[roberthenman]

what happen with Ball...why not play in challenger usa???

[james82]

yeh its not like him ,he usually does
maybe hes injured? rankings to low?

[Matchu]

Carsten is finally back, seeded 6th in Tallahasse and has Donald Young first round which should be a good indication as to whether he is playing well or not.

[jmf07]

Should be an interesting match. Ball beat Young 63 60 last time but it was when he was in career best form in LA and the Don wasn't playing that great. Ball needs to do well in the next couple of weeks to try and stake his claims for the DC Spot (if Hewitt withdraws) and the FO Wildcard.

[Audacity]

He will probably be a little rusty, but he can win.

[roberthenman]

Gl Ball in the return...

[jmf07]

Ball won 46 61 64. Now plays the winner of Santiago Gonzalez vs Kelly.

[Matchu]

After a few withdrawls and first round losses Carsten is now the highest seeded player left in his part of the draw, doesn't make his draw any easier though. He will face Gonzalez in the second round who won the challenger tournament in Mexico although that could mean he is tired and flying to the States and then two consecutive matches on two consecutive days could mean Carsten will win just purely because Gonzalez is tired but I doubt it.

He really needs to do something in this tournament but with the draw he has theres potential for semis or further.

[Audacity]

Good work Carsten.

[jmf07]

Ball defeated Gonzalez 46 61 64. Now plays Alex Kuznetsov. Could be a tough one if Kuznetsov is on song.

[roberthenman]

good victory Carsten

[jmf07]

Kuznetsov prevailed 64 67 64. Kuznetsov must be having one of those weeks. Carsten probably would have wanted more from this tournament but in terms of the DC it has been pretty good considering how the other Aussies went this week.

[roberthenman]

GL in the next tournament Ball

[jmf07]

Davis Cup player serves it up
David Lems | 16th April 2010

AS TWO Ipswich players reached semi-finals on Thursday, Tennis Australia confirmed a major coup for the festival of tennis being played at Leichhardt.

Davis Cup doubles player Carsten Ball is headed to the city for the Ipswich Tennis International starting on April 27.

Powerful left-hander Ball combined with Peter Luczak, Bernard Tomic and doubles specialist Paul Hanley to outclass Chinese-Taipei in the first round of the Asia-Oceania group qualifiers in March.

While Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald is yet to name his team for next month’s qualifying tie in Brisbane, Ball is a contender.

Currently ranked 113 in the world, Ball will be top seed for the Pro Tour event in Ipswich. Being so highly ranked for such a tournament, Ball had to apply for a wildcard.

“It’s just fantastic to have a player of Carsten’s level to be here in Ipswich,” Tennis Australia official Mark Handley said yesterday.

“It’s very rare for that level of player to be able to come to a Futures event in a regional area.”

The announcement of Ball’s visit to Ipswich came as rising talents Ashleigh Barty and Josh Barrenechea continued their impressive campaigns at this week’s Australian International Grade 4 tournament.

National 14s and 16s claycourt champion Barty yesterday overcame Ashley Keir 6-1, 6-0 in her quarter-final.

Springfield-based Barty advances to Friday’s semi-final against second seed Molly Polak, from Melbourne.

Barrenechea, also unseeded in the Ipswich-hosted tournament, secured a semi-final spot today by downing NSW opponent Jake Wynan 6-0, 6-4 at the George Alder Tennis Centre.

The Springfield Lakes 18-year-old meets Victorian Alexander Babanine in Friday’s semi-final.

The steady progress of Barty and Barrenechea in the 18 years and under international event proves local players can succeed in big tennis tournaments.

Ipswich’s festival of tennis continues with the Gallipoli Cup next week before the Ipswich Pro Tour event featuring Carsten.

“He’ll be using this surface as a lead-up to the tie in May, if he gets picked in the (Davis Cup) squad,” Handley said.

“At this stage, he’s playing a lot of high level Challenger events throughout the US. He’s a quality player.”

Fitzgerald has until April 25 to name his Davis Cup team for the second round clash at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

Ball, who resides in California, is the son of Syd Ball.

Syd also played Davis Cup and enjoyed most success playing doubles, winning seven titles and being runner-up at the 1974 Australian Open.

http://www.qt.com.au/story/2010/04/1...up-in-ipswich/

[Audacity]

Carsten coming all the way over to a place like Ipswich to play a Futures event.. I'm guessing he has already been informed that he is going to be playing Davis Cup the following week in Brisbane.