sameerph wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 6:15 pm
Just feel Manas is slowly beginning to get to terms with these tough European kids although progress has been slow and he is not really zooming up.
Quite the right opinion. Kind of what I was feeling too, but I didn't know how to put it. He is indeed "getting somewhere" with the Europeans; perhaps a bit better than how our others (since Sumit) have done on European clay, if they even made it into the clay draws there. He is not setting the place on fire or anything either though. But I am glad to see the slow progress. I was beginning to worry about an early burn-out. Not so worried now. He has time. Let him learn things the hard way.
Looks like he will play the qualies draw at J300 in Santa Croce, Italy which will start tomorrow. Draw is not out yet.
The qualifying draw came out at night there and he is not in it. They have shown players who withdrew up to today (May 12 Friday) at the ITF page but Manas was not listed as a withdrawal... but he is not in th qualifying draw. That could mean he was a late withdrawl by evening draw time, or that he got a wildcard. In fact three of the 4 guys in the semis at Prato are listed for qualies: Dhamne, Caniato and Kjaer and all three are not in the Q draw (De Michelle, the other SF loser is in the main draw). Caniato and Kjaer might have got special exempt entries, but the only way Manas could be in the main draw is through a wildcard. I doubt it.
