Lucky Loser

[FulhamFan]

I read an article about gimelstob complaining about rafael nadal waiting till qualifying to withdraw because if he withdrew before qualifying he would of been in the main draw instead of qualifying. He made it to the qualifying rounf but then lost. My question is if he was so close to being in the main draw why didn't he qualify as a lucky loser?

Also agassi and james blake did the same thing as nadal but gimelstob saves his rant for nadal. what a punk.

[UNTBOWLER]

Gimblestob is just a blow hard who thinks he is better than he is. I sure he is gloating now that him and Humphries upset the Bryan Twins. He probably now feels as if he should be on the Olympic or Davis Cup.
What a douche bag.

[BoughtMyPoints]

he would of been

I am impressed by your spelling but you seem to have a problem with your verb construction(s) as evidenced here and in most of your posts.

he would have been


Now to your query!

You're right that Mr. Blow Hard's ranking was not high enough to be one of the many lucky losers who made it into the main draw. Here's a guess : he may have had a protected ranking up his sleeve to get into the MD. Once in the draw, I don't think they use the protected ranking for seeding purposes.

Perhaps, one of the experts could clarify.

Bear in mind, that qualifiers do pretty well out of their week at Roehampton : the money's a lot better than Challenger level, just for showing up. If they make it into the MD, they get bonus points. And some players don't mind clocking up grass court time as preparation for the main event.

The most egregious qualie story was way back when Scud was having nis breakthrough year, having won Scottsdale and father Nick demanded from Wimbledon a MD wild card for his teenage son. Rather than win just 1 match at Roehampton (as #1 seed in qualies Scud would have had a first round bye that year and he could lose in the third round and be # 1 lucky loser), Scud missed his best chance at winning Wimbledon.

[Fee]

Nadal's people made a royal screwup and it did cost Justin a place in the main draw. They were apparently 'surprised' to see his name in the draw and thought they had already notified Wimb officials that he could not play (by mental telepathy I suppose?) Justin did use a protected ranking for the Wimb main draw and he was next in line. Once he played in qualifying, his protected ranking did not matter (and I don't know the rules about this, but that's the way it was). Justin wasn't the only one who was peeved by this, I was too (sitting at my computer 8000 miles away).

I've heard from people who saw that doubles match and Justin and Scott (who have won a title together before) played really well and the twins did not, so that's what happened. Either way, I'm just glad to see Justin back, and playing somewhat well. He had a long recovery from his broken foot and surgery, so good for him.

[BoughtMyPoints]

Nadal's people made a royal screwup and it did cost Justin a place in the main draw.

Was my good friend Stefano Pescosolido the last lucky loser in? No matter, Stefano would have been mightily pleased with this year's Wimbledon : money for the qualies, then second round points and (big) money for winning his first round md match as a lucky loser.

Fiona, I know you are a fan of Justin ... but come on, late withdrawals are always going to happen. I'd rather admire a guy like Pescosolido who grinds away for the love of the game and graciously accepts the breaks when they fall his way. No wonder Gimbelstob has had some patchy results : he should have stopped thinking about being next one in long before he gave that interview.

[Fee]

Hmm, well I wouldn't really say that I am a fan of Justin, I just think I see him a little differently than many others do because of my personal encounters with him. I didn't see this interview (is there a link or a source?) but I do understand if he mouthed off a little about the circumstances. He had points to defend at Wimbledon and the Nadal camp did make a mistake. Has Justin ever kept his thoughts to himself?

I don't know enough about Justin's career, past behavior, or Pescosolido to pass judgment on those subjects, and the players I personally admire, for whatever reason, should probably be saved for another time.

[FulhamFan]

http://www.vamosrafael.com/articles/art214.html

here's the article. If you know justin tell him he comes off as a douche bag on TV and in print.