcertingly irregular bowel movements. Not a good sign. I blame the humidity. Could be the zest.

by **Dexterra** » Wed Nov 24, 2021 4:34 pm

24 November 2021

DEXTENNIS

brought to you by the new Dexter Tennis Union

Est. 19 November 2021 ★ Thank You For Reading ★ Volume I Edition III (archive)

Vanquished: Loy goes down swinging in Ubung, sets nation's sights on I.T.T.

UBUNG, PEMECUTAN - he struggled to catch his breath as he shook his opponent's hand.

After overcoming an epic duel in his first-ever Tier 1 match, today national tennis spokesman Michael Loy will briefly return home after heroically falling in the round of 32. His fatigue from yesterday's marathon match visibly notwithstanding, Loy put forth a valiant and driven effort in a 5-7, 6-7 (8) nail-biter against world no. 35 Rodrick Uppatin of Kohnhead.

"I am disappointed to be exiting so soon of course, but I tried my best against not one but two masterful opponents," Loy said to reporters following the match. "Both of the players I was up against were ranked much higher than me and I pushed them as far as I could. I was able to take down one, but fell just short of the other."

Trading breaks of serve in the first set, Loy kept pace with his opponent until finding himself down 30-40 at 5 games to 6; there, his attempted drop shot sailed into the net after his opponent successfully wore him down at the baseline. The second set featured further breaks of serve with the world no. 35 leading, but Loy fiercely resisted and wrested the duo into a tiebreak. Although Loy saved two match points, down 8-9 his opponent fired a forehand winner and clinched the match.

Head coach John Henry Moore stated that he is focusing primarily on the silver linings. "[Loy] pressed a top 50 player with flashes of brilliance and consistent grit. Considering what he went through yesterday, I don't think he could have done better," Moore said.

The Dexter tennis season does not end here, however. Loy's team has confirmed that the 41-year-old head coach will be teaming up with Loy to represent the United Peoples of Dexterra during the International Tennis Trophy, in what will be his own personal NationStates Tennis debut. "I haven't played a match in about ten years. Although I do practice with [Loy] every day," Moore joked. "We don't expect to win, let alone make it out of the round robin. But hopefully we can at least pick up some points for [Loy] so that he will rank higher in his next few tournaments, especially his next Tier 2."

Assistant head coach Ruth Ebert will stand in as head coach while Moore carries the nation's second banner. "I've been working closely with this team for years so I feel perfectly ready to take over," stated Ebert in an interview. "My goal is to get a match for [Loy] and a set for [Moore]."

The United Peoples of Dexterra and the Dexter Tennis Union would like to thank Pemecutan for a wonderful event as well as congratulate the future champions. ★

by **Britonisea** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:51 am

Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin - NEWS
http://www.bvc.com/news

25th November 2021
Live from Sports City, Britonisea

SO...ABOUT THAT BRITONISH NSTT FINALS BID...

With a lack of Britonish hosted international tennis events since 2018, there was a government-funded plan to bring back the NSTT World Tour Finals back to Britonisea, but with the Britonish Open's recent and surprising resurrection, is the ATB still going to bid?

Head of the ATB: Louisa Klein fought for government-funding for a potential NSTT World Tour Final return to Britonisea which was initially granted...

Picture this. In the months running up to the Olympic Games which was held in Electrum, the ATB (The Association of Britonish Tennis...but in Britonish) felt as though they were going to make it big in Electrum and had a bitter taste in their mouths that the country hadn't hosted a tournament in three years. While they were told this was down to the building done at the Barlinedon, ATB said that they had lots of different locations around the country that could've hosted a replacement Britonish Open. This suggestion did gain some raised eyebrows, some from members of parliament and some people from the local Barlinedon community who thought that moving the Britonish Open to other locations such as Sports City or Telm City would see the permanent removal of the Britonish Open to a different city. With all of this in mind, ATB had to step down from considering hosting a large tournament but managed to convince the government that if Britonisea did well at the Olympic Games in tennis, the parliament would fund the NSTT World Tour Finals and Diamond Trophy bid that Britonisea would present during this week of November. The Government told the ATB to draw up plans for what the NSTT World Tour Finals and Diamond Trophy would look like. While Britonisea hosted the first World Tour Final, which was seven years ago in what was a relatively new organisation and so the bar wasn't as high as it is this year. At the World Tour Finals, Cenian players dominated with Cenian players making up three of the top four. Our very own Ricardo Toli came second in the Runners Cup, which at the time was an event that was held by the four losers of the main tournament. The 1st ever World Tour Final was held in Telm City, giving Doportedasians another reason to not want the Britonish Open to temporarily move to Telm, but for the new NSTT bid, there was a plan to bring the event to Sports City, a city within the wider Luton region.

Logo presented in Summer: When ATB approached the government funding, they presented this logo for the event...

PLANS FOR THE WORLD TOUR FINALS IF SPORTS CITY WERE TO HOST...

1. The event would be split across Sports City which has a strip of stadiums and large exhibition centres. While Sports City isn't usually chosen to host major international events (such as the most recent Athletics Tour), Sports City is mostly used for national and ABEN-wide events. The strip of stadiums and exhibition centres would be able to cope with the demand for both the NSTT World Tour Final and Diamond Trophy.
2. The final event would happen in one of the main stadiums (+30,000) which would have a tent placed over it if didn't have a roof. Different stadiums will be able to bid to host the final (winners') matches of both World Tour Final and Diamond Trophy.
3. The Exhibition Centres would host most of the matches, with a secondary stadium being used to host World Tour Final matches in the run-up to the final.
4. The matches would be evenly split across the strip so that the strip wasn't too congested during the event, but it still felt busy.
5. 500,000 tickets could be sold over the week in Sports City, with prices starting from £25 BPS.

More was outlined in the bid to host the end-of-season 7 events but with only three days left to present an official bid, it is unsure as to whether Britonisea will end up bidding for the event...or even participating in it. ATB has yet to confirm who will be going to the event - but it is likely to be confirmed at the end of the day today. The only other country to have put in a bid to host the event is Ceni, who despite having hosted a whole range of NSTT events since the first season, the nation hasn't had the honour to host the Tour Final.

More on this coming soon...

by **Pemecutan** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:16 am

Day - 4

Single Round 16

Lonus Varalin (1) (CEN)              6   5   5
Foger Rederer (ADB)                  2   7   7

Rodrick Uppatin (Q) (KHD)            7   6
Jean van de Kloor (10) (TJU)         5   4

Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (7) (PCU)     6   3   6
Georg Heraklit (15) (PUG)            4   6   4

Armin Miksa (W) (GGY)                4   1
Ricardo Toli (9) (BRI)               6   6

Dorotea Granit (Q) (PUG)             7   7
Jason Gordon (Q) (BRI)               5   5

Andrew Simmons (6) (ETM)             6   4   3
Janet Riley (11) (ETM)               1   6   6

Valentina Spetsova (4) (TJU)         6   3
Arne Oxwald (Q) (PUG)                7   6

Mindy Waterford (8) (KHD)            7   6
Vladimir Mikhailov (12) (WSN)        5   4

Double Round 16

Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (1) (ETM/CEN)             6   6
Ana Radkkar/Eva Radkkar (13) (ACS)                  4   3

Valentina Spetsova/Austin McDanielson (8) (TJU)     2   4
Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (12) (PCU)           6   6

Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (3) (CEN)            3   6   8
Diana Jansen/Haikal Jansen (SHT)                    6   3   6

Shinji Makauchi/Felipe de la Rosa (7) (TJU)         2   6   5
Massimo Recinella/Oscar Recinella (10) (SOR)        6   3   7

Spencer Kohnhead/Marcus Hathwar (2) (KHD/ETM)       5   7   6
Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI)                          7   5   8

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (5) (GRU)                 4   7   4
Izaat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)                   6   6   6

Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (4) (ETM)              6   7
Fiorenzo Tartoni/Andrea Vergnani (SOR)              3   5

Val Korekal/Luciano Crepaldi (6) (CEN/SOR)          0   6   4
Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)                6   2   6

by **Pemecutan** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:31 am

Day - 5
Quarterfinal - Single || Quarterfinal - Double

Time

Morning Session - Start at 10 AM
Afternoon Session - Start at 1 PM

Baruna Court

Morning Session
Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (ETM/CEN) (1) vs Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (PCU) (12)

Afternoon Session
Foger Rederer (ADB) vs Rodrick Uppatin (KHD) (Q)

Nusa Indah Court

Morning Session
Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (PCU) (7) vs Ricardo Toli (BRI) (9)

Afternoon Session
Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (CEN) (3) vs Massimo Recinella/Oscar Recinella (SOR) (10)

Segara-1 Court

Morning Session
Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI) vs Izzat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)

Afternoon Session
Dorotea Granit (PUG) (Q) vs Janet Riley (ETM) (11)

Segara-2 Court

Morning Session
Arne Oxwald (PUG) (Q) vs Mindy Waterford (KHD) (8)

Afternoon Session
Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (ETM) (4) vs Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)

by **San Ortelio** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:58 pm

Will the Next Tartoni Please Stand Up?

As Fiorenzo Tartoni washed away the disappointment of his short appearance at the Ubung Open, the gentleman of Ortelian sports also gave an insight on his future. Without putting a decisive end time on it, he indicated that the show didn't need to go on forever for him. "I looked with a positive mix of admiration and jealousy to Pelissa Giannapoulos at the Olympics. She might have missed out on that medal but she ended her career at the pinnacle of the sport, still capable of battling for every prize. Ending on your own terms, that's important to me. And if that's in five years or just one, that's less important."

All good and well, but if and when Tartoni hangs up the racket, who will take his spot as the frontrunner of the Ortelian representation in the NSTT? During the past season, a few players got a proper chance to measure themselves to the world top and whilst Andrea Vergnani and Graziano Giunti had their highlights, they will never break into the top twenty. Others, such as Massimo Recinella and Luciano Crepaldi, made more waves in the doubles, both grinding their way to the top ten there. However, if we look forth to a potential second Grand Slam winner, the best odds could be with the next generation. But who can carry that legacy into victorious finals?

Mirko Tonti, 20

In nothing, the energetic Tonti resembles his big example, bar potentially the technical prowess in his backhand. But whilst Tartoni remains calm and diplomatic in all circumstances, Tonti tends to lose himself in a match - and his opponents know that. The Montelcampo Open in July could, and maybe should, have been his first triumph in a Banco Fenice series tournament but as the experienced Vergnani turned on the mental screws, the tables turned. His desire to win sometimes works to his advantage and with his undeniable talent, larger-than-life confrontations on the NSTT are on the horizon. But to challenge for the number one spot, Tonti will need to channel that desire and gain consistency.

Leandro Baliani, 19

The yin to Tonti's yang, the composed and charming Baliani formed his nemesis throughout the youth ranks - that they now form a prolific doubles partnership is a nice twist of faith. Every inch a gentleman, Leandro Baliani makes an admired interviewee and his in-depth knowledge of the game extends vastly beyond a few more experienced colleagues. Coming in from the Juniors category, Baliani came in with a bang, making a semi-final at the Astello Open in his debut season on the domestic tour. It's a performance he hasn't exceeded in the subsequent three years: whilst his base level grew, there seems to be an uncrossable barrier in his performances. Despite his promising first service, he might lack the speed to break into the big leagues.

Annalisa Fornaciara, 19

Can a nineteen-year old be a comeback kid? Fornaciari became an overnight sensation as she triumphed in the Lido Gardens Open aged sixteen and seemed on her way to take the womens' category by storm. Few would have guessed at the time that three years later, this would still be the only trophy in her collection. In a recent interview, Fornaciara pointed to some difficult soul searching after her meteoric rise: "For three years, training was a chore and one I often avoided." But a new partner and coach instigated a new era for her and bit by bit, results are following suit. No one doubts that raw talent galore can be found in Fornaciara - that marvellous double handed backhand - but we'll need more deep runs before we confirm her return to the domestic top, let alone an appearance in the closing stages of an NSTT tournament.

Domenico Lunghi, 19

When Lunghi gained a license for the NSTT, snickering could be heard left and right. The presence on the deciding board of Flavio Lunghi, SOTA president and grandfather of the fairly introverted tennisser, seemed a more decisive factor than his prowess. Lunghi Jr came in with limited accolades and initially paid the price, struggling to escape the qualifiers. But, credit where it is due, Domenico Lunghi showed potential for growth and seemed to learn from each mistake. It ensured a few strong showings on hard courts, especially when he could mask his lower quality service. These shortcomings ensure that a Tartoni-like career is unlikely but growing into a full fledged NSTT player, something deemed unlikely twelve months ago, is now on the books.

Elisa Cinquetta, 18

The hardest-working girl in town, she was named by Elena Fiori. It is rare that the leading lady of the women's circuit takes a liking for an opponent but it is telling that Cinquetta forms the exception to that rule. There is little stylish about her tennis or physique, but she does bring an unrelenting energy and grinta to the court which ensures that every rally will be contested. It brought her to four semifinals of marquee tournaments this year alone and a big price seems only a matter of time. With both Crepaldi focussing on the doubles and Giunti reconsidering his future on the Tour, spots are opening up for the NSTT and few look as close to the requirements as Cinquetta. It's an open question how her style, sometimes messy but always present, will translate to the big courts but we're curious to discover it.

Valentino Zinetti, 18

Potentially the most technically apt of the whole list but Zinetti has not yet turned that potential into an awful lot of deep runs. Those close to him call it sensitive, others used the phrase 'mentally fragile' when discussing the Catrallo-based youngster. Zinetti excels against an opponent who plays the gentlemen's game: it is no surprise that most of his highlights come from confrontations with Tartoni and Crepaldi. But to make it to those big opponents, one needs to grind his way past several rounds and that's the difficulty for Zinetti. It requires a toughness which is as of now not present in the kid with the fluent style and the waving locks. If that changes, he could explode - but it's a giant 'if'.

Barbara Scibbia, 16

With her semifinals at the Lido Gardens, this debutant made waves from the very first moment she stepped on the court and it seems as if Scibbia has no intention of stopping. With a style that reverberates the image of her big example Valentina Spetsova, the petite but incredibly fast 16-year old can outsmart far more experienced opponents. In this Palladium Open she came close to another semifinal appearance, putting Giorgia Pirola on edge. Her quirky and honest interviews turned her overnight into the new chou-chou of the stands, ramping up the expectations in the slipstream. That might be the risk for this NSTT-bound (albeit not yet immediately) gem: after playing on cloud nine, let's see how she handles ups, but also downs on the domestic circuit.

by **Ceni** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 4:59 pm

UBUNG OPEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH LONUS VARALIN

Somehow, despite his well-known distaste for journalists, interviews, and tennis publications, and specifically journalists and interviews from this particular tennis publication, Lonus Varalin has agreed to an interview with Break Point after his defeat to Foger Rederer in the Ubung Open. We caught up with Varalin in the airport as he prepared to take his Air Terranea flight to Electrum in preparation for the International Tennis Trophy.

BP: Foger Rederer is an up-and-coming player on the NSTT circuit after winning the Olympic Gold Medal in Electrum. How do you feel about losing to such a player?

LV: Oh, I feel absolutely peachy! Dandy! Splendid! When I lose to a nobody, I get angry and slam my racket everywhere, but when I lose to an up-and-coming player, and a gold medalist, and all that, I just set my racket down because I feel absolutely wonderful. I have that warm, fuzzy feeling inside of me, and I bow down to Foger for being such a wonderful player.

BP: Really? You don't usually react this well to losing.

LV: No, you idiot! Couldn't you hear the sarcasm in my voice? Come on! They really need to hire better journalists at Break Point, because I'm at my breaking point with you guys!

We all know that I don't like losing, no matter who it is. Of course, having competitive matches is good for the sport, and bloodsucking publications like Break Point, but I don't care in the slightest, for two reasons. One, I like making money. And if I lose earlier in the tournament, I make less money. I'm not sure if you knew that. And two, I was defending 1,000 points at this tournament. And I made only 150. So I lost 850 points; I'm not sure if you can do basic math. I don't like losing money and I don't like losing points, so I don't like losing, whether it's to a nobody, an up-and-coming player, or Ardil Navsal.

BP: Do you see Foger Rederer as entering the top 10 within the next few tournaments?

LV: Sure, why not? I mean, it seems like the NSTT has a bias towards entropy. Cenians were always at the top of the rung, but we have a system that's built to allow players like Fiorenzo Tartoni, the Farkas/Ibrahimovic team, and now Foger Rederer to rise up in the ranks. And conversely, whenever we do decently well, the system comes around and knocks us off the podium. I don't know why, but we do have a lot of entropy, and it take a lot to hang on to the world number 1 and 2 rankings. So I bet that Foger will get into the top 10 relatively quickly, and then bad luck will start to hit him really hard.

BP: Looking forward to the International Tennis Trophy, how do you see Ceni doing?

LV: I'm pretty sure we'll win. I mean, we will have the number one ranked doubles team, since Sara Zhuo won't be pairing up with Marcus Hathwar, and we'll have the number one and the number two ranked singles players. Last year's loss to the Grearish Union was more or less a fluke, and I don't think we'll do that again. If you don't mind the arrogance here, we're just too good to concede something like that again. We'd have to have a lot of upsets against us for that to work, and the ITT is a format that actually doesn't reward entropy as much as the main tour does.

BP: And the Tour Finals, do you think you have a shot at winning the whole kit and caboodle?

LV: Oh, sure, I mean, why wouldn't I have a shot?

BP: I mean, there are still 2,500 points out for grabs, and you are sitting at 3,320, so qualification isn't assured at this point, and then you'll be playing against the 7 other best players in the world.

LV: It was a rhetorical question! It was a rhetorical question! Don't tell me you don't understand what a rhetorical question is! I mean, that wouldn't surprise me, given that you don't know anything about the economics of tennis, simple math, entropy... You know what, we'd better end the interview now. I don't know what stupid question you're going to ask, and I don't want to find out!

Lonus Varalin is the world number one player. We interviewed him after his three-set loss to Adab's Foger Rederer at the Ubung Open.

by **Britonisea** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:06 pm

Jason Gordon joins Ralph Newkärn and Derek Dubrovnik on flights home as Ricardo remains strong in Ubung...
Ubung, Pemecutan

Jason Gordon has been able to take it easy in the Round of 16 knowing he will be at the International Tennis Trophy...

Jason Gordon was beaten by his opponent Dorotea Granit in straight sets today 7-5, 7-5 but managed to walk away from Ubung happy that not only has he broken the elusive 1000 point barrier in the rankings, but he is heading to the Tennis Trophy which takes place in Electrum. Jason Gordon didn't appear at the event last year as Leo Garry was the Britonish No.2 but since his recent fall in the rankings and eventual retirement, Gordon has stepped up to the plate and in the face of adversity and pressure from his tennis compatriots, he managed to ensure that he would be travelling with Ricardo to Electrum to try and better Britonisea's poor performance at the last event. It will be interesting to see who Britonisea is placed in a group with for that event, but the Britonish tennis players have said that they are in a better position now than they were a year ago.

When speaking to Gordon about his loss, he mentioned that he's very "happy with the outcome of the Ubung Open" but did, of course, wish that he could go a bit further in the competition. Had he won, he would be up against Electrumite Janet Riley but after Riley's three setter against Andrew Simmons, also from Electrum, the match may swing in Dorotea's favour - much to Toli's preference as he tries to secure a spot as the top eight for the NSTT World Tour Final. Toli has made it to his third consecutive quarterfinals but will play home favourite and higher-ranked Dewa Puta Adrian Putra who will be hoping to recover some points in the Year To Date rankings to pull closer to the likes of his opponent Ricardo. Ricardo has said that he is excited for tomorrow's match and doesn't mind causing an upset.

Compared to Leo Garry, however, Ricardo Toli is a lot more well received in the public eye, with his gentle nature, charming personality and good looks always turning any crowd in favour of him. Speaking of upsets, Abi Forrest and Leone Na - the Olympic Champions, beat 2nd seed Spencer Kohnhead and Marcus Hathwar in three sets in one of the biggest breakthroughs of this year for the pair of them who have been struggling to make an impact in the rankings despite the wonderful summer they've had in Electrum. The pair are fighting to remain together for the International Tennis Trophy, but due to Ricardo's higher ranking, they might be forced by the ATB to split up. The decision will come at the end of tomorrow's order of play. Leone Na and Abi Forrest are up against a Sharktail pair for their quarterfinal and could meet Ricardo Toli and Elizabeth Quehall for a shocking Britonish showdown...if RicLiz beat their CENSOR opponents...

by **Adab** » Thu Nov 25, 2021 11:54 pm

THE ADAB TIMES
The Most Trusted Voice in the Nation, Est. 1878

TENNIS

Ubung Open: Rederer Through to Quarterfinals with Epic Win over World No. 1 Varalin

Elymur Amwan
Saturday, November 25, 2034

UBUNG – Foger Rederer solidified his status as one of tennis’ rising stars today with a thrilling 6-2, 5-7, 5-7 round of 16 win over world number one Lonus Varalin to advance to the quarterfinals of the Ubung Open.

The matchup between Varalin and the 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist and Mercedinian Open finalist Rederer was probably the most anticipated of the tournament, with a win sure to further confirm Rederer’s position as one of tennis’ best and most exciting young talents, and it did not disappoint.

The match started badly for Rederer; Varalin promptly demonstrated why he was the world number one, outmaneuvering Rederer throughout the first set and beating Rederer’s serve-and-volley tactic with passing shots and slices which Rederer struggled to return. One bright spot for Rederer came in the middle of the fifth game, when he and Varalin engaged in a 31-stroke rally which ended with Rederer blasting a cross-court backhand lob to go up from 40-15 to 40-30, but Varalin managed to secure the game anyway with a forehand to increase his lead to 4-1. Rederer won the next game to cut the lead to 4-2, but Varalin ran away with the next two games – with Rederer winning only two points across those two games – to easily take the first set.

The second set was where Rederer began to come into his own in the match, somewhat abandoning serve-and-volley for a more fluid all-court game, hoping to throw Varalin off-balance with his constant movement between the baseline and the net and an increased use of the backhand. After Varalin won the first game, Rederer battled back to win the next two to lead over the world number one for the first time. An error from Rederer at 40-40 in the fourth game, slamming a weak volley into the net, allowed Varalin to then win with a backhand and tie the game at 2-2, paving the way for the latter to run roughshod over the Adabian in the next two games as he rattled off a series of powerful cross-court shots to go up 4-2 and send Rederer stumbling back over the baseline.

Perhaps sensing that he had no chance against Varalin at the net, Rederer stood his ground on the baseline, seemingly willing to engage Varalin in more rallies. Rederer came back in the following two games to produce another tie at 4-4 – with both games were close affairs which Rederer won in deuce – only for Varalin to fire off an ace to take the next game, and then go up 40-15 in the game after that to put himself on the verge of match point. At this point, however, Varalin proceeded to send his forehand far out of the court, and Rederer responded with volleys to make it 40-40 and yet another deuce. In the end, Varalin’s own attempt at a volley was too weak and easily anticipated by Rederer, who rushed forward to put it down on the other side of the net and keep himself in the match at 5-5. Appearing burned out at times, Varalin was noticeably slower in the final two games, with Rederer demonstrating superior speed as he went around and returned Varalin’s shots with comparative ease, allowing him to Adabian to win the set 5-7 and secure a third and deciding set.

Rederer came into the third set appearing fresher, but Varalin was still a dangerous presence. The first two games took on a slower pace as Rederer seemed content to keep close to the baseline and return Varalin’s ball with passing shots. After the Adabian went up 0-2, Varalin caught him off-guard when he began frenetically rushing to the net, turning the tables on Rederer with his own volleys and dropshots. Varalin and Rederer, who responded by advancing to the net and attempting to get his volleys in himself, exchanged the next two games, building up points in close-range combat with a series of volleys, dropshots, and slices. Rederer was still leading 1-3, but the toll of the match was already affecting him and he began flailing and making more errors – at one point sending a haphazard attempt at a dropshot backwards – allowing Varalin to take the fifth and sixth games and erase his Rederer’s lead. Varalin himself was losing steam, dropping to his knees after winning the sixth game with a smash, but nevertheless still had enough to keep himself in the match. He pulled away from Rederer in the seventh game to lead 4-3, only for Rederer to tie it again at 4-4.

Varalin won the ninth game to once again put himself just one game away from winning the match. Up 5-4 entering the tenth game, the world number one quickly shot up to 40-0, and with victory seemingly all but secured for him, he slammed the ball into the net. At 40-15, he and Rederer engaged in a brief rally. Both players were slowing down and their shots also slower and weaker, but Varalin’s especially so, and Rederer moved forward and ended the rally with a dropshot which Varalin could not intercept in time. At 40-30, Rederer produced a slice which Varalin did not even have the time to turn and see. At deuce, Rederer nearly fell to one knee when delivering a volley but still managed to get the ball over the net and out of Varalin’s reach and gain advantage. The final point was a straightforward affair, with Rederer scoring with a forehand to allow the match to continue.

Both players were tiring, but Varalin’s game was collapsing, while Rederer had just enough to continue. The eleventh game was a messy affair which saw both Varalin and Rederer fall to the ground, Rederer even almost rolling, as they returned each other’s shots. Varalin was behind at 30-40 but managed to gain another chance in deuce thanks to Rederer’s bizarre slice going wildly off-target and hitting the umpire’s chair. Nevertheless Rederer emerged on top with a series of forehand shots to take the game. The twelfth and final game proceeded quickly, with Rederer clearly having had enough and ending the match with a smash which sent him to one knee, with Varalin not winning a single point.

“Lonus is the best player in the world right now and beating him... well beating him is one of the greatest achievements of my career,” Rederer said after the match, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

“Lonus, you’re a great player and you’re still one of the best players in the world today. I look forward to more matches with you.”

Rederer will face qualifier Rodrick Uppatin in the quarterfinals. Uppatin beat Jean van de Kloor 7-5, 6-4 in their round of 16 meeting.

by **Gnejs** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 5:06 am

Yellow Fever
Karsten and Torgeir moved quickly down a snowclad street lined by quaint little wooden houses in the southwestern part of Port Kejm. They spotted a man wearing a woollen cap a bit further down and waved at him as they made their way forward. The snow had started coming in heavy, and it was challenging navigating through it. They reached the other man and nodded to him. "Hello, Nikolaj. We really appreciate you coming down here." Nikolaj nodded and shook Torgeir's hand. "Of course, no problem at all. You seemed very concerned about Ingrid when we spoke on the phone." Karsten and Torgeir both nodded. Karsten sighed, and started speaking.

"It's been going on for a while. We first started noticing things around the time of the Hamilton International. Little things. Like, at first she'd wear a headband to work. That's weird, right, but still, people do that, I guess. Then she graduated from there to tennis socks and shorts. Yeah, a regular shirt and a nice office jacket on top, and tennis shorts and socks down below. It got noticed, sure. But it was spring. People go crazy when the sun comes out, so I guess we all just thought Ingrid had gone slightly more crazy than she used to."

"Yeah, sure, I get that. And then?" Nikolaj motioned for Karsten to continue.

"Well, things got progressively worse as the clay season dragged on and we started transitioning to grass. I asked her for notes on a draft I was working on, and what she sent was just a string of numbers and dashes, completely incomprehensible. It was Torgeir that figured it out in the end. There was something familiar about it, and he did some digging. Turns out that Ingrid had sent all of Dorotea Granit's results the last two years in a long continuous block of text. Yeah, so it was around then that we started getting really concerned. And, you know, she's always worked with her office door open, right, just always been the kind of co-worker that's always ready for a chat. But then she started closing her door, and there was this weird smell. Like, I don't know. New tennis balls. You know when you pop the can and depressurize it. That kind of smell."

Nikolaj stood massaging his temples and chewing on his beard. "Yeah, tell-tale signs of Yellow Fever alright." He was about to continue speaking, but was cut off by Torgeir

"But it was the hiatus that really did it. We figured it might be good for her, you know, with no Gnejsian stakes on the circuit. We thought maybe she'd be able to shake some of that stuff. But no, it just got worse. She's hardly been back to the office since her summer vacation ended. And when she shows up, she's all geared up with the socks, the shorts, the headband and the chukka shirt. No jacket or gloves or anything. And it's November. I mean, the snow has been here for two months already. A couple of weeks ago I found her in the copy room. She was just printing out massive amounts of pictures of top 10 players. And not like a picture of Lonus Varalin or Andrew Simmons. No, like massive amounts of small details, like Varalin's left eye in one, the tip of his nose on the other, his racket hand in the third. No explanation. A few of us have been covering for her at work, but it's getting out of hand. She needs help."

Nikolaj nodded. "You're right. Let's get in there and she what state she's in."

The three men walked up to a rickety green house. Karsten rummaged through his pockets, produced a key and opened up the door. It was a dim light, and it took a few seconds to get adjusted. They moved through the hallway and into the living room. It was a mess. Tennis balls and empty cans littered the entire room, and the walls were covered in weird mosaics of prominent international tennis stars. All had suffered different forms of eerie mutilations. Varalin had a big 'X' spray-painted over his mouth, Tartoni had pins and needles stuck into various parts of the body. They all looked away when they saw what treatment the poor mosaic of Andrew Simmons had received.

Suddenly they heard a popping sound and they all turned around. Ingrid was sitting in a corner of the room, her nose in the tennis ball can, deeply inhaling. She threw away the can and directed her glazed eyes somewhere far off in the distance. The balls from the can bouncing around lightly in the room.

Karsten and Torgeir rushed to her side. "Hey, Ingrid, you alright? Look, we're here to help you. We're gonna get you help, ok. See, Nikolaj is here as well." Ingrid noticeably responded to the mention of Nikolaj and looked up bewildered. "I-I… I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore, Nikolaj. It's the game, you know, it got to me." Nikolaj nodded and offered her his hand. He pulled her up and asked Karsten and Torgeir to open up the windows. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. The Yellow Fever can get us all, especially if we dive into the game too hard. You're not the first one. There's help."

Ingrid smiled and started moving across the room. "Come here", she said. "I want to show you something." Nikolaj approached her, and just as he was within her swing radius, she pulled out a racket from behind a dresser and hit him over the head with it. He fell to the ground and Karsten and Torgeir stood frozen in shock. Ingrid ran towards the hallway while shouting "I realize I need help, and I love you for being here, but I can't miss Granit's quarter! I'll get my shit together after the Ubung!"

by **Electrum** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 6:42 am

The Turnip: Ten things that could be in Dorotea Granit's diary
by Sweet-T, citizen journalist

Long time readers of The Turnip will know the obsession that Dorotea Granit has with her diary. If you don't know her, she's a professional romaine salad eater who does a little bit of professional tennis on the side (her gullet is so wide that she doesn't need to chew the romaine and she must have the bowel movement of a superstar). She's always bringing it around everywhere like she's all that and well quite frankly we're sick and tired of the fact that she won't let us peer into her innermost feelings and thoughts because she always keeps the diary at her side. Well. If she won't tell us what's in it, we'll just wildly speculate, so here are ten things that could be in Dorotea Granit's diary:

1. The launch codes to her Silverado -- a truly frightening vehicle that has the capability to release sharknados, a terrifying combination of sharks and vegetable frittatas (a cornado).

2. Her interactions with people wanting to know what's inside the diary and so she's writing in the diary about the fact that she's having a diary to fool people into thinking she's more mysterious than she really is.

3. Repetitions of the word 'hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' to cure her hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

4. Her latest musings on the developments of Kantian deontological ethical theory and its interactions with medical care.

5. Short, strange sentences that psyche her up. Such snippets could include: "I AM THE BALL. THE BALL IS ME. I HIT THE BALL. I HIT ME. I BEAT THE BALL. I BEAT THE GAME. THE GAME IS THE BALL. I AM THE ME."

6. Strategies on how to crack the hard crabby shell of Lonus Varalin so she can get at that salty yet sweet crab meat.

7. A detailed description of every bowel movement that she's had, including a five star scale.

8. Her future plans to branch into the raw seaweed competitive eating scene if this whole tennis thing doesn't work out with a scheduled training regimen of drinking a gallon of sea water every day.

9. Three hundred possible definitions of the word 'ginglymus' as she heard her physio say it once but she was too afraid to ask what it meant and now she's trying to work out what the definition was based on context and her fuzzy memory of the conversation several years ago

10. The possibility that she may be in a psychological comedy-drama reality show where she is the main character and everyone in her life is an actor and at some point the ruse is going to fall and the whole time she thought she was on the NSTT tour she was actually just in a giant set underneath a dome.

by **Pemecutan** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 7:03 am

Day - 5

Single Quarterfinal

Foger Rederer (ADB)                  7   7
Rodrick Uppatin (Q) (KHD)            5   6

Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (7) (PCU)     2   6   6
Ricardo Toli (9) (BRI)               6   1   2

Dorotea Granit (Q) (PUG)             4   6   4
Janet Riley (11) (ETM)               6   2   6

Arne Oxwald (Q) (PUG)                7   6
Mindy Waterford (8) (KHD)            5   4

Double Quarterfinal

Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (1) (ETM/CEN)          6   6
Komang Antari/Kadek Andreawati (12) (PCU)        1   3

Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (3) (CEN)         6   7
Massimo Recinella/Oscar Recinella (10) (SOR)     4   5

Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI)                       6   5   6
Izaat Manson/George Fakhrul (SHT)                2   7   4

Sonya Gredello/Rosa Levinsky (4) (ETM)           2   6   1
Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)             6   2   6

Day - 6
Semifinal - Single || Semifinal - Double

Time
Morning Session - Start at 10 AM
Afternoon Session - Start at 1 PM

Baruna Court

Morning Session
Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (ETM/CEN) (1) vs Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (CEN) (3)

Afternoon Session
Foger Rederer (ADB) vs Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (PCU) (7)

Nusa Indah Court

Morning Session
Janet Riley (ETM) (11) vs Arne Oxwald (PUG) (Q)

Afternoon Session
Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI) vs Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)

by **Adab** » Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:31 am

THE ADAB TIMES
The Most Trusted Voice in the Nation, Est. 1878

TENNIS

Ubung Open: Rederer Goes to Semifinals, Solicits Donations for Neighbor’s Roof

Elymur Amwan
Sunday, November 26, 2034

UBUNG – Foger Rederer today secured his spot in the Ubung Open semifinals with a 7-5, 7-6 triumph over qualifier Rodrick Uppatin, after which the Adabian spent much of his post-match speech urging the crowd to chip in to help his neighbor fix his leaking roof.

It is no mean feat for a qualifier to make it all the way to the quarterfinals of a major tournament, and Uppatin certainly demonstrated why he deserved to be in this stage of the tournament, giving Rederer a run for his money as he broke the Adabian’s serve in the first game before putting himself up 0-3 in the first set, with Rederer, perhaps still tired following his grueling round of 16 match against world number one Lonus Varalin, seemingly reluctant to venture to the baseline and counter Uppatin’s passing shots, contenting himself with staying close to the net and attempting to score with volleys and slices, only to find his shots returned by Uppatin with power and precision which the Adabian could not yet match.

Rederer began gaining steam from the fourth game onwards, winning it and the fifth game as he finally showed increasing willingness to play from the baseline, where he could match Uppatin’s power and fire off several cross-court shots to force Uppatin out of position and rack up points. Rederer cut Uppatin’s lead to 2-3 before the latter countered to take the sixth game, to which Rederer promptly responded by winning the seventh and again cut into Uppatin’s lead at 3-4. The Adabian’s defense proved to be his greatest asset in this match once he got going, with his superior footwork and court coverage enabling him to outmaneuver Uppatin and return the shots far out of his opponent’s reach. Rederer won the next two games to finally take the lead, and although Uppatin won the tenth game to produce a 5-5 tie and prolong the set, he eventually could not prevent Rederer from overpowering him, with the Rederer slamming in a series of forceful groundstrokes to close out the first set.

Rederer again advanced to the net in the second set in a bid to preserve his energy and lessen the amount of rallies. The two players exchanged the first four games as Uppatin now found himself forced on the defense, struggling but still managing – even if he appeared to flail at times – to counter Rederer’s shots. But Uppatin held on, and as the set dragged on Rederer began to appear sluggish and showed less movement. Uppatin went up 2-4 as he toyed around with an increasingly stationary Rederer, who at times appeared content to produce several soft shots and then watch as Uppatin blasted a mixture of volleys and groundstrokes past him. From this point on, however, Uppatin himself appeared to slow down and Rederer promptly took advantage, having apparently recovered his energy, once again showing increased speed as he sent Uppatin stumbling back to the baseline with his own groundstrokes. Rederer won the next three games to go up 5-4 before Uppatin mounted something of a comeback, tying it again at 5-5 and then briefly leading again at 5-6, but his footwork had decreased by this point and Rederer blasted his way through the twelfth game in less than a minute – Uppatin did not win a point – to make it 6-all and force a tiebreaker, which Rederer won 7-3 to save himself from a third set.

Rederer Asks Crowd to Donate to Neighbor

At the post-match interview, after thanking Uppatin for a “great match” and wishing him luck in his career, Rederer took the opportunity to urge the attendees to donate to his neighbor in Adab City so that he could fix his leaking roof.

“My neighbor Mahmud al-Baghdadi lives in this big house a few doors away from me,” Rederer began. “It’s a very big house, I don’t know if you can call it a mansion but it’s no small house either. It’s an old house – it was built like seventy years ago – and lately the roof has become increasingly fragile and there are big holes up there and Mahmud needs our help to fund the renovation.”

Rederer then launched into a lengthy story about how Mahmud came from a “reasonably well-off family” who bought the mansion five decades ago but had fallen deeper in debt through a series of bad business deals and now Mahmud was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy for the second time in his life and potentially losing his house. He also proceeded to go into some detail about Mahmud’s failed marriage and how the divorce impacted his financial situation.

When a man in the crowd challenged Rederer “Why don’t you fund him yourself?”, Rederer responded, “I did! I’ve already donated to him and it’s not a small amount of money. But we need more to give Mahmud peace of mind and allow him to fix all the holes in his roof. As I’ve said before it’s a big, old house and there are holes everywhere and renovations ain’t cheap.

“I believe it was Florence Nightingale – I think it was Florence Nightingale, it might have been Frederick Douglass (Editor’s note: it was Helen Keller) – who once said that ‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much’, so I’m urging all of you, my brothers and sisters in mankind, to help one of our own out of the goodness of our hearts.

I’ve donated my money, but more money means more peace of mind and more financial security for Mahmud, and many people would kill to have that kind of financial security. So let us help our brother in mankind, our brother under God in heaven.”

Rederer stated donations can be made through ComeFundMe, with the link to the donation page to be publicly available starting at 12 p.m., Adab Standard Time, on November 27. The amount of money required will also be revealed at that time.

“Every donation counts,” Rederer concluded. “Let us now forsake all our differences and come together as one to help our brother in need.”

by **Gnejs** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 3:15 am

Dorotea Granit’s diary - 27.11.21

06.30.
Dear diary. Just woke up. Fuck.

06.35.
Dear diary. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

06.40.
Dear diary. Fuuuuuuuck.

07.00.
Dear diary. I’ll admit I’m disappointed about the outcome of yesterday’s game.

07.30.
Dear diary. Back from breakfast. Had eggs. Still weird. The lanky stooge from the GTF came by to ‘remind’ me that I have a plane to catch. I just stared at him until he left.

08.00.
Dear diary. I’ve beaten Riley before, and I should’ve done it again. I am the greatest tennis player in the world, and I hate that ‘reality’ just can’t conform to simple facts.

09.00.
Dear diary. Saw Oxwald down at reception. He was about to get to the arena and face Riley. I managed to smile and wish him luck. Honestly, I hope Riley pounds him bad. If he beats her, when she beat me, I’m not sure what that would mean, and I don’t like it.

12.00.
Dear diary. On the plane. Need to distract myself from Ubung’s disappointments. I’ve decided to continue working on my treaty clarifying how bringing in the Kantian notion of ‘autonomy’ could salvage the deontologist approach in medical ethics from common criticism of over-reliance on symmetrical relationships and rationality.

12.30.
Dear diary. I’m not a fan of airplane toilets. Bowel movements stable, nonetheless.

by **Pemecutan** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 6:00 am

Day - 6

Single Semifinal

Foger Rederer (ADB)                  6   7
Dewa Putu Adrian Putra (7) (PCU)     3   5

Janet Riley (11) (ETM)               0   6   8
Arne Oxwald (Q) (PUG)                6   4   6

Double Semifinal

Sara Zhuo/Gyrachor Rentos (1) (ETM/CEN)      5   6   3
Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (3) (CEN)     7   3   6

Leone Na/Abi Forrest (BRI)                   1   1
Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)         6   6

Day - 7
Final - Single || Final - Double

Time

Morning Session - Start at 10 AM
Afternoon Session - Start at 1 PM

Baruna Court

Morning Session
Coosal Darlcheri/Perger Rianor (CEN) (3) vs Ricardo Toli/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)

Afternoon Session
Foger Rederer (ADB) vs Janet Riley (ETM (11)

by **Adab** » Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:02 am

THE ADAB TIMES
The Most Trusted Voice in the Nation, Est. 1878

TENNIS

Ubung Open: Rederer Reaches Final, Declares “Holy War” Against Riley

Sargon al-Basri
Monday, November 27, 2034

UBUNG – Adabian number one Foger Rederer reached his third final of the year – following the Olympics and the Mercedinian Open – at the Ubung Open in Pemecutan today with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over native son Dewa Putu Adrian Putra, then went on social media to proclaim “holy war” against fellow finalist Janet Riley.

The 18-year-old Rederer had had an impressive run in the tournament up to this point, with the highlight being his beatdown of world number one Lonus Varalin in the round of 16, but world number seven Adrian Putra was still the slight favorite coming into their match, and from the start of the match it was clear that the Pemecutan native had the backing of much of the crowd.

Nevertheless, Rederer did not let it all perturb him and got off to a flying start, quickly going up 3-0 in the first set as he turned almost completely to serve-and-volley, taking advantage of the fast speed of the surface to slide forward to the net and deliver point-winning volleys, allowing Putra little time to force him into lengthy rallies. Putra began to acclimatize to Rederer’s game and managed to take the fourth game off the Adabian, only for Rederer to counter with two smashes to win the fifth game. Having caught up to the pace of play, Putra showed increasing fluidity in his movement, enabling him to produce an increasing number of groundstrokes and take the sixth and then seventh games to dangerously cut Rederer’s lead to 4-3. Forced into the defensive for the first time in the match, Rederer stumbled back onto the baseline, but managed to chase down Putra’s ball and fire off his own share of groundstrokes to win the final two games.

With serve-and-volley not proving fully effective against Putra, Rederer turned into a baseliner for the second set, this time actively engaging in longer rallies in a bid to exhaust his opponent. This approach did not work well for the Adabian at first, with Putra winning the first two games – albeit only narrowly, with both games going to deuce, Putra winning the second game only after three deuces – but Rederer hit the ground running from the third game onwards, relying more on his backhand to confound Putra and deliver rally-ending winners.

Rederer won the third and fourth games to tie the score at 2-2. He and Putra then traded the next two games to make it 3-3. At this point, however, the strain of sliding back and forth across the baseline showed on Putra, who increasingly struggled to return the constant barrage of shots from Rederer. Sensing his opportunity, Rederer began to advance once again to the net, winning points with volleys and the occasional dropshot before Putra could reach the ball from the baseline. Rederer ran away with the next two games to lead 5-3 and put himself on the verge of winning the match, but an error at 30-0 – Rederer sending his slice into the net – allowed Putra to catch up and take the ninth game to keep himself in the match. He then went all out in the tenth game, producing a backhand smash to make the score 5-5. Putra’s energy was running out, however, and he slowed down once again, allowing Rederer to run roughshod over his opponent in the eleventh game, in which Putra did not win a single point, and finally win the twelfth game to take the second set 7-5 and secure his ticket to the final, but not before Putra forced him through four deuces in that game in a final, valiant attempt to rescue the match.

Rederer Declares “Holy War” on Riley

Within three hours following Rederer’s victory over Putra, a video featuring Rederer went up on his twii.tur and Instantgram accounts, in which the Adabian – apparently speaking from his hotel room – declared his resolve to defeat Janet Riley in the “holy war” of the Ubung Open final.

“This is a holy war, not because I am sent here on a mission from God – although I do hope that He is on my side – but because I am representing the hopes and dreams of millions of Adabians,” Rederer said in the video.

“I know there are many people across the country who look up to me, including many kids, and it is my duty and my resolve not to disappoint them.

“I have won the Olympic gold medal and reached the final of the Mercedinian Open. Now it is the time for the Ubung Open trophy to come to its rightful home in Adab.”

After thanking his supporters and his coach Petros Samp, Rederer went on to proclaim his confidence in his own playing, stating that he was “100% fit” and ready to face Riley, who survived a first-set bagel by qualifier Arne Oxwald to win their semifinal encounter 0-6, 6-4, 8-6.

“I have great respect for the Janets of the multiverse, Janet Riley, Janet Reno, Janet Jackson, but tomorrow I will fight Janet Riley and I will win. It’s the least that I can do for my fans.”

by **Ceni** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:00 am

Terranean Broadcasting Company

Ubung Open: Doubles semifinal 1 — as it happened

By Zion Berik
TBC Sport in Ubung, Pemecutan

Last updated November 27, 2021

Zhuo/Rentos* 1-0 Darlcheri/Rianor
After Zhuo and Rentos break the all-Cenian pairing to even out proceedings in the second set, they consolidate the advantage by quickly holding to start out the third. From looking just at this game, it seems like Zhuo and Rentos have the advantage on all types of points: Zhuo finishes off a meager return from Darlcheri at the net; Darlcheri manages to hit a passing shot winner from the baseline on the third shot; and, at 40-15, Rianor lures Darlcheri up to the net with an excellent drop shot, only to see the ball come right back with interest. It’s a quick hold for the top seeds.

Zhuo/Rentos 1-1 Darlcheri*/Rianor
If Zhuo and Rentos dominated with a one-up, one-back formation, Darlcheri and Rianor have taken the opposite tack at the beginning of this set by rushing the net, and rushing it early. In this game, that strategy did not pan out well initially as Rentos read his former partner’s serve well to hit a return winner right down the middle, while Zhuo noticed Rianor moving in to poach and placed the ball right down the line. Down 0-30, Darlcheri pulled two aces out of his pocket, and his partner Rianor finished the next two balls off at the net to win the game. This game was a clear indication that Darlcheri can use his serve to bail himself out of trouble.

Zhuo*/Rentos 2-1 Darlcheri/Rianor
With Sara Zhuo serving, Rentos takes a less aggressive stance at the net, and it pays off as he’s able to deflect a down-the-line return with an excellent crosscourt angle to start off the game. Zhuo, of course, did her fair share of the heavy lifting and managed to rifle a couple passing shots from the baseline as well. Darlcheri and Rianor have made few inroads into the Zhuo/Rentos serve so far, with only one break in that first set, and that streak won’t end now.

Zhuo/Rentos 3-1 Darlcheri/Rianor*
Instead, it’s Darlcheri and Rianor who get broken. If things go the way they have in the match so far, this very well may be a decisive break for the no. 1 seeds. Zhuo and Rentos have very much played by the old adage “down the middle solves the riddle” this game, and they showed off their coordination with several one-two punches in which Zhuo would pull Rianor off the court with a good return and Rentos would unaggressively volley the ball right into the middle, into the newly opened space and right behind Darlcheri at the net. That tactic very much earned them the break this game.

Zhuo/Rentos* 3-2 Darlcheri/Rianor
AND THIS SEMIFINAL GETS SPICIER! With Rentos serving, Darlcheri mounts a spirited return game to break his ex-husband at love. Of course, he and Rianor got lucky as well, with Darlcheri making quite a few errors on his approach shots and swinging volleys while coming in. Darlcheri and Rianor take advantage of that, and they’re back in the mix in this semifinal.

Zhuo/Rentos 3-3 Darlcheri*/Rianor
Darlcheri consolidates the break with a relatively uneventful service game, holding at love. It seems like the momentum in this semifinal has very much shifted towards the number three seeds, given that they’ve won the last eight points in a row. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Zhuo*/Rentos 3-4 Darlcheri/Rianor
It will last for at least one more game, since Darlcheri and Rianor break again. The two teams perhaps played the point of the match in this game: With Rianor hitting a crosscourt return, Rentos moved in to cut off the angle and return the ball back in play. At the net, Darlcheri returned the short ball into Zhuo’s service court, forcing her to come into the net. Zhuo lobbed, Rianor smashed. Zhuo managed to catch the smash on her racket; Rianor smashed, but Rentos got the ball back from the baseline. Darlcheri then cheekily poked the ball back into the service court on Zhuo’s side, flummoxing the Electrumite, who had just arrived back at the baseline.

Zhuo/Rentos 3-5 Darlcheri/Rianor*
This is a high-quality semifinal to be sure, and Zhuo and Rentos challenge Darlcheri and Rianor with several break points in this game. But Darlcheri and Rianor manage to bat every one of them back, with a couple of service winners and a deft lob that just managed to touch the baseline. Darlcheri hits an excellent half volley from the middle at the net that just manages to get past Zhuo in a similar position to close out the game. Gyrachor Rentos will serve to stay in the match.

Zhuo/Rentos* 3-6 Darlcheri/Rianor
GAME, SET, AND MATCH DARLCHERI/RIANOR! The all-Cenian pair gets their revenge for a quarterfinal defeat at Britonisea and closes off the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. This was a highly entertaining two hours of tennis, even if it does conclude with a whimper as Zhuo plunks a ball into the net after a several-shot volley battle royale. The four players congratulate each other at the net, knowing they will more than likely meet again at the NSTT Finals in a couple of weeks. This is a rivalry that has developed so much throughout the season as both teams have established themselves at the top of the NSTT pecking order, and we look forward to seeing it play out further.

We’ll return for the afternoon session of play here in Ubung, where Leone Na and Abi Forrest will face off against Ricardo Toli and Elizabeth Quehall in an all-Britonisean battle for the right to face off against Darlcheri and Rianor.

by **Electrum** » Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:28 am

Centralis Herald - Sports Section - Kimiko Shigaraki

Riley gets that second chance

Janet Riley will be looking to better Pelissa Giannapolous in winning a Tier 1 tournament after a thrilling three set victory over qualifier Arne Oxwald. This marks the second time in as many tournaments that she has made it all the way to the finals. Unlike her loss to Dioro Hansil in Salvador, she'll be hoping to go one better against Foger Rederer, who she previously lost to in Mercedini.

In a two-and-a-half hour epic, Riley battled a sluggish start and eventually swung the pendulum in her favour in a 0-6, 6-4, 8-6 victory. In her words it was "not one of my best, but the one that means the most. I'm just glad to make it to the finals. Don't know what to think."

The match looked to be a foregone conclusion early on. Riley was uncharacteristically serving poorly and complaining about a tweak in her left hamstring from the opening game. She was looking constantly looking at her box while Oxwald held the line. The Riley service games, known for their long rallies, were just not happening. Her hamstring meant that her movement was impaired, and she wasn't about to squat down as efficiently to get those low balls -- something Oxwald exploited heavily. Meanwhile he just served accurately while the hapless Riley could do nothing but look on at over 200 kilometres per hour serves that were painting the lines.

No one can ever serve that accurately for long, and once the first set was won, it seemed Riley pushed the reset button. She used her medical time out to call for a much needed physio break and got some Kinesio tape around her left leg. Oxwald was sitting on his side, head in towel, not daring to think he was just a set away from the biggest match of his career. For the first time ever, Riley held onto her first service game to love and it was at that point Oxwald knew that Riley wouldn't give up so easily. The next games of this set were littered with long rallies on both sides, especially at the crucial break points. Oxwald started playing with some more topspin but with Riley being a bit more flexible thanks to that timeout, she could easily adjust her movement and lower her centre of mass to take the shots that she couldn't earlier. It tightened up considerably.

Oxwald was 5-4 down in the second set where for the first time he had to win the game to stay in the set. It was also the first time his intensity dropped as the nerves clearly got the better of him. He started with two double faults. He then shook them off with an ace. It was 15-30. Oxwald tried again for the ace but failed meaning he had to play that weaker second serve of his. Riley just whacked the ball down the line to go two break points up on the Gnejsian. That was when the final twelve shot rally happened. Oxwald tried his best to make those winners happen. Against any other player they probably could have been winners. But Riley, on defence, mixed it up with her excellent movement and pulled off some backhand slices that put her opponent off-rhythm. It worked. Oxwald's last return hit the net, giving Riley a huge sigh of relief as she levelled the match one set all.

In the third set, Oxwald played a little bit more intelligently. He stopped giving Riley the topspin and started to hit the ball more cleanly, making it more difficult for Riley to squat and counterpunch. Riley kept adjusting her tactics too by mixing up her shots more and trying to end the points more quickly with volleys, something she is working on with her coach Malcom Press. While most tennis matches have swings of momentum, this last set was a war of attrition. No one would yield an inch in their service games which were a mixture of exquisite serving and long base-line rallies broken up by volleys. The third set played similarly to the second with Riley constantly being one game ahead and Oxwald constantly playing catch-up.

By the final game, it was evident that Oxwald was tiring. It was a long way from that magnificent first set he had and going into the fourteenth game of the third set was taking a toll. He had never made it this far in any tournament, let alone the semifinals of a Tier 1 tournament. Riley again switched her tactics, displaying some of that tennis smarts reminiscent of Giannapolous. Instead of trying to close the points more quickly, she deigned to keep returning the ball at Oxwald, making him play more and more shots. Inevitably the errors set in, a ball going long, a ball hitting the net, all of these things allowed Riley to win the arm wrestle of the final set 8 games to 6.

This match is indicative of the impressive momentum that Riley has been picking up over the last few months of this season. When the times get tough she knows how to knuckle down and win those matches. But now her next assignment is one Foger Rederer, who has declared 'holy war' over the Electrumite and who has once defeated her before at the Mercedinian Open semifinals. In response to his bombastic remarks, Riley only offered "I've heard worse in The Turnip articles. Bring it on."

[Tennis/NSTT] Indoor hard court season 7 [RP/Results]

BVC News: 25th November 2021

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