James Ward (tennis)

James Ward
Full name James Ward[1]
Country United Kingdom Great Britain
England England
Residence London, England
Born 9 February 1987
London, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro 2006
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es) Darren Tandy (2014–present)
Prize money $812,123
Singles
Career record 23–42
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 101 (5 January 2015)
Current ranking No. 108 (6 April 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 1R (2012, 2015)
French Open 1R (2014)
Wimbledon 2R (2012)
US Open Q3 (2013, 2014)
Doubles
Career record 2–9
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 233 (29 August 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon 2R (2009)
Team competitions
Davis Cup QF (2014, 2015)
Last updated on: 6 April 2015.

James Ward (born 9 February 1987 in London) is a British tennis player, and British No. 3 behind Andy Murray and Aljaž Bedene. He reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 Aegon International and the semifinals of the 2011 Aegon Championships as a wildcard entry.

Career

Ward at the 2012 US Open

He made his first tour appearance in Valencia in 2007 as a wild card but lost in the first round.

Ward qualified for only his second ATP tour event, the 2008 Stella Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London. In the first round on 9 June he met former US Open and Australian Open champion, Russian player Marat Safin. Ward took the first set after breaking Safin in the third game of the match and managed to hold his serve for the rest of the set to take it 6–4. However Safin upped his game in the second set, gained an early break and won the set comfortably 6–1. Ward was also broken early in the deciding set losing 6–4, 1–6, 4–6.[2][3]

2009

In 2009, he competed in the play-offs that were created by Davis Cup captain John Lloyd to find two more players for Great Britain to face Ukraine. In these, he competed in the previous longest match in tennis history, lasting 6 hours and 40 minutes, against fellow Brit Chris Eaton. Eaton won the match 6–3, 6–2, 6–7, 2–6, 21–19.

In May that year he became the first British player to win a challenger title on clay since Tim Henman in 1995. He beat Carsten Ball in the final of the Sarasota Open in Florida, USA.[4] This win propelled him into the top 250 of the ATP's rankings.

2010

In June 2010, Ward reached his first ever ATP World Tour quarter-final at The Aegon International, Eastbourne, UK. Ward beat 2nd seeded Spaniard Feliciano López (who had beaten Rafael Nadal the week before) 6–3, 5–4 Retired. He followed it up with the other man to lose at the semi finals of Queens the week before, Rainer Schüttler, beating him 6–3, 7–6. He was eventually beaten by the young Ukrainian talent Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6.

He was selected to take part in Great Britain's vital Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie vs Turkey, at Eastbourne, in July alongside Jamie Baker, Ken Skupski, Colin Fleming and Alex Ward . He contributed to the victory by winning both his singles matches (one a dead rubber) giving Great Britain a first Davis Cup win in three years.[5]

2011

In March 2011, Ward played a key role in Great Britain's 4–1 win over Tunisia in the Euro/Africa II division of the Davis Cup, winning both his live singles rubbers, and ultimately clinching the victory with a 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 8–6 victory over Malek Jaziri in the fourth rubber.

At the 2011 Queen's Club Championships, he reached the semi-final of an ATP tour event for the first time. He defeated fourth seed and future grand slam champion Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets in the second round.[6] Ward followed this up by defeating defending champion and 13th seed Sam Querrey, coming from a set down to win in three sets to equal his run at Eastbourne in 2010. Ward then defeated Adrian Mannarino in three sets despite missing seven match points in the second set tiebreaker.[7] He was eventually defeated by Jo Wilfried Tsonga 6–3 7–6, having held a set point in the second set tiebreaker.[8] At Wimbledon Ward entered as a wildcard, but lost in the first round to Michaël Llodra.[9] Following a short break, Ward's first tournament back was the Lexington Challenger. As top seed, Ward reached the final, losing to Wayne Odesnik. He was also runner-up in the doubles tournament. Two weeks later Ward won his second Challenger tournament of his career at the 2011 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, defeating Robby Ginepri on 7 August. The win saw Ward rise to World No. 144. On 15 August ward rose to a career high ranking of No. 140.

2012

In January 2012 he qualified for his first Grand Slam outside of Wimbledon when he defeated Igor Sijsling 7–6, 6–2 to qualify for the first round of the 2012 Australian Open, where he lost in straight sets to Slovenian Blaž Kavčič. On 30 April 2012, Ward reached a career high ranking in singles of 137. At Wimbledon, Ward won his first ever match at a grand slam, coming through a gruelling five set match to defeat the World No. 36 Pablo Andújar 4–6, 6–0, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3. He won the final six games after trailing in the final set 0–3. In the second round Ward narrowly lost to Mardy Fish in another tough five setter 3–6, 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 3–6.

2013

In January 2013, Ward failed to qualify for the Australian Open, reaching the 3rd round of qualifying before losing to Julian Reister. Ward remained in Australia as he competed in the Charles Stuart Adelaide International, where he reached the final, defeating top seed Yūichi Sugita along the way, before losing 2–6 3–6 to home favourite Matthew Barton.

Ward was then selected for Great Britain's Davis Cup team for their match against Russia in Coventry. Ward lost an epic first rubber to Evgeny Donskoy4–6 4–6 7–5 6–2 8–6 to give Russia a 2–0 lead heading into the doubles rubber the following day. The doubles pairing of Jonny Marray and Colin Fleming gave the home side some hope going into the final day of matches, where Ward opened the day. Ward stunned the much higher seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6–4 5–7 5–7 6–4 6–4 to level the tie. Dan Evans would eventually complete a remarkable turnaround, their first for Britain of this magnitude in 83 years, with a straight sets victory over Donskoy.[10]

Ward kicked off his clay season in China where he qualified for the An-Ning ATP $50,000 Challenger event and reached the final. His route to the final included a victory over fourth seed Josselin Ouanna 2–6 6–3 6–2. He lost to Hungarian Márton Fucsovics in the final 5–7 6–3 3–6.

Ward's first grass tournament was the annual event at the Queen's Club where he lost in the first round to Ivan Dodig 7–6 6–7 6–7 despite having two match points on serve in the second set.

2014

Ward started 2014 in Brisbane, competing in the Brisbane International, losing in the 2nd Qualifying Round to Marius Copil in three sets. Ward then went on to the Australian Open, entering into the Qualifier tournament. However, Ward disappointingly lost in the first round of qualifying to Andrea Arnaboldi. Soon after, Ward competed in the Honolulu Challenger, a common tournament for those who failed to make the Australian Open Main Draw. However, Ward once again lost disappointingly in the first round of 32, against Dennis Kudla. In late January, Ward was called to the Great British Davis Cup squad, and was chosen to play in the first set of rubbers, beating the 49th ranked Sam Querrey in order to increase Great Britain's lead to 2-0. Great Britain would later go on to win the tie 3-1, with Andy Murray securing two victories; Ward was scheduled to play the final rubber against Donald Young.

Ward entered the Open BNP Paribas Banque de Bretagne as a sixth seed. However, he lost in the first round of 32 against Maxime Authom. Moving on to the Open 13, Ward entered into the Qualifying tournament and fought his way to the third and final round. However, he lost to Ricardas Berankis, ending his progress in the tournament. He had more success in the Dubai Tennis Championships, entering as a Wild Card into the main draw. In the first round of 32, Ward beat Teymuraz Gabashvili in three sets in order to advance to the second round of 16. There, he lost to sixth seed, Mikhail Youzhny, earning nearly $25,000 in the progress. Ward also entered the Qualifying tournament at the BNP Paribas Open. At Indian Wells, Ward progressed to the second Qualifying Round, but lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. However, taking advantage of the withdrawal, Ward received a Wild Card into the Main Draw in place of the sixth seed Juan Martín del Potro, thus earning a Bye in the First Round of 128. Despite losing in the Round of 64 to Feliciano Lopez, Ward once again earned around $16,000.

Entering the Visit Panamá Cup as a Direct Acceptance, Ward unfortunately lost to Gastão Elias in the first round of 32. Moving on, Ward was once again called into the Great British Davis Cup Squad, in order to compete against Italy. Ward competed in two live rubbers in the tie, losing hard-fought battles against both Fabio Fognini and Andreas Seppi. Due to Fognini's win over Andy Murray, Italy won the tie 3-2.

James Ward qualified for the 2014 French Open for the first ever time thanks to victories over Moldovan Radu Albot (6-3 7-5) in Round 1, a 7-6 7-6 win over American Ryan Harrison in round 2 and a tense 4-6 6-4 12-10 victory over Slovenian Blaz Rola in the final round. By doing so, Ward became the first Brit to progress through qualifying for the French Open, since John Lloyd in 1973.[11] Before 2014, Ward had never won at the Parisian Grand Slam.

Career statistics

Career finals

ITF Men's Circuit

Singles: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 21 July 2008 Irun, Spain Clay Spain Pablo Martin-Adalia 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up 1. 22 September 2008 Martos, Spain Hard Spain Roberto Bautista-Agut 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Winner 2. 20 October 2008 Rodez, France Hard Spain Guillermo Alcaide 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 2. 24 November 2008 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard Sweden Filip Prpic 6–7(5–7), 1–6
Winner 3. 4 July 2010 Manchester, Great Britain Grass United Kingdom Jamie Baker 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
Winner 4. 30 August 2010 Santander, Spain Clay Spain Guillermo Olaso 7–5, 6–4
Winner 5. 22 April 2012 Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei Hard Japan Hiroki Moriya 7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 11 June 2006 Tenerife, Spain Carpet Germany Tony Holzinger France Jean-François Bachelot
France Nicolas Tourte		 4–6, 3–6
Winner 2. 26 January 2009 Germany Carpet (i) United Kingdom Joshua Goodall Belarus Nikolai Fidirko
United Kingdom Neil Pauffley		 4–6, 6–0, [10–4]

ATP Challenger Tour

Singles: 8 (3 titles, 5 runner-ups)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 11 May 2009 Sarasota Open, United States Clay Australia Carsten Ball 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up 1. 24 July 2011 Lexington Challenger, United States Hard United States Wayne Odesnik 5–7, 4–6
Winner 2. 7 August 2011 Vancouver Open, Canada Hard United States Robby Ginepri 7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 2. 10 February 2013 Adelaide International, Australia Hard Australia Matthew Barton 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up 3. 5 May 2013 Anning Challenger, China Clay Hungary Márton Fucsovics 5–7, 6–3, 3–6
Winner 3. 28 July 2013 Lexington Challenger, United States Hard Australia James Duckworth 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 4. 27 July 2014 Lexington Challenger, United States Hard Australia James Duckworth 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 9 November 2014 Traralgon Challenger 2, Australia Hard Australia John Millman 4–6, 1–6
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Winner 1. 4 August 2008 New Delhi Challenger III, India Hard United Kingdom Joshua Goodall Japan Tasuku Iwami
Japan Hiroki Kondo		 6–4, 6–1
Winner 2. 3 May 2010 Savannah Challenger, United States Clay United Kingdom Jamie Baker United States Bobby Reynolds
South Africa Fritz Wolmarans		 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 1. 24 July 2011 Lexington Challenger, United States Hard United States Michael Yani Australia Jordan Kerr
United States David Martin		 3–6, 4–6

Grand Slam performance timelines

Singles

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 W–L
Australian Open A A Q1 Q2 Q1 1R Q3 Q1 1R 0–2
French Open A A A Q1 Q1 Q1 A 1R 0–1
Wimbledon Q1 A 1R A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1–5
US Open A A Q1 A Q1 Q1 Q3 Q3 0–0
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–2 0–1 1–8
Year-end Ranking 558 280 270 201 162 250 161 107

Doubles

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W–L
Australian Open A A A A A 0–0
French Open A A A A A 0–0
Wimbledon 2R A 1R 1R A 1–3
US Open A A A A A 0–0
Win–Loss 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–3
Year-end Ranking 362 328 267 1,176 747

Davis Cup: 18 (10 wins, 8 losses)

Group membership
World Group (2–3)
Group I (1–3)
Group II (7–2)
Group III (0)
Group IV (0)
Matches by Surface
Hard (7–6)
Clay (1–2)
Grass (2–0)
Rubber outcome No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Decrease2–3; 5–7 March 2010; SEB Arena, Vilnius, Lithuania; Group II Europe/Africa First Round; Hard(i) surface
Victory 1. II Singles Lithuania Laurynas Grigelis 6–4, 6–2, 6–4
Defeat 2. IV Singles Lithuania Ričardas Berankis 6–7(4–7), 3–6, 4–6
Increase5–0; 9–11 July 2010; Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, Great Britain; Group II Europe/Africa Relegation Play-off; Grass surface
Victory 3. II Singles Turkey Marsel İlhan 6–2, 7–5, 6–7(0–7), 6–1
Victory 4. V (dead rubber) Singles Turkey Ergün Zorlu 6–1, 6–3
Increase4–1; 4–6 March 2011; Bolton Arena, Bolton, Great Britain; Group II Europe/Africa First Round; Hard(i) surface
Victory 5. II Singles Tunisia Sami Ghorbel 6–0, 6–2, 6–0
Victory 6. IV Singles Tunisia Malek Jaziri 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 8–6
Increase4–1; 8–10 July 2011; Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Great Britain; Group II Europe/Africa Quarterfinal; Hard(i) surface
Defeat 7. I Singles Luxembourg Gilles Müller 2–6, 6–7(4–7), 1–6
Victory 8. V (dead rubber) Singles Luxembourg Mike Vermeer 6–1, 6–3
Increase5–0; 16–18 September 2011; Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Great Britain; Group II Europe/Africa Semifinal; Hard(i) surface
Victory 9. I Singles Hungary Attila Balázs 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Increase3–2; 10–12 February 2012; Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Great Britain; Group I Europe/Africa First Round; Hard(i) surface
Defeat 10. II Singles Slovakia Martin Kližan 2–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Defeat 11. IV Singles Slovakia Lukáš Lacko 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 3–6
Increase3–2; 10–12 February 2013; Ricoh Arena, Coventry, Great Britain; Group I Europe/Africa Quarterfinal; Hard(i) surface
Defeat 12. II Singles Russia Evgeny Donskoy 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 6–8
Victory 13. IV Singles Russia Dmitry Tursunov 6–4, 5–7, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Increase3–1; 31 January – 2 February 2014; Petco Park, San Diego, California, United States; World Group First Round; Clay surface
Victory 14. II Singles United States Sam Querrey 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Decrease2–3; 4–6 April 2014; Tennis Club Napoli, Naples, Italy; World Group Quarterfinal; Clay surface
Defeat 15. I Singles Italy Fabio Fognini 4–6, 6–2, 4–6, 1–6
Defeat 16. V Singles Italy Andreas Seppi 4–6, 3–6, 4–6
Increase3–2; 6–8 March 2015; Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Great Britain; World Group First Round; Hard (i) surface
Victory 17. II Singles United States John Isner 6–7(5–7), 5–7, 6–3, 7–6(7–3), 15–13
Defeat 18. V (dead rubber) Singles United States Donald Young 7–5, 0–1 ret.

Personal life

Ward is a fan of football club Arsenal.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
  2. ↑ "Safin survives scare to end Ward hopes". BBC Sport. 9 June 2008.
  3. ↑ Hodgkinson, Mark (10 June 2008). "Battling James Ward worries Marat Safin". Telegraph Online (London). Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  4. ↑ Harman, Neil (17 May 2009). "The Net Post: young James Ward emulates Tim Henman in his feat of clay". London: The Times. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  5. ↑ Brown, Oliver (10 July 2010). "Davis Cup 2010: Great Britain beat Turkey for first win in three years". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  6. ↑ "Ward shocks Wawrinka at Queen's". BBC News. 7 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ward battles into Queen's semis". BBC News. 10 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Britain's Ward denied by Tsonga". BBC News. 11 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Wimbledon 2011: No repeat of Queen's Club heroics as James Ward exits". The Guardian (London). 22 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "GB's James Ward and Dan Evans see off Russia and make Davis Cup history". Guardian. 7 April 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Newbery, Piers (2014-05-25). "French Open 2014: James Ward takes step into the unknown". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2014-05-26.

External links

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