Istria Open Everything Thread (NSTT- Tier 2)

by **Banija** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 10:36 am

All credit to Qasden for the logo

Welcome to the City of Istria! We are excited to host our first major NSTT event on Banijan soil- the Istria Open. Make yourselves at home.

Helpful Istria Open Links
OOC Discussion Thread || Signup Thread || Latest NTT Rankings

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Format
Singles

Singles Bracket

Doubles
Doubles Bracket

Calendar - Cutoffs will be between 9:30 and 11 PM EST.
Singles Qualifiers- Tuesday, February 27th.
Singles Round of 32/Doubles Qualifiers- Wednesday, February 28th.
Singles Round of 16/Doubles Round of 16- Thursday, March 1st.
Singles Quaterfinals/Doubles Quarterfinals- Friday, March 2nd.
Singles Semifinals/Doubles Semifinals- Saturday, March 3rd.
Singles Final/Doubles Final- Sunday, March 4th.

by **Banija** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 10:36 am

Basics About Banija

The Kingdom of Banija is a country that classifies itself as a semi-constitutional monarchy. A nation that is freshly a member of Atlantian Oceania, it is led by the Kabaka(which translates to King), and the current monarch is Kabaka Albert III. The Kabaka, alongside with the Waziri(translates to Foreign Minister), whom he picks and dismisses solely at his pleasure, is the Head of State and responsible for the country's foreign affairs.

The Lukiiko(translates to Parliament) is a democratically-elected, constituency-based, first past the post, legislature that has the power of the purse and controls all legislative affairs for the country. The Lukiiko, every term, elects the Katikkiro(Prime Minister), who picks a cabinet and leads the government. Racially, the nation is 99.2% black. This is a very religious based Christian nation, as 87% of Banijans are affiliated with the state church, the Puritan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose followers are called Puritan Mormons. Sufi Islam is the next largest religious community at 9% of the national population. The Guardian Council, a council of 6 members, with 3 picked by the Kabaka from the House of Katende(the royal house), and 3 picked by the Church, has the ability to oppose laws based on religious grounds. It takes a 5-1 majority on the Guardian Council to reject any bill passed by the Lukiiko.

Due to the massive influence of Puritan Mormonism in this nation, they are relatively socially conservative. Abortion in this country is outlawed unless the mother's life is in danger, and the church's Universal Call to Motherhood, which teaches that the destiny of each and every woman is to give birth to children and raise faithful Puritan Mormons, has heavily shaped the nation's view on the role of women in society. Therefore, it is against the law for any professional sports teams based in Banija to have men and women on the team. However, this law only applies to teams based in Banija, which is why it is perfectly legal when foreign-based teams, either for away games or when Banija hosts tournaments, to have people of any gender. Consumption of alcohol in Banija is legal.

Of course, Banija is a 3rd world country by modern economic standards. A general lack of development in Banija, we are a country with excellent sporting infrastructure, but little else. Most roads are dirt, and while public transit within cities is excellent, between cities it is not. The climate of Banijan has a lot of natural rainforest and jungle, which means that there is no winter, only wet season and dry season. Temperatures generally range at their coldest around 60 degrees farenheit, and at their hottest around 110 degrees farenheit.

About the City of Istria
Istria is easily the largest city in Banija, home to 3 million souls within city limits, and a metropolitan of nearly 6 million. It is the original capitol of the Kasanke people, the dominant ethnic group within Banija, and after the capitol was moved in 1620, remained Banija's largest city. It is in Northwest Banija, right on the coast, making it Banija's largest port. Istria has hosted World Lacrosse Championship Games, a World Bowl semifinal, and two NSCF title games, meaning the city is quite used to hosting major events.

About the Kisangara Tennis Club
The Kisangara Tennis Club is the host facility for the event, which hosts the Istria Open every year. On an annual basis, hundreds of Banijans gather at this institution to determine who is the best at tennis. It is privately owned and operated, and as Banija's oldest tennis facility, it is the obvious candidate to host Banija's first ever NSTT event. Pronounced "Chee-sahn-gar-ah", the facility is looking to raise the profile of its own facilities and Banijan tennis in general on the World stage, and drastically increase the number of competitors the sport has in Banija.

by **Ferret Civilization** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:33 pm

With the soaring success from the Astyrian Series to the near total flop of the Mattijana Open to start off the sporting year it was now time to look forward to seeing how the Istria Open would treat the Ferret team. The event would most likely be the decider in how the they would do overall throughout the year, be it good, bad, or just plain mediocre. Everyone got to enjoy their break between these two events, this time from the comfort of home to deal with their own lives. Though with their government semi holding to their promise it seemed like in no time at all the next trip aboard was upon them to the nation of Banija to see what the clay courts had to offer them there.

The overall effort to get back into the sport of tennis was paying off, with Ástríður managing to claw her way up to rank eighteen on the official list. With Birger and Hermanni as a pair just coming out of nowhere to earn their current seventeenth place. With the rest of the team making their own swift gains everything was already looking great. And on their way to get settled into where they were going to be staying for the duration of this sporting competition Euan was happy to tell everyone that they all managed to get into the main game without having to go through the qualifiers, even unlucky Ceallachán. Though that was if things stayed the way they were, as they were able to change on a moments notice still. But that did not bother anybody for the time being as they had more great news to be happy about, more time to settle down and be a tourist with all that fun stuff.

It seemed like it was going to be another fun time, the team looked forward to seeing what the nation had to offer and seeing the other nation’s players on the court. There already seemed like there was a lot of new players looking to make a possible name for themselves here which would be interesting to watch. As well as seeing all the players that had already made a name for themselves possibly own the court. Anything could happen, and they were going to have their fun no matter how it would go.

by **Banija** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 9:55 pm

What's wrong with the world Mama?

People living like they ain't got no Mama?

I think the whole world's addicted to the cutoff

Singles Qualifiers

Niken Subdula (NKO)           6   6
Paula Blomqvist (MEL)         7   7

Renee Richardson (KWP)        6   4   6
Nuruddin Nagi (ALQ)           2   6   3

Juan Subdula (NKO)            7   6
Donat Kis (FRG)               5   1

Kyle Anderson (BRI)           6   6
Eckehard Blumenberg (FRG)     1   1

Jon Swanston (KWP)            2   6   6
Malik Dione (BNJ)             6   3   2

Julia Devoningstan (NKO)      6   6   6
Babaja Ndaw (BNJ)             7   2   3

Tiffany Love (KWP)            6   7
Addo Calley (BNJ)             4   6

Sean Larsen (MEL)             6   6   3
Shula Naaji (ALQ)             4   7   6

Joseph Bennett (NDO)          6   6
Teddy Hermann (MEL)           2   4

Laura Roshik (MRC)            4   2
Nur Amjad (ALQ)               6   6

Cate O'Malley (MEL)           6   6
Rosemarie Strobl (FRG)        3   4

Ralph Newkärn (BRI)           4   6   6
Orsolya Szabo (FRG)           6   4   2

Jack Harper (NDO)             7   6
Raheem Hakim (ALQ)            5   2

Con Towers (KWP)              6   3   6
Essa Touré (BNJ)              3   6   2

by **Northwest Kalactin** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:01 pm

Singles
1. Niken subdula- Niken won 4 straight championships before giving it up to Julia devoningstan last year he is a great player overall
2. Julia Devoningstan- Julia is fast she can run down a ball pretty easily and won the national championship last year
3. Kyle Washington- Kyle has a very hard hit he broke the record on Northwest Kalactin he likes using his hit against opponents
4. Juan subdula- Juan is very good he comes from a tennis family and and loves expending physical energy his twin brother Niken is good also

Doubles
1. Niken subdula/ Juan subdula- the two brothers have starred In doubles with each other before in 2 other tournaments they have been training with each other for a very long time.
2. Kyle Washington/ Julia devoningstan- These two are a dynamic duo Julia’s speed along with kyles hard hit makes them great

by **Melbergia** » Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:47 am

O'Malley Continues to Progress

There was yet another marker of improvement for Melbergian tennis at the Istria Open today as Melbergian No. 1 Cate O'Malley comfortably booked her place in the first round with straight-sets victory over Rosemarie Strobl. O'Malley looked comfortable on the court, dominating with her serve. After the match she was all smiles, finding time to chat to a small group of Melbergian fans at courtside.

O'Malley's performances of late have been good, and many are predicting that she may 'break-through' in the coming months.

Elsewhere there was improvement for Melbergian no. 3 Paula Blomqvist, who also progressed, and earns a challenging tie against Leo Garry, ranked seventh in the world.

by **Ferret Civilization** » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:27 pm

The time here, despite having been to many other places, going to really be a new experience to have to deal with. Ferrets were generally used to Human places being unbearably hot and tropical, but somehow this place managed to take it up to eleven and then some, at least the city had a beachfront with water which always helped. The technological achievement of air conditioning was always there to try and be a boon, it usually was never enough to get that feeling of home however, but it was something. However they were lucky that they would not have to play in the qualifiers and had some time to get over the shock accumulation and settle into their temporary home. From there it was time for some time different catching up and prepare for an easy tomorrow. Enjoying a breakfast of fish, one thing that any place located by the ocean had in common was similar and good fish meat.

From there instead of rushing to get into the game they had a more leisurely pace to go and just watch them instead, something that was very different on top of all the other differences already. And it was an exciting day of watching a bunch of new individuals try, some succeeding and some failing, to make it into the main competition to try and get themselves a name. There was all the standard stuff, close sets and matches through and through to the curb stomp some did not even stand a chance games. All in the name of entertainment and fun, and when it was all over they had the games that they would be playing it to look forward to. But first they had the rise of the natural sunlight to go sightseeing in this kingdom of Banija. Despite being like any other multimillion populated cities this one already had a different air about it than the other more secular / liberal type groupings. Not that anyone found any troubles with that yet, it was just different.

Ástríður and Hermanni during the day trekking managed to find themselves in front of one of state churches. To an outside observer it might appear to have had the setup for an incredibly awkward situation, and it probably was. The two of them already figured in a consensus that they would not be allowed to enter their place of spiritual worship and peace, even if they were it probably would have made for a more awkward situation. One thing that was often overlooked by the team was that they were different from the Humans that they played against the nations they made up. The higher power ramifications of just a thing occurring conveniently swept under a rug and weirdness censors put up and everyone just went on their merry little ways. At least that is what a majority of their people did nowadays, with the whole alien and possible God interventionism amongst themselves largely dying out with a large lack of evidence showing up at the time it was most thought it would be found.

They were already starting to suffer from the effects of those times, they always were in actuality, but now those issues were starting to show through more and more. Talks of political revolution and international reform were once again creeping into the general population as most sat divided on the situation. Though for now the status quo was attempted to be patched together still and they did their normal routines after the first major national changes.

“Think maybe, if we converted and prayed to their God, that our problems would be answered?”

“More likely be told no, and cause a bunch of new problems you did not have before you tried going to a different culture for guidance. Been there and done that already.”

“We are still doing that though.”

“And there is already enough stuff under the rug, let's not try to shove more under there.”

With that the two anomalies that they were departed from where they were standing, probably to the relief of many weirdness censors out there trying to deal with that reality before them. Besides, the team had tennis games to focus on, not spiritual troubles and the question of soul. Their nation at home was most likely going to go through a reform again any time now, and they were going to enjoy the status quo free vacations that they had while it lasted. All they had to do was play in the foreign games and hopefully do well at them to get their own name and reputation to use some day. Though they had a lot more to enjoy along the way before everything went to some kind of Hell.

by **Britonisea** » Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:21 pm

Looking at the singles' bracket, for the first time in a very long time, Leo Garry can proudly hold the top spot as number one in a tennis tournament as the six above him decided not to participate in the Istria open. Amongst the greats of tennis these days, Britonisea is slowly coming back in to the rankings as recently, four Britons are in the top 85, much more than previously. Leading that, of course, is Leo Garry who is the World Number 7. Leo did not have to play today due to it only being the qualifiers for the singles. Tomorrow, the Round of 32 starts, and that is when Leo Garry will appear to try and gain as much points as possible to climb the NSTT ranking. Leo Garry will be playing against Paula Blomqvist, who beat her competitor in straight sets. While it is expected of Leo Garry to get through to the next stage - it depends on how Leo is feeling over the next few days and reports say he has been feeling poorly.

Kyle Anderson recently overtook Derek Dubrovnik as the Britonish #2, and in the NSTT ranking, he is ranked 52nd - only an inch away from the Top 50. However, in the Istria Open, Kyle Anderson is 13th and therefore expected to get to Round 3 - but he aims higher, hoping to go further than that and even go near to the final - but of course, if everything goes according to plan, he would have to play Leo Garry before he goes to the final. Finally, the last match that involves Britons - well two - is between Derek Dubrovnik, who is ranked 14th in this competition and is ranked 57th overall. Ralph Newkärn - who is ranked 19th in this competition - will go head to head. Both tennis players can beat each other, but it goes down to who is better on the day.

by **Banija** » Wed Feb 28, 2018 10:00 pm

Oh tell me you love me! I need someone! On days like this I do...

Oh tell me you love me! I need someone! On days like this I do.... On days like this!

Oh can you hear my heart say! Oooo

Cause you ain't nobody till you got a cutoff!

Doubles Qualifiers
Alasan Keita/Ensa Senghore (BNJ)             2   6   7
Izz ud-Din Samara/Nour Ajam (ALQ)            6   3   5

Juan/Niken subdula (NKO)                     2   1
Bianka Arendt/Ármin Miksa (FRG)              6   6

Muireann O Gnimh/Magnus Larsen (MEL)         7   6
Edrissa Bajo/Juma Diene (BNJ)                5   2

Vera Di Santos/Kamal Dallas (KWP)            2   6   4
Staci Harris/Fi Rochardson (KWP)             6   4   6

Julia devoningstan/Kyle Washington (NKO)     5   6   6
Tamara Takács/Albert Taussig (FRG)           7   4   4

Toby Lindberg/Aoife Morrow (MEL)             3   6   4
Ali Karim/Muhsina Ahmad (ALQ)                6   3   6

Singles Round of 32
Leo Garry (BRI)                6   6
Paula Blomqvist (MEL)          2   4

Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF)     7   6
Molly Rhonic (MRC)             6   2

Jaxton Monty (QAD)             4   5
Renee Richardson (KWP)         6   7

Halaeo DiGaldi (QAD)           6   4   5
Juan Subdula (NKO)             4   6   7

Paisley Brazzos (QAD)          4   6
Kyle Washington (NKO)          6   7

Kyle Anderson (BRI)            6   3   6
Jon Swanston (KWP)             0   6   3

Ástríður Eydís (FCF)           6   6
Julia Devoningstan (NKO)       1   4

Mattias Burges (MTJ)           1   6   6
Tiffany Love (KWP)             6   1   3

Ty Kanelious (QAD)             6   6   4
Shula Naaji (ALQ)              4   7   6

Alwyn Pedr (FCF)               6   6
Aljaž Ćorluka (MRC)            3   1

Dagmar Liùsaidh (FCF)          3   6   6
Joseph Bennett (NDO)           6   0   8

Maria Julenic (MTJ)            4   6   6
Nur Amjad (ALQ)                6   2   2

Cracik Almeronovic (MRC)       6   6
Cate O'Malley (MEL)            1   2

Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)          6   2   4
Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            3   6   6

Dominika Lisicki (MTJ)         6   7
Jack Harper (NDO)              4   5

Mei Jolek (MRC)                5   6   6
Con Towers (KWP)               7   1   4

by **Ferret Civilization** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 12:25 pm

It was a largely restless night for the team as most of them looked forward to how their first games of this event would end up turning out while also still getting used to the extreme heat even with air conditioning. Time passed and the sun started to rise to signal a new day, getting up with the sun as a usual schedule to get ready for what the rest of the day had to bring. Cleaned up to their satisfaction and dressed up for everyone else’s comfort all that was left to do was get some food before heading off to tennis club to play and see how things go from there. Over a heavy protein breakfast it was all banter about how they thought each other would do now and in the future or how others would do without the Cenian and New Gelderland teams that usually dominated everything.

The first on their team to have to go play was Ceallachán, going up against Molly from Mercedini, the two of them on paper were close in ranking so if that was anything to go by it would not be an easy game. The first match ended up going along with that kind of observation with the two of them going back and forth to keep the score neck to neck. Twelve matches of this later and it was down to the tiebreaking match to take just the first set, though the second set would end up going better for the Ferret. Ceallachán was able to keep up the pressure to take a quicker lead to win the game and move on. Only problem was his reward would be to go up against Leo Garry from Britonisea, the best player in this event, something that probably would not end up going his unlucky way.

A couple of other games later and it was then Ástríður’s turn to play against Julia from Northwest Kalactin, and for her the game went a lot easier. Starting off strong to take as many points for herself and quickly win the set against the faster Human player. Ástríður really showed off how she had become the best player on the team, keeping up the effort to try and quickly take the second set, it did not turn out as well as it did at the start but in the end the win was the win. A relatively short time later and it would end up being Alwyn’s turn on the court to attempt to try and pull off the same thing. Aljaž, from Mattijana, did their best to come out just as strong at the start as Alwyn did leading to some long matches. Though over the court of the game Alwyn was able to gain the upper hand to come out more on top in the second set near the end of it all to take his own win.

For the end of their time on the courts for the day it would be down to Dagmar, who everyone was confident she was going to win and it would be a solid great day. Though she ended up starting off rather slow against Joseph from New Doltania, which allowed him to take the first set for himself. For the second set she did decide to take things up a notch to take every single match for herself to take the set and drag the game on to a third set. From there she slowed things back down keeping up with her competition and keeping the score tied up. While she did end up slipping up where it counted the most, the tiebreaker in the tiebreaking set she could play it off cool. It did end up messing up a perfect day but it was none the less still a great one, it always would be. In the end she did hope that he learned a thing or two and was able to advance further into the event to at least up his on paper rank some more. At the very least hopefully it made some people at his homeland proud.

With the game day over the team only was down Dagmar, allowing for Ástríður to fully start to take place as the considered best player out of all of them. And as for the game outlook itself it was pretty amazing how many of the new faces were able to get through, some of them going up against really tough competition to be able to move on. It would be interesting to see how that would shake things up on top of the best players not taking part of this event to dominate things at the end of it all. Tomorrow they also got to look forward to seeing how the doubles side of their team would do as well as how the overall event would do there too. Though for now they all had some more time to enjoy themselves as tourist. From there they had decided that seeing how this nation’s beaches were would probably be the funnest thing to do at the moment. The sand and the water were so far always the best place to go to try and cool down some naturally and relax.

by **Banija** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:12 pm

When I think about those! Summer nights!

Singing out the window, on the back roads, sweet child of mine!

At Kisangara, spark of light!

Ain't funny how the best days of my life? Was right before the cutoff!

Singles Round of 16
Leo Garry (BRI)                1   2
Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF)     6   6

Renee Richardson (KWP)         2   6   6
Juan Subdula (NKO)             6   2   0

Kyle Washington (NKO)          6   3
Kyle Anderson (BRI)            7   6

Ástríður Eydís (FCF)           6   6
Mattias Burges (MTJ)           1   2

Shula Naaji (ALQ)              3   1
Alwyn Pedr (FCF)               6   6

Joseph Bennett (NDO)           2   4
Maria Julenic (MTJ)            6   6

Cracik Almeronovic (MRC)       4   4
Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            6   6

Dominika Lisicki (MTJ)         2   3
Mei Jolek (MRC)                6   6

Doubles Round of 16
Leo Garry/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)            6   6
Alasan Keita/Ensa Senghore (BNJ)             3   1

Llinos Cairistìona/Säde Kaja (FCF)           6   7
Franklin Polymar/Yves Whitz (QAD)            1   6

Birger Gwil/Hermanni Conall (FCF)            3   6   7
Bianka Arendt/Ármin Miksa (FRG)              6   2   5

Laura Roshik/Wendy Noyek (MRC)               6   7
Muireann O Gnimh/Magnus Larsen (MEL)         4   5

Jack Parminus/Adam Stratesimov (MRC)         6   3   6
Staci Harris/Fi Rochardson (KWP)             4   6   4

Terry Rèben/Icy Mellows (QAD)                6   7
Jack Harper/Joseph Bennett (NDO)             4   5

Dominika Lisicki/Rikard Kampl (MTJ)          6   6
Julia devoningstan/Kyle Washington (NKO)     4   3

Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ)               6   6
Ali Karim/Muhsina Ahmad (ALQ)                4   2

by **Ferret Civilization** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 1:15 am

The end of the day at the beach was so far the most enjoyable thing to experience, especially here with the extreme heat that just made having a layer of fur near unbearable, let alone the clothes on top of that. Going all the way until near sundown playing in the sand and swimming in the water until their hearts were content. Tired out from all the day activities everyone had a more restful sleep that night in preparation of tomorrow’s games, which all of them besides Dagmar would be playing in. So eventually another morning, another big breakfast to start off the day and seeing how things would do. Alwyn teased Ceallachán about the fact that he would probably end up losing against the best player here Leo Garry.

And the first game of the day ended up being Ceallachán versus Leo, with all the odds stacked up against him, though this event has been an anomaly with who was expected to win. While the Ferret ended up coming out strong it did seem that the Britonisea player was doing their best, it ended up being a boon but at the same time did feel a little wrong. Though the two of them made it through the bare minimum two sets, with Ceallachán managing to take both of them to win the game. It would at the end of this continue to help him rise up in official ranking, though since he was used to losing this situation was just all kinds of odd. And some time later he would learn that he would end up going up against a Renee, who a managed to take down a Qad as well as Northwest Kalactin player, who had also beaten a Qad. Thinking about it the normally well to do Qasden players had done pretty poorly, a straight wipe that their own team had experienced in the last competition.

It was then Ástríður’s turn to play in her game against Mattias Burges from Mattijana, a nation where they had all got a thorough beating. She would almost end up having an exact replay of Ceallachán’s game, though she had a lot tougher of a time to get through. Though in the end the wins were still a win and they would still happily take them, and so far they were having a high stroke of luck. Alwyn’s game was right up next with him going up against Shula Naaji from a new nation in the field, Al-Qurija. The unranked player had come from beating a Qad right out from managing to qualify. Having to play against a Ferret though probably ended up shaking the new face, allowing him to take an early lead and hold onto throughout the rest of the first set. With the second set he was able to ante up and quickly secure the game to win it all. It did seem like that Shula would have a possible bright future in international tennis, though there was still for them to experience.

With that everyone on the singles side that played were all able to win their games, which was still an impressive feat to accomplish, Ceallachán and Ástríður did have the possible chance to meet each other in the semifinals to secure a spot in the finals if they both won their next game. They laughed at the idea however as last time they looked to that it ended up going more poorly for them with that, despite in working out more in the end. On paper though it looked like they did have a shot, and that Alwyn would be having the hardest time coming up, though with how the competition was going it still seemed anything was possible. And they still had the doubles side of everything to see how those would go for the team.

Llinos and Säde would have to go up against the Qads Franklin Polymar and Yves Whitz, the two did feel bad for how things went for them on the singles side but they too were in it to try and win it. The two Ferrets ended up coming out strong just like their teammates did in the singles side, taking the first set as quickly as possible. However they would not have things go their way despite working their tails off for it, as the Qads really made them work for every game that they got. The two duos worked to wear each other down over the course of the set, one side going for a win and the other side going to extend the game out to a third set. However when it came down to the tie breaking game the Ferrets were able to take it to win it. Birger and Hermanni’s game came up right after with them going up against a different new national team made up of Bianka Arendt and Ármin Miksa. The unranked duo were quite able to come out and show their possible potential in the first set, taking it for themselves after slowly getting a lead. The two Ferrets had to work hard from then on for the need to take the second set to take it to a third, the exact opposite situation from the last game. Though unlike last game they were able to pull it off and, at the end of it all, make it count as they ended up winning the third set after some back and forth.

With that everyone that played in their games had managed to win, an even bigger achievement. It was now also possible for the two doubles side of their players to meet up in the semifinals to secure a spot in the finals if they won their next game. It was quite the situation, Säde and Llinos would have to go up against the best, Leo Garry and Elizabeth Quehall. The team was quietly happy that the other Qad doubles players Terry Rèben and Icy Mellows were able to win their game, as well as seeing how well some of the lesser known players were doing here. Though in the end it was a more predictable end result for the doubles side of the game, with Säde and Llinos being the lowest ranked out of everyone still in it on that side. Still would be quite interesting to see how things would go.

by **Britonisea** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:05 am

Britannual News

LEO GARRY KNOCKED OUT BY PLAYER RANKED 66

Tournament: Istria Open

Broken Racquet, Broken Dreams?: Leo Garry received a racquet abuse violation.

The Istria Open is happening behind closed doors, but despite that some of the Multiverse's biggest tennis stars are planning. Leo Garry, who is Ranked 7th in the world played against Ceallachán Amhlaoibh - and lost. But other Britons got through.

It seemed like something was bothering him since the moment he stepped on to the Istria Open court, as though he was battling against something. He walked on to the court and sat down on his chair, and looked as though he spaced out until it was "time" for the coin throw. Even then, it seemed as though he was half in the court. After the match begun, Leo Garry simply couldn't get a hang of the set. Embarrassingly, Leo Garry was beaten 6-1 in the first set, which saw him - when Ceallachán Amhlaoibh - hit the floor of the court with his racquet. The fact that the umpire then proceeded to give Leo Garry a warning for racquet abuse, he insisted that he needed to go to the toilet and made a quick exit off the court. The Britonish commentators found this reaction very strange, especially coming from Leo Garry, who is known to be one of the nicest tennis players out there. Rumour has it, he didn't enjoy his match against the almost unknown Paula Blomqvist because "it was too easy for Paula to get a set". He explains that even though he is back in the top 8 and in the running to be in this year's NSTT World Tour Final, his does not rival the likes of the top 8 and his wins should be a lot easier. Perhaps, the fact that Ceallachán Amhlaoibh won that set sealed the fate of Leo Garry in the tournament. Despite media from the winning nation suggesting Leo Garry did his best on the court, the Britonish commentators begged to differ as Leo Garry managed to rack up a record amount of second serves and unforced errors which is very unlike the Leo Garry that we are used to in Britonisea. Coming back on the court, Leo Garry seemed repressed, as though he had all of his anger trapped inside him. Whilst Leo Garry won the first game of the second set, things went downhill for him after that, and for the rest of that set, he only managed to steal 1 more game through a tiebreak point - which Ceallachán Amhlaoibh ended up getting backing in a breaking back point. After it became clear that Leo Garry had an uphill battle to face; 5-2 down, Leo seemed to just give up and no tire himself out too much as he had to play in the doubles latter that day. Walking to the net, and with a roll of the eye as Ceallachán Amhlaoibh celebrated, he gave a rather meek handshake before packing his things up and exiting the court. He was then found at a restaurant outside the complex before he came back on court with Elizabeth Quehall.

This is very reminiscent of Leo Garry's journey during the Astyrian Series, when Leo was knocked out of the Round of 32 by another tennis player from Ferret Civilization, a nation which seems to shine at these lower tier tournaments but will be a contender as the first gland slam nears. In the Round of 32, Leo Garry played Dagmar Liùsaidh, and similarly to this match, Leo Garry lost in straight sets, losing the first set 6-1; exactly like this match. Perhaps, Leo Garry had horrible flashbacks against his match against Dagmar Liùsaidh and freaked out? His second set against Dagmar Liùsaidh was more like Leo Garry, indeed, as he managed to bring it to a tiebreak, but he couldn't win the tiebreak. What does this say about Leo Garry? Is he focusing too much on the doubles? Maybe, the question is not about how the Briton is, but the real strength of these players from Ferret Civilization causing upset after upset. Nevertheless, Leo Garry's thoughts on the match were neither positive nor negative as he said, "I played how I played on the court, and I am looking forward to playing with Elizabeth Quehall later today. I wish Ceallachán Amhlaoibh good luck going forward."

Not all news from the Istria Open was negative, however. Kyle Anderson, the Britonish #2 managed to become one of the eight who will be participating in the quarter finals, and he is hoping that his victory will propel him straight in to the finals of the Istria Open. His match against another Kyle - Kyle Washington - saw the first set go to a tiebreak. Luckily for the Briton, he managed to win the set as he did not want to have to go to a third set in order to win the match. The second set was much easier for him, and managed to gain a break point on Kyle very early on in the second set. He went on to win that set, which meant that Britonisea was still in the Open. Kyle Anderson, who did not even qualify from any of the qualifying round-robins in the 2016 Astyrian Series changed his fortunes in the Astyrian Series 2018. Kyle Anderson managed to knock out the Cenian Ardil Navsal to make his way to the quarter finals, where he lost against Paisley Brazzos of Qasden (Antilla Masters). He is hoping that he can go further than the quarter finals this time, and this should already help his ranking too. Unfortunately, his next opponent is Ástríður Eydís, from Ferret Civilization - and with their players, there is a level of unknown. Kyle Anderson is ranked 52 in the world, whereas Ástríður Eydís is ranked highly at 18th place - which means that the likelihood of Kyle Anderson getting through compared to Ástríður Eydís is low...but not impossible. He will be hoping to cause an upset here, for the sake of Britonish tennis. Kyle has stated in a press conference that his ultimate goal is for there to be "two Britons in the top ten, with me [Kyle] being one of them".

Ralph Newkärn, who recently broke in to the top 85, also won his match in the Round of 16s today and made it two Britons competing in the quarter finals. In this tournament, he is ranked 19 which worse compared to the Cracik Almeronovic who is ranked 3rd in this competition and 14th in the world. The camaraderie between the Britons and Mercedinians meant that the match between Ralph and Cracik wasn't as tense as, say, the match between Leo Garry and Ceallachán Amhlaoibh but did end in a shock. In straight sets, Ralph managed to pull a Ferret Civilization and beat Cracik 6-4, 6-4. Ralph needs to get these points in order to climb up the ranking because not only is he chasing for the World Tour Finals, but for a long time, he has been chasing the title of Britonish #1, held by greats such as Lance Mance, Ricardo Toli, Peter P Larry and now Leo Garry. By pulling a stunner like the one he did yesterday, he shows that he is in tip top shape to do it again. If you thought one Mercedinian was enough, Ralph is now playing yet another Mercedinian, who will no doubt be looking for revenge after he knocked out their team mate. Playing Mei Jolek will be tough, but it should be easier, as Mei is ranked 50th in the world, and 11th in the tournament. Ralph has stated that he is "excited" for the competition ahead.

Leo Garry didn't go home empty-handed though, as he and Elizabeth Quehall still had the last laugh in the doubles competition. Against the Banijans, Alasan Keita and Ensa Senghore, the pair managed to obliterate the competition especially in the second set as they won in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Posting on his twitter page, Leo Garry tweeted the simple message #silenced along with a GIF of him serving the last point of the game against the Banijans. Elizabeth Quehall was made aware of the trouble Leo Garry has been having and addressed that in a conference, "It is now that time of year where Leo Garry has to start proving himself worthy of being in the top - not only in the singles ranking but also in the doubles. It'll be hard for him to do so, but I think he can do it - and the whole country should get behind him. I've found out that I should stick to doubles!" Leo and Elizabeth, to Leo's dismay, will be playing Llinos Cairistìona / Säde Kaja from Ferret Civilization; they are ranked 31st in the world.

What do you think of the happenings at the Istria Open, then?

by **Banija** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:27 am

What is the word for the sound your heart makes when you fall in love? Especially at the cutoff time? The word is Kolom.

Singles Quarterfinals
Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF)     6   6
Renee Richardson (KWP)         2   3

Kyle Anderson (BRI)            4   1
Ástríður Eydís (FCF)           6   6

Alwyn Pedr (FCF)               6   7
Maria Julenic (MTJ)            2   6

Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            6   6
Mei Jolek (MRC)                3   2

Doubles Quarterfinals
Leo Garry/Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)        6   4   4
Llinos Cairistìona/Säde Kaja (FCF)       2   6   6

Birger Gwil/Hermanni Conall (FCF)        3   6   6
Laura Roshik/Wendy Noyek (MRC)           6   2   3

Jack Parminus/Adam Stratesimov (MRC)     2   6   4
Terry Rèben/Icy Mellows (QAD)            6   3   6

Dominika Lisicki/Rikard Kampl (MTJ)      6   6
Julian Slazic/Lara Basic (MTJ)           3   4

by **Ferret Civilization** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:15 am

With the excitement of how well the team was doing overall and most of all of them still in the games there was already plenty of celebrating in what was sure going to be a beat down tomorrow. Things usually got heated around this time for their chances of winning, though much like in the Astyrain series they went through recently it did have a possibility of going two ways, or the third option was they all lost and just would have to learn to deal with that kind of outcome from then on. But for the night the optimistism prevaled and the talk of the pipe dream thrived all the way until the last of the group crashed in their beds, just to be renewed in the morning with intermediate breaks with them cleaning up and doing their morning routine. A big breakfast later and just like usual they were ready to see what the game day and the competition had to give them.

Ceallachán started off the first game of day still riding his unbelievably good luck from yesterday’s game against Leo facing off against Renee Richardson from West Phoenicia. Able to come out swinging strong to take an early lead and hold onto it despite some minor setbacks, though in the end the first set was thoroughly his. However coming out strong usually never worked well for a Ferret, especially in the more extreme heat of this nation they were in, leading to a slip up right at the second set that nearly cost Ceallachán. Over the course of the set he did manage to rebound to take the lead at the end to take the win and earn himself a spot in the semifinals. Ástríður was up next hoping to also earn that other spot and meet Ceallachán in the semifinals, but first she had to go up against Kyle Anderson from Britonisea. Someone who wanted to win and showed it right off the bat, leading to long games as neither player wanted to give a single inch in the score. The attrition was more horrible on the Ferret than the Human and it showed, danger of heat exhaustion finally started to show itself to the more aware observers. Playing through it all however Ástríður was able to make it all worth it by swooping in at the end to take the win, which seemed to break the Briton player as the second set went much more favorably for her. Taking points quicker and rushing through the game at that point, only losing one, to win the game to get that spot with Ceallachán. Which secured a spot for a Ferret in the finals.

With that major achievement temporarily out of the way it was time for Alwyn to play against Maria Julenic from Mattijana. Determined to not be outshined by Ceallachán he came out playing hard for the win himself right at the start of the game, which paid off just as well for him as it did his friendly team rival. Taking the majority of the set for himself but was unable to really shine, though a win was a win and everyone was still proud of how things could go. The second set however was the most brutal one for them out of the day so far, with his competition coming to bite back the game started to fly by with a fast ball and going for a faster win. In the end however Alwyn was the one to come out on top to take the win, earning the third spot in the semifinals. Which meant that everyone that played in the singles side once again were all able to win. Some did feel bad that Dagmar was not able to share in this and turn it into their best achievement yet, though she was fine and pointed out that even if she won she just would have been the one facing Alwyn, not getting into the semifinals. Alwyn found his reward was going to be playing against the last Briton in this competition, Ralph Newkärn. If he could pull off a win the Ferret team would secure first and second place, though if he lost they still would have second and third in the bag, which was good enough for them. Though it would be a lot to take in if they could pull off the Antillia Masters again on the singles side.

Though as if there was not already enough for the day they still had the doubles side to play in, with Säde and Llinos going up against the best Leo Garry Elizabeth Quehall, and the Britonisea players continued to show off that they earned their place. Thoroughly giving the Ferrets a good thrashing in the first set, with the two barely able to get an advantage anywhere, leading to a quick loss in the first set. The two females however were not going to let themselves get easily taken out just to watch Birger and Hermanni probably end up getting the easy revenge win, they had to show that they had a chance to rise up. And with the second set that is what they did, putting in the effort to show that they had what it took, dragging everything about the game out as each side wanted that win. With a mid-set lead Llinos and Säde just had to hold it, which they were successfully able to do, dragging the whole affair out into a third set to try and repeat the second set. Though if anyone thought Ástríður had it bad things were horrible for the condition of the two, it would be Säde to break for the first time in the whole team’s time of playing. Leading to a huge concern that they would probably have to forfeit right then and there with an even larger concern for Säde. With Llinos and Euan both tending to her they discussed what they should do, Euan was more than willing to pull the game right there, though after getting water and the break Säde had to convince the two that they were so close to either winning or losing this that they mind as well finish, and so they did. And it too ended up paying off, with the two of them able to beat out the best team in this competition to get into the semifinals.

Birger and Hermanni were up next after that scare and surprising turnout of events for a tennis game, going up against Laura Roshik and Wendy Noyek from Mercedini. They understandably wanted to take things a bit easier than what everyone else did for the day, taking things more slowly allowing their opponents to easily take the first set. Though they did show their surprisingly new found skills and take the second set for themselves by playing more smart and conservative making their moves count. Which earned them the second set win, and they were able to keep that up, taking the third set to get into the semifinals, against Säde and Llinos. Which meant that on the doubles side they were now for sure in the finals as well and it would be an easy day tomorrow, something that they all really needed right now. With all the excitement the team was more than willing to just call it a day and rest up without going about like tourist for the night.

by **Banija** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:07 am

In the night, I hear them talk, the coldest story every told! Somewher far along this road he lost his soul... To a woman at cutoff!

Singles Semifinals
Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF)     6   6
Ástríður Eydís (FCF)           1   4

Alwyn Pedr (FCF)               7   2   9
Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            5   6   7

Final: Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF) v. Alwyn Pedr (FCF)
TPPO: Ástríður Eydís (FCF) v. Ralph Newkärn (BRI)

Doubles Semifinals
Llinos Cairistìona/Säde Kaja (FCF)      7   4   2
Birger Gwil/Hermanni Conall (FCF)       6   6   6

Terry Rèben/Icy Mellows (QAD)           3   3
Dominika Lisicki/Rikard Kampl (MTJ)     6   6

Final: Birger Gwil/Hermanni Conall (FCF) v. Dominika Lisicki/Rikard Kampl (MTJ)
TPPO: Llinos Cairistìona/Säde Kaja (FCF) v. Terry Rèben/Icy Mellows (QAD)

by **Ferret Civilization** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:09 am

Another semifinals day had come with the rising sun, and still surprisingly they were in a better position than they were in the Antillia Masters. Three out of the four of them in the singles side, with one of them guaranteed to be out but one for sure in the finals and the chance to take the final game for their own team again in the tennis year. Then along the doubles side of this event both of their duos would be playing against each other to guarantee a spot in the finals there as well, a sign of their improvement on that side of the tennis world. And everyone but Alwyn was looking to have an easy day of inter team rivalry instead of the real competition that came from other nation’s teams. Today was a celebratory breakfast just because of where they were at and the fact that they could still horribly lose the finals they took what they could get still.

Ástríður and Ceallachán were the first game of the day against each other, and despite Alwyn wanting Ástríður to give his buddy a hard time she decided not to. Leading to a slow set of games that was mostly practice for the two of them, with Ástríður slowly giving the game away. She and Dagmar had already managed to win an event and she herself was already doing so well on paper, and they worked as a team, so Ceallachán was going to get more out of it and losing in the final game than she would get by winning it. The two of them took longer on the second set but in the end the outcome was still the same, Ceallachán took the win to either take on Alwyn or the Briton depending on how things went in that game. And he made sure to rub in his buddy’s snout that he was in the finals and wanted Alwyn to make it to see which one of them really was the better player.

Alwyn was right up next having to face off against Ralph Newkärn, the last Briton in the competition, as of right now the Ferret team had taken out the other of the Britonisea team slowly bringing out their true colors. Ralph ended up being the one to come out swinging hard in their game going for a quick win, though Alwyn managed to catch up to take the lead. Pushing the game out to a tiebreaker the Ferret had to win to take the first set, which he was able to do. The second set saw his competition to continue to keep up the pressure taking even more of a lead which Alwyn was unable to keep up with, though since it was not for the overall win he backed off a little. With the game now dragged out to a third set both sides gave it their absolute all, making every single point count, and pushing the score needed to win way out there. Eventually the two were tied seven to seven and neither side was anywhere near backing down for the win. Though it would be Alwyn to tough it out and break the stalemate and quickly use that advantage to win the game. With that the Ferret team had managed to repeat what they did in the Antillia Masters with two different players on the singles side and a bonus with Ástríður able to go for third.

The doubles side would be a relaxing way to end the day, and Säde out of the four of that side of the team needed that the most still suffering the after effects of heat exhaustion. Birger, Hermanni, Llinos, and Säde started off with competition in mind as well as each others well being so they went slow, which kept the score rather tied up for the first set, though in the end the females took it for themselves. Repeating the process in the second set however saw the males take the lead at the end to take that part of the game for themselves. The third set Hermanni and Birger picked things up to quickly wrap up the game and take the game for themselves to once again try and take the first doubles title competition win for the Ferret team. With that all was left was to watch the last game of the day, which Dominika Lisicki and Rikard Kampl from Mattijana. It seemed like they would get to have the Mattijana Open finals game if the Cenians and New Gelderland teams had lost instead of won ending both of their journeys at those semifinals. Meanwhile Säde and Llinos would get to face off against the Qads that made it all the way near the end of the competition for the third place position.

With the game day over however the team had a whole lot more to celebrate and look forward to. And they all made sure to go out and try to find some night life to party with.

by **Gergary** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 4:57 am

Gergary's Number Two News Outlet - at least we're honest here.

Sport
Virag: We need a Gergarian Tennis Tour

INGBERT-BORBELY - Gergarian Chancellor Domonkos Virag was not able to hide his disappointment to the national tennis delegation the nation sent to the Istria Open, where five of the six entries of Gergary failed to win a single match. Only one entry, the pair of Bianka Arendt and Ármin Miksa, was able to proceed to the competition proper where they were eliminated by Ferret pair of Birger Gwil and Hermanni Conall in three sets.

Speaking to different heads of sports councils in the Gergary Sports Summit, he lauded the performance of the pair, but was quick to change the topic to the lack of domestic development of Gergarian sports. Virag continued his speech, saying that in general, the country needed some leagues to develop their sportspeople and to make the Gergarians more known in the sporting multiverse.

Last month, the inaugural season of the Gergarian National Football Championship has come to a close, with FK Egyetertes Borbely winning in dominating fashion ahead of VfR Steinigestrasse. The two will represent Gergary in Esportivan competition for the upcoming football season. Virag showcased this event to the audience and told them that they should follow the example of the Gergarian Football Federation and create their national leagues or tours.

"We can start with the Gergarian Tennis Tour for example, have the best tennis players in Gergary take part and have a tour around the country to have them more exposed to different locations and courts. We have enough hardcourt, clay, and grass courts here in the country. Then they send their best performing participants to the NSTT. It's not that hard. Political will is needed. Look at the hockey federation, volleyball, basketball. They are starting a national league like the football ones. Can we do it? Yes we can! Make Gergary Great!"

The above statement was an excerpt of his speech. Domonkos was a known national tennis great in Gergary before retiring and entering politics, eventually becoming chancellor in 1870.

by **Banija** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 9:36 pm

Skin head! Dead head! Everybody gone mad.

Situation, aggravation- everybody's allegation!

In the suite! On the news!

Everybody's dog food!

Bang Bang! Shot dead! At the Final Cutoff!

Singles Final
Ceallachán Amhlaoibh (FCF)     6   1   6 - TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
Alwyn Pedr (FCF)               3   6   3 - TOURNAMENT RUNNER-UP

Singles Third Place
Ástríður Eydís (FCF)           6   7 - TOURNAMENT THIRD PLACE
Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            2   5

Doubles Final
Birger Gwil/Hermanni Conall (FCF)       4   6   4 - TOURNAMENT RUNNER-UP
Dominika Lisicki/Rikard Kampl (MTJ)     6   1   6 - TOURNAMENT CHAMPION


Doubles Third Place
Llinos Cairistìona/Säde Kaja (FCF)      6   6 - TOURNAMENT THIRD PLACE
Terry Rèben/Icy Mellows (QAD)           2   2

by **Ferret Civilization** » Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:50 pm

Final day of the event, and the best thing about it was that nearly the whole team was still able to play until the very end with only Dagmar getting knocked out at the start. Ceallachán and Alwyn would get to fight for who would get first and second place, Ástríður would actually get to play in a third place game that not many of the other national hosts bothered with. Meanwhile Birger and Hermanni would get another attempt to try and go for the first win for the doubles side of the team with Säde and Llinos being able to go for the third place position. Looking at the ending setup, it usually was the Cenians or Gelderland teams that took up this place in bulk, though without them here it lead up to this situation, it was quite the blessing.

Ceallachán and Alwyn laughed and joked over who was going to win the game over breakfast, though once the two were on the court they were very serious about it. With Ceallachán slowly getting the lead over his younger teammate in the first set of back and forth quick games. Though Alwyn made sure to return the favor and then some by taking the second set for himself not letting his competition get any kind of hope filling foothold. Leading to a tie breaking set being needed to see which one of them was really the better player. While at first it appeared Alwyn would get another smack down set Ceallachán repeated the first set instead and slowly caught up at the end to take the lead were it mattered most, the end, and won. It ended up taking Alwyn down a few pegs but not out, and he still walked out in second place with a hopefully chance of getting his own win later on in the tennis year. Ástríður’s game was up after that, seemed like a formality kind of game as it did not matter if she won or lost, and she would have to go up against the Briton Alwyn had beaten Ralph Newkärn. And throughout the first set he just did not seem to be that into this game either, with Ástríður getting most the points for herself without much of a fight. Though that was until it hit the second set, were things got a little more heated. After a long series of back and forth exchanging the lead kind of games the Ferret however was the one to once again come out of top near the end to take the second set and end the match before needing to go into a third one. Ending the singles side of the event on a high note for the team, as they got the highest spots they could get in this competition before moving onto the doubles side.

Birger and Hermanni were up against Dominika Lisicki and Rikard Kampl from Mattijana and despite the hope for a win things would still not go the Ferrets way in the end on the doubles side of the tennis sporting world. With there competition getting the lead on them and holding it even with all the effort to come back on top throughout the first set it did not work out. For the second set however the two mustered what they could to take the as much of the set as quickly as they could to get that third tie breaking set which did work out. Though it only ended up replaying the first set, with the Mattijana team coming through in the mid game to take the game and the win for themselves. While the Ferrets still could not get a competition win there in the doubles they were still none the less overjoyed that they could get this far into the event and get second place. For the final game of the event Säde and Llinos got to play against the Qads Terry Rèben and Icy Mellows for that symbolic third place. Which after being able to rest up for two days they were able to come out with all they had to take the first set in a quick manner, and repeat that again for the second set to take the game for themselves. Which was something to be proud about and the high note to end their time in the Kingdom of Banija.

With it all over they would get to go home and celebrate their victory there some more and look forward to the next competition and see how their luck continued to fair. Though for now they had their string of high luck with only one minor hiccup, and three of the team’s players had managed to win their own event already coming back from being in and out of the tennis world. Repeating their run from when they first joined, though unlike then they were going to try harder to not roadburn and fade into nothingness again.

Istria Open Everything Thread (NSTT- Tier 2)

Istria Open Everything Thread (NSTT- Tier 2)

Britannual News: Friday 2nd March 2018

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