Jamie Baker + Colin Fleming online

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London/Queen's Club ATP [800K] [grass]:
Rd1: J Baker [GB] [WC] v M Fish [USA] [WC]

Rd1 preview: Mardy Fish, currently ranked 86, is the first top 100 player that Jamie has ever played against in a ranked match. A daunting opponent, he took a set off Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2003 and was ranked as high as no. 17 in the world in March 2004 but had his 2005 season ruined by a wrist injury that he is now coming back strongly from. He won the Surbiton Challenger last week with a very impressive demolition of big-serving Wesley Moodie in the Final that included thirteen aces from Fish in the 2nd set alone! In order to have any chance of giving this Fish a battering, Jamie will have to be on top form on Tuesday and hope that his opponent suffers a reaction to his big week last week. The 'prize' for the winner of this match is a centre court match against no. 1 seed Rafael Nadal, who had an even bigger week last week, winning the French Open, but is never quite as at home on grass.

Press: The Scotsman under the heading "Baker handed daunting start to life with the big boys" said: "Scotland's Jamie Baker can expect a baptism of fire when he makes his ATP Tour debut at the Stella Artois Championships in London tomorrow - but his opening match could come to seem like a stroll in the sunshine compared to what awaits him if he wins through to round two. Baker takes on Mardy Fish, the experienced American, in the first round at the Queen's Club in London, knowing the prize for the victor is a meeting with the top seed, Rafael Nadal who has been given a bye into round two to allow him more time to recover from the French Open final. Baker was given a wildcard into the tournament and is likely also to receive one for Wimbledon, which begins a fortnight today." For the full article, see http://sport.scotsman.com/tennis.cfm?id=862702006.

Jamie gets a Queen's wild card! Despite losing to Richard Bloomfield at Surbiton last week, Jamie was awarded the fifth and final main draw wild card for the Stella Artois tournament at Queen's Club in London, the first main tour level tournament that he has ever taken part in and a far cry from the Futures he was entering in Turkey at this time last year.

Press: Jonathan Overend and Mark Petchey said that the wild card was well deserved due to Jamie's work ethic. They have concerns over how his second serve will work at ATP level but said that Jamie is doing everything he can to maximise his talent and that's all you can ever ask of a player. They were concerned about whether he could actually compete with the top players at Queens, so aren't sure if he could be a top 100 player one day, but said that if he could do himself justice and get a WC at Wimbledon then it could see him inside the top 200 this summer. They said that as Jamie was beaten by Bloomfield this week, it was obviously a tough decision, but his age and potential was probably the deciding factor as Bloomfield was one of the 'late developers' that Britain seems to produce. See also a BBC article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/5064600.stm.

                                                                                                                                          

Surbiton 25K+H Challenger [50K] [grass]:
Rd1: J Baker [GB] [WC] lost to R Bloomfield [GB] [WC] 4-6, 5-7
Report: Unfortunately Jamie struggled to counter the massive Bloomfield serve in this match and that proved to be the decisive factor. Richard was serving consistently well throughout this match and the pace and accuracy of his delivery meant that he won most of his service games relatively easily. The knowledge that one break could cost him the set put a lot of pressure on Jamie's serve and eventually this pressure told at the end of each set. In set 1 Jamie had to save a lot of break points early on and did so with aplomb, producing some really big serves of his own and the set was closely contested up until 4-4 when some unforced errors from Jamie led to Richard breaking. Jamie didn't get any real chance to break back in the next game and Richard took the set 6-4. Richard broke early in set 2 and was serving for the match at 5-4 but then tensed up and uncharacteristically hit four rather wild approach shots out of court to gift Jamie the break back. However, unfortunately Jamie suffered a lapse in concentration and Richard was able to break straight back and made no mistake when serving for the set at the 2nd
opportunity. 

Rd1 preview: This will be the first ever meeting between Bloomfield and Baker, the British nos 7 and 8 respectively. Both have been highly impressive in the last 12 months and have moved their rankings up to career highs inside the top 300. Both players are looking to start playing challengers on a regular basis in the next 6 months and are hoping to break the world's top 200 by the end of 2006. Like Jamie, Bloomfield was very successful earlier this year in the indoor hard futures tournaments,  winning one and reaching 2 semis. Since late April he's played a couple of challengers on clay and hard courts winning a couple of matches. On the traditionally fast grass courts of Surbiton, Bloomfield is likely to have the edge, largely due to his towering first serve which causes problems for most opponents on all surfaces. However, if Bloomfield has a bad day with his serve, Jamie's superior net and baseline game will give him the advantage. Baker v Bloomfield will be first on court B on Tuesday starting at 11.00am 

                                                                                                                                          

Greece F3 [Kalamata] [10K] [outdoor hard]:
Final: J Baker [1]   bt   J Goodall [GB] [3]  6-3, 6-3

Final preview: This will be the 5th match between these two players and arguably the most important as all of their previous matches have been in quarter-finals or semis. Josh is ranked over 100 places lower than Jamie but it's probably fair to say that statistic can be ignored as Josh has been playing some of his best tennis over the last few weeks. He reached the semis of Greece F1 and the quarters of Greece F2, losing to the eventual winner each time. This week, he beat the Greece F2 runner-up in rd2 [James Cerretani], the winner of Greece F1 in the quarters [Ishay Hadash] and in the semis he beat the 2nd seed 6-1, 6-3. Josh has yet to drop a set this week. Josh leads Jamie 3-1 on head-to-heads and has won the two matches they've played on outdoor hard courts, both in futures events in Nottingham in 2005. Josh won the first one 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and the 2nd one 7-6, 6-2. However, Jamie won their last match which was in the semi-final of week 1 of the GB 4 satellite 2005. Jamie won the 1st set 6-3 and then Josh retired injured. Josh's game is based around a massive first serve [one of the biggest in British tennis] so Jamie will have to return really well. From the baseline Jamie is probably the more consistent player, Josh will go for lots of clean winners off both sides - his matches are often decided by the ratio of winners to unforced errors which he hits. I'm predicting that it'll be a close 3 setter, the winner will be the one who plays the big points best.  

SF: J Baker [1]   bt   N Bamford [GB]  6-3, 6-3
Report: A fantastic win from Jamie to reach his 3rd final of the year !!  The general consensus before this match was that although Bamford has played his best tennis of 2006 in Greece for these past three weeks, if Jamie played at his best he would have too much firepower. Bamford is also an excellent doubles player [he was the key force in Herts winning the county cup last summer] and his net game is a key part of his singles gameplan. However, Jamie was hitting returns and passing shots with a ferocious mix of power and ferocity today which made things very difficult for Bamford who was forced to hit a number of tricky low volleys. Having reached the final, Jamie has already gained 8 ranking points from this tournament and so he's guaranteed to move up to 288 in the rankings. In the final Jamie faces 3rd seed Josh Goodall who also won his semi-final in straight sets. As the Greeks would say: "Penaino Jamie ! sunthlibo Goodall parakalo"  which means "Go Jamie ! Good luck against Goodall tomorrow !"     

SF Preview: Jamie clashes with countryman and sixth seed Neil Bamford in the semi-finals today. Jamie is
 top seed and is ranked over 350 places higher than Bamford but when they last played Bamford won in 3 sets, 6-7 [2], 6-2, 6-3 during the second week of Great Britain 4 Satellite. However, Jamie had been competing for 7 weeks in a row before that match and in reaching 3 finals and a semi, he'd played a lot of matches. It was at the end of a tiring season and Jamie said he was suffering from burn-out. Bamford has been on fine form in Greece, reaching the semi-finals in Greece F1 and the second round in Greece F2. Jamie has recovered from a shaky start to his Greek campaign to reach the quarter-finals in Greece F2 . It looks like we have a closely fought match on our hands.

QF: J Baker [1]  bt O Burrieza-Lopez [Esp] [7]  6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Report: A superb fighting performance from Jamie saw him into his first semi-final since New Zealand F2 in mid-March. His aggressive baseline play brought reward in the first set which he raced through breaking twice. In particular, Jamie's attacking returns were paying dividends. In set 2, Burrieza started hitting his groundstrokes a bit deeper and he mixed up his game more. Jamie's level dropped and he seemed to lose concentration. Burrieza was going for a bit more on his serve which was causing Jamie a few problems. However, Jamie regrouped impressively in the 3rd set and his powerful all-court tennis eventually proved too much for the veteran Spaniard. This has been a great week for Jamie so far, it's taken him a little while to get used to the courts in Greece in this mini-tour but he seems to have adjusted now and hopefully he can reach the final.  Jamie's run so far this week will have moved him up to 292 in the world rankings.

QF preview: Burrieza-Lopez has been in impressive form in this tournament, dropping just 7 games in total so far. The 30 year old veteran Spaniard beat American qualifier Joseph Fuller 6-2, 6-0 in rd1 and in rd2 he beat Holland's Remko De Rijke 6-2, 6-3. Both his and Jamie's opponents have been ranked outside the top 1000. Burrieza-Lopez is currently ranked over 300 places below Jamie at 645, he has been as high as 126 in the world but that was 9 years ago in November 1997. The Spaniard was also in good form last week, reaching the semi-finals of Greece F2 in Syros. Burrieza-Lopez is something of a anonymity among Spanish players as he gives his favourite surface as grass, this suggests that he's quite an attacking player and will look to attack the net as much as possible. Baker v  Burrieza-Lopez is 2nd on court 3 on Thursday at approximately 2.30pm GMT.

Rd2: J Baker [1] bt P Gojowczyk [Ger]  6-2, 6-2
Report: Jamie outpowered his 16 year old  opponent today, reaching his 2nd quarter-final in 2 weeks in convincing style. Gojowczyk had beaten a Greek wildcard, 6-2, 6-0 in rd1 but Jamie was in a different class, serving accurately and controlling the points with deep, powerful topspin forehands. Topspin is particularly effective on the hard courts here as the balls kick up really high and push the opponent back behind the baseline. Jamie is on course for a semi-final meeting with Britain's Neil Bamford who also won his rd2 match in straight sets. First of all, Jamie must overcome the challenge of Spanish 6th seed Oscar Burrieza-Lopez in Thursday's quarter-finals.   

Rd2 preview: Jamie faces German teenage prodigy Peter Gojowczyk on Court 2 at around 2 P.M. GMT. Gojowczyk, who is only 16 years old, already has a win each in two futures event in Sweden where he qualified. He also has a junior title on clay from last year in Germany. However, the challenge of a top seed should be too much for someone so inexperienced. All odds favour Jamie in this round 2 match.

Rd1: J Baker [1]  bt  S Moros [USA]  7-6[4], 7-5
Report: Jamie had to work harder than expected for this victory but in the end he sneaked through in straight sets. 24 year old Moros is ranked over 1000 places below Jamie at 1362  but he's a former pupil of the world famous Nick Bollitteri academy in Florida. He's an aggressive baseliner with big shots of both sides and soon began causing Jamie problems with his shot-making. However, Jamie dug deep and played the big points better than his opponent in both sets. Jamie will now play either German Peter Gojowczyk or Greek Nikolaos Serkedakis in rd2.   

Entry list info: Jamie is the top seed again for this futures event. Australia's Luke Bourgeois has withdrawn which means that 3 of the top 4 seeds are British. This is a very weak field for a 10K futures event so Jamie will be hoping to capitalise and reach the semis. One of the favourites will be Britain's Jonny Marray who won Greece F2 last week. Jamie and Jonny aren't playing doubles again this week. This is because after this tournament, they're leaving Greece and they don't want to still be involved in doubles once they're out of the singles as the prize money for doubles in 10K futures events isn't good and it's not worth the cost of staying at the hotel for an extra few days. Also, it could interfere with their flight arrangements

                                                                                                                                                                      
Greece F2 [Syros] [10K] [outdoor hard]:
QF singles: J Baker [1]  lost to  R Durek [Aus] [5]  6-4, 6-7[4], 5-7
Report: Jamie was edged out in a 3 set baseline battle. This was always going to be a tough match as although Jamie beat Durek twice early this year, both matches were really tight and could have gone either way. This time, Jamie just wasn't able to take his chances particularly in set 2. Durek  lost in the semis to eventual winner Jonny Marray whose aggressive net game has been particularly effective. Jamie has gained enough points to see him back into the top 300 on May 22nd. He needs a good run in Greece F3 if he's going to get close to the top 275 by the beginning of June  -   this would ensure an automatic Wimbledon wildcard.    

QF preview: Jamie faces Australia's Raphael Durek for the 3rd time this year. Both the previous meetings have been outdoor hard courts and both times Jamie has gone on to reach the final of the tournament. The first match was in rd1 of Australia F2, Jamie won 7-5, 7-5 and the 2nd match was in the quarters of New Zealand F2 and Jamie won 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Durek is ranked 443 with a career high of 400 which was reached in September 2004. He's yet to drop a set in this tournament and in rd2 he comprehensively beat Britain's Neil Bamford 6-4, 6-2. In Greece F1, he reached the quarters before losing to Britain's Josh Goodall 6-2, 6-4. Durek has a very interesting background, being born in Brazil before his parents [who are both professional musicians] moved to Sydney when he was 2. Durek reached a high of no 28 on the junior circuit. Baker  v  Durek is 1st on court 4 on Thursday at approximately 10am GMT.  

SF doubles: J Baker/J Marray [GB] lost to P Gemouchidis/A Jakupovic [Gre] 6-7[0], 6-2, 3-6
Report to follow

Rd2 singles:  J Baker [GB][1]   bt   A Jakupovic [Gre][WC]  7-6[7], 6-4
Report: Jamie was pushed very close in both sets by Greek wildcard Alex Jakupovic. In set 1, he came within a point of losing the set several times but had to dig deep and eventually he clinched the mammoth tiebreak 9-7. The 2nd set was more comfortable , Jakupovic was still ripping vicious winners from the back of the court but with less accuracy and his unforced error count was rising. Jamie was able to take advantage and get the crucial break. Jamie will now play Jakupovic in the doubles semis and in the singles quarters he faces Neil Bamford's conqueror, Raphael Durek.

Rd2 preview: If Jamie wins this match he will be back in the top 300, he needs a good run in this tournament if he's going to make the top 275 before the Wimbledon wildcards are announced. 24 year old Alex Jakupovic will be playing his 3rd British opponent in a row. Last week, in rd1 of Greece F1, he was overwhelmed 6-1, 6-1 by the powerful serving and baseline hitting from Josh Goodall. However, in rd1 here he beat Jim May 6-2, 6-2, Jakupovic's passing shots were especially impressive in that match. Jamie will be the favourite as Jakupovic is ranked over 600 places lower but when on form, the Greek can be a dangerous player. He reached the semis of Australia F4 on clay in March, qualifying and then beating a string of much higher ranked players in the main draw.  Baker v Jakupovic is 2nd on court 4 at approximately 11.30am GMT on Wednesday.  

QF doubles: J Baker/J Marray [GB]  bt   N Bamford/J May [GB] [2]  7-5, 6-2
Report: A superb doubles win for Baker and Marray !  This was quite an upset as Bamford and May are rising fast up the doubles rankings - they're currently both ranked 518. However, despite Jamie Baker being unranked, Jonny Marray is a top 200 doubles player and the excellence of him and Baker at the net proved the crucial difference. They did well to step up a gear at 5-5 in the 1st set, getting the break with some forceful play and then serving it out. The 2nd set was secured with 2 breaks. Baker and Marray now face the Greek pairing Paris Gemouchidis and Alex Jakupovic in the semis on Thursday, 3rd on court 4.    

QF preview: A really tough match for Jamie and Jonny. Bamford and May won Greece F1 last week without dropping a set and Neil also reached the singles semi-finals. However, this is likely to be closer than the stats suggest. Although Jamie Baker doesn't have a doubles ranking, he attacks the net regularly in his singles matches and he's an good volleyer and also has a great return - two of the key skills which a good doubles player has to have. This match will be 4th on court 2 on Wednesday - Baker, Marray and Bamford are all in rd2 singles action so the doubles won't take place until all of the players have been given a couple of hours rest after the singles.  

Rd1 doubles: J Baker/J Marray [GB] bt D Kuseta/P Piyamongol  7-5, 6-2
Report: Jamie secured his 2nd win in one day over Davor Kuseta, teaming up with compatriot Jonny Marray to reach the doubles quarter-finals. Jamie hasn't played a doubles tournament since GB F1 at the beginning of January  and he hadn't won a doubles match since week 3 of the GB 2 satellite in November 2004. However, he and Marray were keen for the extra match practise so they teamed up. Neither Jamie or Davor Kuseta had doubles rankings but while Jonny Marray is ranked 174 in doubles, Phillipp Piyamongkol is only ranked 1043. Piyamongkol and Kuseta reached the Greece F1 doubles quarter-finals last week, and they matched the British pair for a while in the 1st set but at 5-5, Baker and Marray began to take charge and won 8 of the next 10 games to take the match. Jamie and Jonny face a much harder test in the quarter-finals when they play 2nd seeds Neil Bamford and Jim May who won the title in Greece F1 last week.

Rd1 singles: J Baker [1]  bt D Kuseta [Cro][q]  6-2, 6-4
Report: A comfortable win for Jamie over the 19 year old Croatian qualifier ranked about 1100 places lower. Kuseta hasn't won a match in a futures event since November 2005 and that showed in the 1st set as Jamie breezed through, breaking the Kuseta serve twice. The 2nd set was more competitive down to some more aggressive baseline play from the Croatian and a few uncharacteristic errors from Jamie. However, the final result was never in doubt and Jamie secured a 2nd round meeting with Greek wildcard Alexander Jakupovic. Having failed to defend his points last week from winning Mexico F4, this time last year, Jamie has dropped out of the world's top 300, down to 309. Jamie needs to be inside the top 275 to secure a wildcard for the Wimbledon main draw. Jamie needs to reach the quarter-finals here to move back inside the top 300 and if he reaches the final, he'll be back inside the top 290.

Entry list info:  Jamie will be top seed for this event, he'll be hoping to take advantage of the fact that he has no points to defend this week. Plenty of British players are also heading to Sypros - Josh Goodall, Jonny Marray, Neil Bamford, Jim May and Richard Irwin. Jamie has teamed up in the doubles with Jonny Marray, both players will be hoping to get some extra match practise on the courts and the extra prize money is also always welcome !
                                                                                                                                                        

Greece F1 [Kos] [10K][outdoor hard]:
Rd2: J Baker [1]  lost to  V Kolik [Isr]  6-4, 3-6, 5-7

Report: After this unexpected loss, Jamie will drop out of the top 300 as he was defending points from his win in MexicoF4. He needs to string some good performances together in Greece F2 and F3 to be ranked within the top 275, which will ensure a wildcard at Wimbledon. 

Rd2 preview: Jamie will again be heavy favourite for this match. Victor Kolik is ranked about 600 places lower at 836 and struggled through his rd1 match against a qualifier, winning 7-5, 7-6. The 18 year old's recent form hasn't been particularly impressive, he's lost in the final qualifying round of two hard court challengers in India and prior to that he lost in rd1 of two 10K hard-court futures events in Israel. Baker  v Kolik is first on court 3 at 1.30pm GMT.

Rd1: J Baker [1]  bt  C Grassi [It][q]  6-3, 6-3
Report: Jamie eased to a comfortable 1st round win over Italy's Claudio Grassi. Jamie broke midway through each set and was nether really troubled. He looks on course for a quarter-final match against Britain's Neil Bamford who beat a Greek wildcard 6-1, 6-1 in rd1. Jamie now faces Israel's Victor Kulick in rd2 on Wednesday.

Rd1 preview: Jamie looks to have a relatively easy rd1 match against 20 year old Italian qualifier Claudio Grassi, ranked 1307 in the world. Grassi has been playing qualifying events for futures and satellites and before this week, the last time he'd qualified for a main draw was last October in Mexico F16 where he produced a career best performance to reach rd2. Jamie has been in Kos since the middle of last week so he'll have had plenty of time to get used to the courts which are fast, bouncy outdoor hard - Jamie excelled on similar surfaces in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. If Jamie wins, he'll face either Israel's Victor Kulick or Croatian qualifier Davor Kuseta in rd2. Jamie is seeded to face Britain's Neil Bamford in the quarter-finals. Baker v Grassi is 2nd on court 3 on Monday 1st May.

Entry list info:  Jamie Baker is the top seed for this event. There is a healthy British contingent  with Jonny Marray, Josh Goodall, Neil Bamford, Jim May and Richard Irwin also competing.  The field is quite weak with only 3 players ranked inside the top 400. This week will be very much damage limitation for Jamie as he'll be defending the points he earned from winning Mexico F4 at this time last year and so he'll need to win this event just to ensure that he doesn't lose any points !
                                                                                                                                                    
Jamie's schedule for April-May:  After a month of competing on indoor hard courts, Jamie will now play a series of tournaments on outdoor hard. First up is the Lanzarote Challenger where he has just made the cut for the main draw and this will be his last chance to gain ranking points before the French Open qualifying entry list is released, Jamie has a chance of making this. After Lanzarote, Jamie will play three 15K futures on the fast, bouncy hard courts of Greece. Jamie will be the top seed for Greece F1. French Open qualifying is the week after Greece F3 and hopefully Jamie will have made the cut for this [we will find out on May 1st].  
                                                                                                                                                       
Lanzarote 25K+H Challenger [outdoor hard]:
Rd1: J Baker  lost to  I Kunitsyn [Rus][3] 3-6, 5-7
Report:  Although Jamie lost, he did well in giving Kunitsyn such a close match as the Russian is ranked over 150 places higher at 113. Kunitsyn has reached challenger semis and quarter-finals already in 2006 and he played a match on the ATP tour in Delray Beach. In 2005 he beat British no 2 Greg Rusedski twice. His big strength is a massive 1st serve and this was the difference between the two players today. Jamie pushed Kunitsyn very close in the 2nd set and nearly took it to a decider but a poor service game from Jamie at 5-5 proved costly. Jamie was unlucky in getting such a tough first round draw but he will have gained a lot from playing someone ranked so much higher. Jamie now heads to Kos for a 10K futures event in Greece next week where he will be top seed.
                                                                                                                                                              
Cardiff 25K+H Challenger:
Main draw singles:
Rd1: J Baker lost to A Stoppini [It] 4-6, 6-3, 2-6
Report: Jamie put up a good fight but ultimately came up short against Andrea Stoppini in a hard-hitting baseline battle. 25 year old Italian Stoppini is ranked about 26 places higher than Jamie at 255 but in recent weeks he has mainly been competing on clay and so it was thought that the sudden change to fast, indoor hard courts might cause him problems and give Jamie a chance of an upset. However, Stoppini has much more experience than Jamie at challenger level and this told in the final set. The first two sets were hotly contested and after taking set 2 Jamie had the momentum going into the decider. However, unfortunately he ran out of steam and Stoppini broke twice to seal victory. Jamie lost to an on-form player as Stoppini has had a lot of success this year on the futures circuit. He is very solid off both sides from the baseline and it's difficult to hit through him. Jamie now heads to Europe for 4 successive events on outdoor hard courts starting with the Lanzarote 25K+H Challenger next week. 
                                                                                                                                                                 
Training week [10th-15th April]: Jamie isn't competing this week, instead he'll be honing his game ahead of the Cardiff 25K+H Challenger next week and getting used to the indoor courts over there. After that he plans to play the Lanzarote 25K+H Challenger on outdoor hard before probably heading back to Britain for the clay-court futures.
                                                                                                                                                                  
GB F6 [Bath] [15K] [indoor hard]:
QF: J Baker[5]  lost to   F Prpic [Swe][2]  4-6, 3-6
Report: Jamie struggled today against the big-serving Swede, Prpic's serve was definately in the groove and on the fast indoor courts it was particularly effective. Chances for Jamie were few and far between. Unfortunately, Jamie was left rueing a couple of costly service games where he lost concentration and made too many unforced errors. Jamie will pick up 2 ranking points for reaching the quarters this week and this will take him back inside the top 280 and possibly to a new career high ranking. Jamie's next event will be the Cardiff 25K+H Challenger on indoor hard, the week after Easter.
 
Quarter-final preview: After two fine 3 set victories, Jamie now faces the Swedish 2nd seed Filip Prpic for the first time. The ponytailed Swede has had a relatively easy path to the quarters  overcoming  a 16 year old unranked wildcard in rd1 and then a qualifier ranked about 500 places lower in rd2. As with Jamie's rd2 opponent Lee Childs, Prpic's strength is a massive right-handed serve which is particularly effective indoors, it gets him out of trouble in many of his matches. Occasionally Prpic's serve misfires throughout an entire match which causes him big problems as his baseline game is good but his forehand and backhand aren't massive weapons. Prpic is ranked 25 places higher than Jamie at 249 and he has a career high of 209 which was reached in August 2005 after he won his first challenger title, in Valladolid. His recent form is pretty good, last week he reached the quarters of GB F5 before losing to Frenchman Nicholas Tourte and earlier this month he reached a challenger quarter-final in Sarajevo. Baker v Prpic is 3rd on court 1 on Thursday at around 1.30- 2.00pm.
   
Rd2: J Baker[5]  bt  L Childs [GB]  7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Report: An excellent 3 set victory for Jamie, improving his head-to-head record against Lee to 2-0. The 1st set was extremely close but Jamie got the crucial break at 5-5 and served out the set. Lee upped his game in set 2 and his powerful serving and aggressive, flat forehands forced Jamie onto the defensive behind the baseline and caused him considerable problems. Lee wrapped up the set 6-3 and it looked as though all the momentum was with him. However, Jamie rethought his tactics and in the decider he was able to control the points more and his groundstrokes proved more solid. Lee made too many errors off his backhand throughout the match which cost him. Jamie now faces the 2nd seed from Sweden Filip Prpic who beat Richard Irwin 6-1, 6-4.    

Rd2 preview:  This will be a first match for nearly 2 years between these players. The last match was back in 2004 when Baker defeated Childs in 3 sets in the quarter-finals of week 1 of the GB 2 satellite. It was a hard-fought baseline battle with Baker proving the strongest in the deciding set to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. It's likely to be a similar sort of match today, both players will slug it out from the baseline and both will look to attack the net and finish off points when the opportunity arises, Childs plays a lot of doubles as well as singles so he may approach the net more times than Baker and try to rush Jamie into errors. Childs' main weapon is his serve especially on the fast indoor courts in Bath so how well Jamie returns is likely to be a crucial factor in this match. One area which Jamie will probably try to exploit is Lee's backhand, he tends to make most of his unforced errors off this side and it has been known to break down in matches. Lee is currently ranked 498, over 200 places below Jamie but he shouldn't be underestimated as he's a former two time national champion and was billed as the next Tim Henman after reaching world no 1 in the junior doubles rankings in 2000. In 2003, he won a round at Wimbledon, beating Russia's Nicolay Davydenko in 5 sets, this was a fine victory as Davydenko is now the world no 6. Lee's recent form hasn't been particularly good, last week he lost 6-1, 6-2 in rd1, albeit to the eventual winner Jo Wilfred-Tsonga, but Lee hasn't won a main draw match since the beginning of Feburary.

Rd1: J Baker[5]  bt  E Allinson [GB][q] 6-7[5], 6-2, 6-2

Rd1 preview:  Jamie opens his campaign this week against unranked 18 year old British qualifier Edward Allinson. Allinson was in fine form in the qualifying for this event, he didn't drop a set in any of his 3 matches and in the 2nd round he knocked out Hertfordshire's David Corrie who has a singles ranking of 915 and is in the world's top 400 for doubles. This is the 2nd time in 2006 that Allinson has qualified for the main draw of a futures event, in GB F1 in January he beat the talented 15 year old Daniel Cox and Jamie Murray in straight sets in qualifying before losing a tough 3 setter to Jim May in rd1 of the main draw. Allinson trains as part of a squad at Sutton tennis academy under the tutelage of Nick Weal. Jamie won't be taking this match lightly but with a world ranking of 284 he is the heavy favourite. Last week Jamie lost in rd1 of GB F5 which was also held in Bath, on the same surface. However, Jamie's had an extra week's practise on the courts and he'll be one of the favourites to win this week. He has a tricky draw as in rd2 he could face 2-times former national champion, Lee Childs and he's seeded to face the Swedish 2nd seed, Filip Prpic in the quarters. Baker v Allinson is 4th on court 3 at approximately 3.30 GMT.

Entry list info: Jamie is 4th on the entry list for this week's 15K futures in Bath, however he's likely to be the 5th seed as the higher ranked Swede Filip Prpic is in qualifying and if he qualifies he'll be seeded above Jamie. The entry list has a large British contingent with Martin Lee, Richard Bloomfield, Jonny Marray, Dave Sherwood, Matt Smith, Josh Goodall and Lee Childs having entered. The name to watch out for is probably Jo Wilfred-Tsonga, the 20 year old Frenchman is only 7th on the entry list but he won GB F5 last week in emphatic fashion, dropping only 1 set. Tsonga was close to breaking into the world's top 100 in 2005 before injury struck and he's keen to make up for lost time.
                                                                                                                                                                
Davis Cup bulletin [4/4/2006]:  It now appears that Jamie Baker has decided not to join up with the Davis Cup squad as a hitting partner and instead he will play GB F6 in Bath this week. More information on this to follow.

Baker called up for Davis Cup duty [1/4/2006]: It has now emerged that Jamie Baker has been selected by Jeremy Bates as a hitting partner for the tie against Serbia and Montenegro from 7th-9th April. The other hitting partner is Baker's fellow Scot Colin Fleming. If Andy Murray withdraws due to his ankle injury sustained during his rd1 defeat in the Nasdaq 100 Open [Miami] then either Baker or Fleming would be selected as the 4th member of the squad and would be eligible to play a rubber. This is great news for both Scottish players who had been reportedly "gutted" at rumours that they hadn't been selected. Jamie will now not be playing GB F6, a 15K futures event in Bath next week, as had been planned. Instead, he will now meet up with the rest of the British Davis Cup squad this weekend. 
                                                                                                                                                                  
GB F5 [Bath] [15K]:
Rd1:  J Baker [4] lost to J Huta-Galung [Hol] 4-6, 6-7[6]
Report: Unfortunately, Jamie was unable to produce his best form on his return to tournament action in Britain and the powerful game of 20 year old right-hander Jess Huta-Galung meant that the Dutchman edged a close 2 set victory.  Huta-Galung has spent the last 3 weeks competing in China on outdoor hard courts, winning 1 futures title, but he had little difficulty in adjusting to the faster paced indoor hard courts of Bath. Indoors, the ball flies through the air a lot faster but Huta-Galung had little difficulty with his timing. Although Jamie is ranked 61 places higher, Huta-Galung was always going to be a difficult opponent as he is also fast-improving and he trains at the Sanchez-Casal academy in Barcelong [which has produced many top tennis player eg: Andy Murray]. Although Huta-Galung practises mostly on clay courts he has a game for all surfaces. He's a former top 10 junior doubles player and this skill was evident many times in this rd1 match as Huta-Galung repeatedly attacked the net, troubling Jamie with his accurate and athletic volleying. Jamie was unable to impose his high-tempo, hustling baseline game on his opponent although he came extremely close to taking the match to a deciding set. Unfortunately, at 6-6 in the 2nd set tiebreak, Huta-Galung came up with two excellent points to take it 8-6. Jamie will now travel back to Scotland where he will meet up with the rest of the British Davis Cup  squad next week.       

Info: Jamie Baker makes his eagerly awaited return to British soil after his success in Australia and New Zealand which saw him break into the world's top 300. Since then Jamie has been training on the indoor courts at the City of Nottingham tennis centre in preparation for competing in Bath, for the first time since Jan. Jamie has been playing on outdoor hard surfaces in Australia and New Zealand and he has been adjusting to the lower bounce indoors. Last year in this event, Jamie had his first big success of the season when he qualified and then beat Slovakia's Igor Zelenay in rd1, Zelenay was ranked 305 in the world and that was at the time Jamie's career best victory. Hopefully, returning to the scene of past success will inspire Jamie to some great victories. Jamie is 6th on the entry list behind fellow Brits Martin Lee and Jonny Marray and Sweden's Filip Prpic. The number 1 player on the list is France's Jean Michel-Pequery [world ranking: 197] who Jamie defeated in GB F2 in January this year.  
                                                                                                                                                      
Accolade for Baker from Scottish national coach: Along with fellow Scots Colin Fleming and Jamie Muray, Jamie Baker  received praise for his 2006 ranking progress from the Scottish national coach Ellinore Lightbody. Speaking at a Tennis Scotland briefing Lightbody said she was heartened by the rankings rise of several young Scots. "Since Christmas Colin Fleming, Jamie Baker and Jamie Murray have all moved their rankings forward over 100 places," she added.                                                                                                                                                             
Jamie cracks world's top 300 [20/3/2006]:  Jamie's has moved into the world's top 300 for the first time in his career today. He is now at a new career high of 279, a ranking increase of 30 places which has resulted from a successful week in New Zealand F2 when he reached his 2nd 15K futures final. Jamie will now be able to enter more challenger events, the 2nd tier of men's tennis, which will mean he will be competing for more ranking points and more prize money.    This ranking leap has  also put Jamie in the British top 10 players for the first time - he is now the British number 8, ahead of players such as Dave Sherwood and Richard Bloomfield who have had experience of competing in ATP events. Jamie is now in the 2nd week of a training block in which he is working on his fitness and honing different aspects of his game, and he has the chance to reflect on what has so far been a superb 2006. Highlights have included beating a player ranked 213 in straight sets [France's Jean-Michel Pequery] which is a best ever win, reaching a first challenger quarter-final and the two 15K futures runners-up spots. This ranking increase has strengthened Jamie's claim for a place in the Davis Cup squad for next month's tie against Israel especially as it will be held on Scottish soil for the first time, in Glasgow.
                                                                                                                                              
Jamie's ranking progress:  To view a spreadsheet graph of Jamie's ranking progress since the start of 2006 go to this link:
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=61841&subForumID=163249&action=viewTopic&commentID=6062288&commentPage=1&topicPage=

New Zealand F2 [Hamilton][15K]:
Final:  J  Baker  lost to  K Economidis [Gre][2]  4-6, 0-6
Report: Three successive marathon 3 set matches in the lead up to this final took their toll on Jamie Baker and he ran out of steam today against the experienced Greek Konstantinos Economidis.  Economdis was once ranked 201 in the world before injury struck, however he appears to have now recaptured the form which saw him reach that ranking and he's making fast progress back towards the top 200. Currently ranked 337, Economidis has won the Burnie 25K Challenger and now two successive 15K futures in New Zealand which will take him almost into the top 250. In today's final, Jamie battled hard from the baseline but the aggressive groundstrokes of Economidis proved ultimately too powerful. The Greek's serve was very much in the zone today, as Economidis dropped just 8 points in total on it in the entire match. He raced through the 2nd set dropping just 1 point in the final 4 games to seal victory in just under an hour. Jamie's ranking will move up to approximately 285 when the ranking list is updated on the 20th March.     
Fans views on the final:
Steve: "The three 3 set marches caught up with Jamie.  Its been a good trip down under for him, he has won plenty of points and his ranking has progressed nicely."
Madeline: "A shame, but a finals place is pretty good going. Well done Jamie, keep up the good work"
Niall: "It is a shame Jamie ran out of steam at the end there but he has battled hard all week and he has earned a little break. It has been a very succesful tour down under.  Jamie started the year at 395 with 74 ranking points, in a couple of monthes he has added another 43. When the new rankings are published he will have 117 points and a predicted ranking of 282!! "
SF:  J Baker  bt D Martin [USA] 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Report: This was undoubtedly one of the matches of the tournament, Jamie Baker produced a superb performance to win in 2 hours 19 minutes and reach the final. This was his 3rd set victory in a row. The standard of the match was very high throughout with both players going for and making a lot of winners. The left-handed Martin had the better start using his accurate serve to good effect in set 1  and hitting some flamboyant winners especially off the forehand side. In set 2 Jamie started to read the American's serve a lot better and kept the rallies longer which was to his advantage. A couple of cracking returns secured the decisive break and Jamie levelled the match at 1 set all. Jamie was in full control of the decider, breaking his opponent twice to take it 6-2. Both players showed excellent sportsmanship throughout this match. This will be Jamie's 2nd final appearance in a 15K futures event but he will have an extremely hard match against the on-form Greek Kostantinos Economidis who beat Jamie's conqueor from New Zealand F1 - Scott Lipsky, in straight sets in the semis. Baker v Economidis is on centre court at approximately 11 pm GMT.
Fans views on Baker  v  Martin:
Steve: "Jamie can be very satisfied with his sojourn down under, moving up so many places in the ranking must be great for his confidence. It looks like the hard work Jamie puts in in those training blocks is paying off! That is three tough 3 setters  in a row."

SF preview: Between Jamie and a place in the final is America's David Martin. The 25 year old left-hander is ranked 543, over 200 places below Jamie, but Martin has been in fine form this week in Hamilton, thrashing the talented 16 year old Austen Childs 6-2, 6-0 in rd2 and beating the local favourite Daniel King-Turner in straight sets in the quarters. One of the key aspects of this match could be how well Jamie returns, as Martin has a tricky swinging serve which caused King-Turner a lot of problems in the quarters. Both players are very consistent from the baseline which will make this a very interesting contest, it's been very windy this week in Hamilton and that could be a big factor in this match. If Jamie wins his ranking will increase to about 285.

QF: J Baker  bt  R Durek [Aus] 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
Report: This was an epic contest, the sort of match which epitomizes tennis on the futures circuit. Baker and Durek battled it out from the baseline for two and a half hours. Throughout most of this quarter-final, the players were evenly matched and the tennis was hard-fought. But when it came down to the crunch at 5-5 in the 3rd set, it was the player with the greater mental strength, who played the big points the better and who wanted victory just slightly more than his opponent, who was the winner - that player was Jamie Baker. Baker now doubles his points tally for the week meaning that his ranking will at least rise to about 294 when the list is updated on March 20th. Points are everything at this level of tennis, the players are bunched so tightly together in the rankings that doubling your points won for a tournament, can move you up an extra 10-25 ranking places, meaning a higher seeding in events or possibly the chance to move up to a higher level of tournament to compete for greater prize money and greater ranking points. That is why the players on the futures circuit fight so hard for every match, this is make-or-break time for them, a quarter-final appearance won't increase your ranking that much but a semi-final or final appearance will do your ranking wonders. In order to succeed players need to have something which distinguishes them from the other hundreds of players with the same goal. Jamie Baker is mentally stronger than most opponents, physically stronger and faster and posseses great variety in his game, this is why he's regarded as one of the brightest prospects in British tennis.
Fans views on Baker  v  Durek:
Steve: "Sounds like a very tough match, but the right guy came through!  It lasted 2htrs 30 mins, I hope he will not be too tired for tomorrow's semifinal."
Bethan: "Well done Jamie. Bring on the final!"

QF preview: Baker and Durek meet for the 2nd time in 3 weeks for a place in the semi-finals. They played in rd1 of Australia F2  when Jamie won in straight sets and then went on to reach the final. Although Jamie is ranked over 100 places higher, both players are on form and have similar game styles so it is likely to be another tense and scrappy contest. The winner will have a great chance to reach the final and gain 12 ranking points, as in the semis he will play either David Martin [USA] or Daniel King-Turner [NZ], both of whom are ranked outside the world's top 500.  Baker v Durek will be on court at approximately 22.30 GMT.   

Rd2: J Baker   bt   M Van Haasteren [Hol]  6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Report: Jamie reached his 3rd straight quarter-final with a battling 3 set win over Dutchman Martin Van Haasteren. Jamie was able to raise the level of his returning and passing shots when he needed to in the 1st and 3rd sets and ultimately had too much variety, power and consistency for Van Haasteren. The first two sets were very close with Van Haasteren raising his level in set 2 and began to cause Jamie more problems with his net-rushing style of play, hitting his approaches more forcefully and this resulted in Jamie making more errors. After the 2nd set, it looked as if the match might go down to the wire but a couple of inspired returning games from Jamie in the decider resulted in a double break and this was too much for Van Haasteren to come back from. Jamie now faces Australia's Raphael Durek for a place in the semis, Durek knocked out the 7th seed in rd1.  
Fans views on Baker  v  Van Haasteren:
Drew: "Great Again from Jamie !!!!"
Mystic: "A semi place should see Jamie up to about 290 or so, once inside the 250 he will  really be motoring."
Yucem: "That's a great result for Jamie, his second quarter-final in a row !"

Rd2 preview: Jamie faces Holland's Martin Van Haasteren for a place in his 2nd quarter-final in a row. Van Haasteren is ranked 504 in the world and beat Australian lucky loser David To in rd1, 6-3, 6-4. Van Haasteren prefers playing on grass and as you would expect a large part of his game is based around attacking the net. Jamie will have to be on top form with his passing shots and returns. Van Haasteren lost to Jamie's compatriot Alex Slabinsky in straight sets in Australia F2 and hopefully Jamie can become the 2nd British player to beat him in 2006. Jamie received a boost yesterday when the other seed in his quarter, Chile's Jorge Aquilar, lost in rd1 to Australian Raphael Durek who Jamie beat in rd1 of Australia F2. Baker v Van Haasteren will be on court at approximately 22.30 GMT.   

Rd1: J Baker   bt   M Ebden [Aus][q]  6-4, 6-2
Fans views on Baker v Ebden:
Steven: "Great win for Jamie, the top seed was knocked out today so he's the highest ranked player remaining in his half of the draw."

Rd1 preview: This is Jamie's final event of a 5 week tour to Australia and New Zealand. Jamie has chosen not to fly back to Australia for the clay-court 15K futures events but he will head back to Britain for a training block with his coach Martin Weston. Jamie will then look to use his new top 300 ranking to enter some challenger tournaments. Jamie is the 4th seed here, he was originally 3rd on the entry list but then Argentina's Damian Patriarca entered and he's ranked higher than Jamie. In rd1 Jamie faces Australian qualifier, 18 year old Mark Ebden. Ebden beat Britain's Ross Connolly in the final round of qualifying. The stats point to a  comfortable win for Jamie with Ebden having never made it past the 2nd round of a futures event and his recent form isn't exactly formidable, he lost in qualifying for the Burnie Challenger, Australia F1 and in rd1 of Australia F2. He lost in rd2 of New Zealand F1 last week to Chile's Felipe Parada. Ebden is also ranked over 1000 places lower than Jamie at 1392. However, these matches can be trickier than the stats suggest as Ebden has already played 3 matches on the surface in qualifying and so has developed match sharpness on the type of outdoor hard court they're using in Hamilton while Jamie will have only practised on it. Looking at the rest of the draw, Jamie could face either Holland's Martin Van Haasteren or South Africa's Andrew Anderson [a recent doubles partner of Lee Childs]. Jamie is seeded to meet Chile's Jorge Aguilar in the quarter-finals. Baker v Ebden will take place 1st on court 8 tomorrow starting at 10.00am New Zealand time.           
                                                                                                                                                               

Ranking update:   Jamie has moved up to a career high of 309 in the world this week after his points from reaching the final of Australia F2 were added on. Futures points are added on a week after the event so Jamie will receive his points for reaching the quarters of New Zealand F1 and move into the world's top 300 on 13th March.  

Interview with Jamie Baker, done by the Marlborough Express

Young Scot steadily climbs the rankings:

Rising Scottish tennis player Jamie Baker took a punt venturing down under for five professional events in Australia and New Zealand, but the 19 year old's performances over the past month have meant the decision has paid off.

Baker and coach Keith Reynolds are in Blenheim this week for the KIA Motors US$15,000 Men's Futures 1 event, the fourth week of play since they left their British base in late January. The number three seed in Blenheim, Baker takes the court in today's quarterfinals against American sixth seed Scott Lipsky.

The trip produced a number of firsts for Baker who continues to climb the ATP rankings. "Things have been going pretty good for me," the 338th-ranked player said.

"I started pretty well in Burnie (Tasmania), I reached the quarterfinals of a challenger for the first time. Then I got ambushed in the second week (Sydney) where I lost in the first round. I recovered last week to reach the final, my first in a US$15,000 event even though I had won a couple of US$10,000 events."

Baker had been a successful junior, climbed as high as six in the ITF junior rankings and reached the singles quarterfinals at Wimbledon juniors in 2004, before embarking fulltime on the ITF men's circuit 13 months ago. He expects to break into the senior men's top 300 when the next ranking list was released.

"That was a target before I came on the trip. Everything is ranking-based at the moment. No tournament is more important than another." Baker hoped to be confirmed next week in Scotland's Davis Cup squad to take on Serbia in his hometown of Glasgow.

He said yesterday he felt at home in New Zealand. "The scenery is spectacular. This is similar to Scotland but you don't have the miserable weather."

He moved from Glasgow to an English midlands base at Nottingham when he was 13, linking up with Reynolds for the first time. His coach, one of two people who look after Baker's interests, said Blenheim was the ideal environment for his player to excel. "This is what it's all about. It's a mixture of professional and amateur. It's a very nice club with very good facilities but really on the whole it's the volunteer work which make this place tick. It's appropriate for this level of tennis.

A good performance in Blenheim and at the New Zealand Futures 2 in Hamilton next week would go a long way to getting him into the more lucrative Challenger events (US$25,000-US$75,000) regularly.

"This is a pretty crucial junction for Jamie because of the ranking he's at. A few more places up and he'll start to be assured of Challengers. He's right at the cusp.

"Whereas Futures are often back to back, Challengers are more dispersed, more one-off travel arrangements."

After Hamilton, the pair head back to Britain for a training block with his other coach. "To keep the whole arrangement fresh he'll go back and have time with Martin (Weston)."

Reynolds, who also runs an independent tennis centre, was confident his young charge would continue to climb the rankings.

"I have seen him continue to grow. He's got the essential talent you need to have. He turns up for work both physically and mentally on a daily basis."

                                                                                                                                                             
New Zealand F1[15K] [Blenheim]:
Quarter-final:  J Baker  lost to  S Lipsky [USA][6] 3-6, 2-6
Report: Jamie was outgunned today by the big hitting Californian, unfortunately Jamie wasn't able to produce his best tennis. Lipsky's bullet-like serve and heavy groundstrokes proved to be Jamie's undoing today as the American repeatedly pummelled winners from the baseline. Jamie has still secured a place in the world's top 300 for the first time and he now moves on to Hamilton for New Zealand F2 next week before heading back to Britain for a training block. 
Fans views on Baker v Lipsky:
Bladetiger: "Disappointing result for Jamie but still having a pretty fruitful trip 'down under'.I hope it has justified the decision in his eyes."

Madeline: "It is nice to see a Brit who can do well off home soil, not too many of them seem to succeed abroad."
 
QF preview: Jamie faces 24 year old Californian Scott Lipsky for a place in the semi-finals. The big serving, hard-hitting American will provide a tough test of Jamie's returning and counter-punching abilities. Lipsky has been impressive so far in Blenheim, dispatching American David Martin and Australia's Carsten Ball in straight sets, both wins coming with relative ease. Lipsky is one of the few players ranked outside the world's top 350 who can boast a win over Andy Roddick. He beat him in a junior tournament in 1999. Lipsky has won no singles titles on the pro tour though he has plenty of doubles titles. Lipsky's form in recent weeks has been indifferent, he lost in rd1 of Australia F2 and the Burnie Challenger though he did reach the quarters of Australia F1. His game is based around a booming serve and athletic, powerful volleying so Jamie's speed around the court will be undoubtedly a big asset in this match. He'll need to be at his battling best. Baker v Lipsky is on court in the early hours of Friday morning at approximately 14.00 New Zealand time. With the top seed Mark Nielsen falling in rd2, the winner of this match will have a great chance of reaching the final here.  

Rd2: J Baker  bt  S Kadir [Aus] 6-3, 7-5
Report: Jamie secured a place in the world's top 300 for the 1st time with a straight sets victory over Sadik Kadir. This is a major breakthrough for Jamie as he will now be able to start getting direct entry into challenger main draws and so he'll be competing for more points which will result in even more ranking rises. With not many points to defend until the beginning of May, Jamie is well placed to push his ranking towards the world's top 250 in the next two months presenting a very strong case for Jeremy Bates to select him for the Davis Cup squad for the tie v Serbia and Montenegro in April.  In Friday's quarter-finals  Jamie faces America's Scott Lipsky who beat Australia's Carsten Ball 6-4, 6-3 in rd2.
Fans views on Baker v Kadir:
Madeline: This is great, well done Jamie.
Steve: "This win ensures a place for Baker in the top 300. If Jamie can get past Scott Lipsky, his semifinal will be against the unranked qualifier, Stasiak, or the Kiwi King-Turner, ranked 619.  Lets hope he makes the most of his opportunity!"

Rd2 preview: It must be good for confidence levels when in rounds 1 and 2 you face opponents who you've
beaten in the past 7 days !  Jamie beat Australia's Sadik Kadir at the same stage last week in Wollongong. That was an extremely tough match with Jamie just edging it in 3 sets. Sadik Kadir is a very solid player who makes few mistakes from the baseline and he mixes up his game with regular net approaches to keep his opponents off balance. In rd1 here, Kadir beat New Zealand no 3, Rubin Statham. Staham raced to an early 3-0 lead but Kadir recovered to win 6-4, 6-4 taking advantage of his opponent's growing error count. Jamie will have to play at the same high level he showed in Australia F2 if he is to progress. Baker v Kadir is 2nd on court 10 at approximately  12.30 am New Zealand time.  

Rd1: J Baker   bt   X Audouy [Fr]   7-6, 6-1
Report: This was an impressive round 1 victory for Jamie who needed all his fighting qualities to win the 1st set after looking down and out. Although he'd been in action in the Australia F2 final just 3 days ago, Jamie showed signs of tiredness from his exploits last week. Both players were evenly matched until 5-5 until some fine tennis from Audouy forced errors from Jamie and the Frenchman broke serve to lead 6-5. He looked certain to take the set after cruising to 40-0 on his serve. However, Jamie somehow saved 3 set points and then broke back to force a tiebreak.  Jamie then raised his level, hitting some brilliant shots to storm out to a big lead and he took it comfortably 7-2. Audouy's body language after losing the 1st set suggested that he was quite deflated and Jamie took advantage to break early in the 2nd set. He was never troubled in set 2 and he raced through it 6-1 ensuring a second round meeting with Australian Sadik Kadir on Thursday.
Fans views on Baker v Audouy: 
Drew: "Great result...looks like he cruised it in the end !!"

Rd1 preview: Jamie faces Frenchman Xavier Audouy in a rematch of the Australia F2 semi-final last week which Jamie won 6-4, 6-4. According to fans who watched the match, Audouy made too many errors on groundstrokes and serve - Jamie's extra consistency and great speed around the court saw him through. In last week's semi-final, Jamie also served really well and if he can produce a similar performance he will have a good chance. His confidence will be very high after reaching the Australia F2 final. Contrary to what I posted in the Aus F2 final report below, Jamie's ranking will rise to about 305 next week as I hadn't previously taken into account the fact that he was defending 1 point from this time last year. If Jamie reaches the semi-final this week in Blenheim, that will secure a top 300 place. If Jamie wins he will face Australia's Sadik Kadir in rd2, who he beat in rd2 of Australia F2 last week. Jamie is seeded to face the American 6th seed Scott Lipsky in the quarter-finals.   

Entry list info:  Jamie is 3rd on the entry list for the 4th tournament of his trip down under. He moves from the scorching heat of Australia to the more temperate climate of New Zealand.  The entry list for this event is definately weaker than that of the Australia 15K futures with no player being ranked in the top 300. The two players above Jamie in the entry list are New Zealand no 1, Mark Nielsen ranked 300 and German Simon Stadler who reached the quarter-finals of Australia F1. Jamie has definately picked these events well as there's no one in this field who he will feel he cannot beat and on one of his favourite surfaces he will have a good chance of going far in this event.  The main draw and a preview of Jamie's rd1 match will appear here on Monday morning
                                                                                                                                                             
Australia F2 [15K][Wollongong]:
Final: J Baker  lost to  S Iwabuchi [Jap]  2-6, 6-7[4]
Report: Jamie lost out at the final hurdle in his quest for a 3rd futures title to 30 year-old Satoshi Iwabuchi from Japan. Although Iwabuchi is ranked 9 places below Jamie he was always going to be a dangerous opponent with some extremely impressive results en route to the final. He beat the 6th seed in rd2 before destroying the Czech Republic's Radim Zitko 6-2, 6-0 in the quarters and then beating the 4th seed in the semis. Unfortunately in the final, Jamie was unable to produce his best tennis, struggling in the 1st set against the left-handed Iwabuchi's tricky topspin forehands and astute net play. After being broken several times in set 1, Jamie raised his game for the 2nd set and began to find his range with his groundstrokes. The Iwabuchi serve was still proving difficult to break with the Japanese player using sliced serves particularly well. The set went to a tiebreak which Iwabuchi edged 7-4. It's still been a fantastic week in Wollongong for Jamie and he  has probably gained enough ranking points to move inside the world's top 300 for the first time. The decision to tour Australia instead of playing the European indoor hard circuit, is looking like an inspired one now with Jamie having raised his ranking around 70 places in just 3 tournaments and relishing playing on the rebound ace outdoor hard surface. Jamie now flys to New Zealand for a 15K futures event in Blenheim this week where he will be one of the top 4 seeds. He's likely to play his first round match on Wednesday.
Fans views on Baker v Iwabuchi:
Niall: "It has still been a good week for Jamie. He has improved his ranking from 395 at the start of the year to roughly 305 next week.   On to Blenheim !"

Semi-final:  J Baker  bt  X Audouy [Fr][q] 6-4, 6-4
Report: A superb performance from Jamie Baker to reach his first 15K futures final. Jamie had too much consistency and too much power for the often wayward Frenchman. Jamie's game was based on solid groundstrokes keeping Audouy pegged behind the baseline and bewildering him with a mixture of looping topspin shots and sudden changes of pace to more flatter, harder shots. On the bouncy rebound ace courts, Jamie's topspin serving was also particularly effective, kicking up high to around shoulder high making the ball difficult to control. Jamie kept errors down to a minimum today which was crucial and he also played the big points on Audouy's serve well, producing some solid tennis and taking advantage of some very erratic serving from the Frenchman. Jamie is now virtually secure of a new career high ranking inside the world's top 300 and he could move up to about 290 if he wins the final here. It's been an amazing couple of months for Jamie - his ranking has risen around 100 places after a succession of fine runs in tournaments, he's already well on his way to his goal for 2006 of breaking the top 200, he's likely to soon be setting his sights even higher.        
Fans views of Baker v Audouy:
Steve: "Jamie's now secured a dozen points, lets see if he can go 1 better in the final !"
Scotfan: "Fantastic so far for Jamie. The Scots are all proud of you. Hope you can pull off a big win!"
Niall: "I'd just like to wish Jamie the best of luck in the final."

Semi-final preview: Jamie faces French veteran Xavier Audouy, for a place in the Wollongong final. There's a top 300 place at stake here for Jamie as his efforts so far have already secured a new ranking of about 317 but if he reaches the final then he's virtually certain to break into the top 300 for the first time.  In 2005, Audouy's highlight was reaching the final of a 15K futures in France in July and in matches against British players: he beat Colin Fleming in rd1 of Tunisia F1 on clay at the beginning of June. His results this week are his best since September 2005, so far this year he's had the misfortune to draw world no 188 Nathan Healey twice in a challenger and in Aus F1. Looking at the ranking difference of around 100 places between the pair, you'd think this would be an easy win for Jamie but Audouy's results this week suggest otherwise. He's beaten the number 5 seed and in rd1 he beat the world no 347 in straight sets. This semi-final takes place in the early hours of Saturday morning GMT.  

Quarter-final:  J Baker bt  L Bourgeois [Aus] 7-6[6], 3-1 ret
Report: It was hoped that there would be an all-British quarter-final between Jamie and Alex Slabinsky but unfortunately Alex lost out in a tight match against Bourgeois in rd2. Jamie secured revenge today for Alex, beating his 3rd Australian in a row. Neither player would give an inch in the 1st set which went right down to the wire. Jamie struck some superb forcing shots at 6-6 and was able to edge it. This was the turning point in the match as losing such a tough 1st set, took the stuffing out of Bourgeois and Baker seized an early break hitting some impressive forehand winners. He looked like he would wrap up the 2nd set very comfortably before Bourgeois retired at 3-1 down with an injury - thought to be a muscle strain. 
Fans views on Baker v Bourgeois: 
Mystic: "Another great win for Jamie continuing his great run."
Madeline: "Great stuff, go Jamie! The Australian courts must suit him. Or the better weather !"
Drew: "Excellent for Jamie. Must help his Davis Cup chances !!!"
 
Rd2: J Baker  bt  S Kadir [Aus]  3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Report: Jamie scored another battling win in tough conditions overcoming 24 year old Sadik Kadir in 3 tight sets. Although there's a ranking difference of over 100 places between them with Baker at 338 and Kadir at 460, the match was expected to be close as the two players' results have mirrored each other over the last fortnight. Grinding out long baseline rallies on unforgiving hard courts in scorching temperatures is a task many Europeans would find too tough  but Jamie Baker revels in battling against adverse climates and often produces his best tennis when the going gets tough. Baker's superb fitness and stamina again served him well today as although Kadir got off to a flier, Jamie upped his game and took advantage in lapses of concentration from the Australian midway through both the 2nd and 3rd sets.     
Fans views on Baker v Kadir:
Mystic: "Great win for Jamie 3-6,6-4,6-4. Good points being accumulated here by Jamie so he should leap up the rankings from his current 338 place. Looking ahead to the quarters, Bourgeois is ranked 362 so, on his own patch, will represent a stiff challenge for Jamie, but one that I am fully confident Jamie will rise to."

Niall: "Good result for Jamie. He now faces the last Aussie standing Luke Bourgeois. Bourgeois is a dangerous opponent but I think Jamie is on a roll now and will come through."

Rd1: J Baker bt R Durek [Aus]  7-5, 7-5
Report: A scrappy, tense match and one which Jamie did well to come through. Both players had chances which they missed throughout both both sets but Jamie was able to hold his nerve and get the crucial breaks to seal the 1st and 2nd sets. The cooler conditions this week in Wollongong definately helped Jamie who struggled with the stifling heat last week in Sydney when he went out in rd1. Jamie faces another young Australia, Sadik Kadir, in rd2 in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Fans views on Baker v Kadir:
Madeline: "That really is well done for Jamie.  Here's hoping for more of the same!"
 
Rd1 preview:  Jamie is the 7th seed this week and has quite a nice draw. He's in the same quarter as 3rd seed Robert Smeets who he beat in rd2 of the Burnie Challenger a fortnight ago. 1st in line is 21 year old Aussie Raphael Durek who resides in Sydney. Raphael has a very interesting background, being born in Brazil before his parents [who are both professional musicians] moved to Sydney when he was 2. Durek reached a high of no 28 on the junior circuit but on the senior circuit he is currently ranked 422. In 2005 his highlight was winning Mexico F6. However, last week he lost in rd1 in straight sets in Australia F1, he did reach rd2 of the Burnie Challenger beating fellow wildcard Carsten Ball in rd1, but Durek lost in straights in rd2. Baker v Durek takes place in the early hours of Wednesday morning [GMT].

Entry list info: Another really strong entry list for this event, top seed is Jamie's conquerer from the Burnie Challenger, Nathan Healey. The top 4 seeds are all well inside the top 300 and the top 8 seeds are all inside the top 330. Brits Lee Childs and Alex Slabinsky have missed the main draw cut. One name to watch out for is the Australian Paul Baccanello, one of only 3 players to have beaten Andy Murray in a challenger last year after Wimbledon.  Jamie is 15th on thr entry list. Main draw should be out be Sunday morning.
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Australia F1 [15K] [Sydney] [outdoor hard]:
Rd1: J Baker  lost to V Mellino [Aus][q]   2-6, 3-6
Report: Jamie suffered an unexpected and disappointing straight sets defeat to veteran Aussie qualifier Vince Mellino from New South Wales. Mellino lives in Sydney and practises regularly on the Olympic Arena courts so it is maybe unsurprising that some of the best results of his career have come in this futures event, last year he qualified and reached the semi-finals. Today, he had too much guile and consistency for Jamie who was unusually erratic and very below par compared to his matches last week. Jamie now travels to Wollongong for Australia F2 which starts next Monday and he'll have more time for practising and getting used to the surface. That tournament is also a 15K futures.
Fans views:
Sally: "I don`t suppose it helped either that having qualifed, Mellino was even more used to the courts."


Preview: Jamie faces Australian veteran Vince Mellino tonight in Sydney. Mellino's ranked 785 in the world around 450 places below Jamie. Mellino was impressive in qualifying for this tournament, beating unranked opponents in rounds 1 and 2 before beating upcoming youngster Joel Kerley in 3 sets in the qualifying round. Mellino will be more match-sharp on the Sydney courts than Baker having already played 3 matches on the surface. Jamie's confidence will be high after reaching a first challenger quarter-final last week and securing a career high ranking of 338. The match is 2nd on court 9 at approximately midnight GMT.  If Jamie wins he will face either 6th seeded German Simon Stadler in round 2 or 19 year old Aussie qualifier Carsten Ball. Jamie is in the same quarter as 2nd seeded Indian Rohan Bopanna.
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Tournament preview: Jamie is 14th on the entry list for this event so he makes the main draw comfortably but misses out on a seeding. The field for this event is very strong as the top 4 seeds are all in the top 300 and the top 9 players are all in the top 350. There are some very talented Australians competing including Nathan Healey who reached rd3 of the Aussie Open and took a set off world no 5 Nicolay Davydenko. This event is being held on outdoor hard at the Sydney Olympic Arena.
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Burnie 25K Challenger:
Quarter-finals: J Baker lost to N Healey [Aus][3]  2-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Report: Jamie's fine run in Burnie ended with a 3 set loss to 3rd seed Nathan Healey. Healey was on fine form in the 1st set while Jamie was slightly out-of-sorts in comparison to his rd2 performance against Robert Smeets. The Australian's powerful groundstroke game enabled him to dominate the 1st set taking it 6-2, breaking Jamie's serve twice in the process. In set 2 Healey began to be affected by a calf injury and his movement was restricted, he began to make more errors as his concentration wandered, his mind obviously focusing on his sore calf. After the match he said: "I suppose I just relaxed a bit, mind slipped from the game and I started focussing on this calf problem, which has been a little frustrating. It feels like someone stabbing me in the calf everytime I step."   This let Jamie back into the game and he began to find his form, shots which had been missing in the first set now started to hit their mark. Jamie dominated set 2 and after taking it 6-3 it looked as if he might run away with the match. However, Healey is an experienced campaigner and wasn't going to give up without a fight. He raised the intensity of his play in the decider and began to focus more on the match, the set was very close with several very long rallies but Healey claimed to crucial break and was able to close out the match. Jamie was disappointed afterwards that he hadn't been able to take advantage of his opponent's injury but it's still been a fantastic week for him and a real breakthrough. He hopes to take this form on to Australia F1 next week, a 15K futures event which takes place at the Sydney Olympic Arena.    
Fans views:
Bladetiger: "a decent run for Jamie and 12 more points should put him into the top 350 another career best. Well done Jamie, here's to a successful few weeks in Oz."
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Preview: Jamie plays 3rd seed Nathan Healey of Australia for a place in the semi-finals 3rd on court, early on Friday morning. If he wins, this will give him a ranking next week of around 310. However, Healey is a step up in class from Jamie's previous 2 opponents. He's ranked 203 in the world in singles and is 58 in the world in doubles with 3 ATP doubles titles. Last month, Healey reached rd3 of the Aussie Open and took a set off world no 5 Nicolay Davydenko before eventually falling in 4 sets. Davydenko went on to reach  the quarters where he pushed Roger Federer to the brink. If Healey reproduces that form, Jamie will have his work cut out ! However, Healey's form in Burnie hasn't been that good so far, he's struggled with the blustery conditions in contrast to Jamie who is relishing playing on the outdoor hard surface.  In rd2 here, Healey was match point down in the 2nd set against his unseeded American opponent before eventually coming through 3-6, 7-6[8], 6-2.

Round 2: J Baker bt  R Smeets [Aus][5] 6-4, 7-6[4]
Report: Today Jamie secured one of the biggest wins of his career upsetting 5th seeded Australian Robert Smeets in straight sets and reaching the first challenger quarter-final of his career. This has really been a ground-breaking tournament for Jamie following his 1st challenger main draw victory on Monday. The points Jamie has earnt so far from this event has already ensured a career high ranking and a place in the top 350 for the 1st time. He is guaranteed a new ranking of at least 334 when the lists are updated next week. Jamie is very confident at the moment as the courts in Burnie really suit his game, Smeets has a reputation as a hard-hitter but Jamie was more comfortable in the windy conditions and coped well with the Australian's power from the baseline and frustrating him into errors. Jamie was able to mix up his game to suit the conditions which proved decisive while Smeets struggled at times with his timing. Speaking after the match, Jamie said: "I always enjoy playing outdoors more than I do indoors. Tennis for me is more enjoyable when its outdoors because there are so many other factors that you have to deal with."  In the quarter-finals Jamie faces a tough test against another Australian, 3rd seed Nathan Healey who reached rd3 of the Aussie Open last month.
Fans views:
Mystic: "Excellent result Jamie against a guy ranked 100 places higher."
Bladetiger:"Great result for Jamie, and he can now go into his match with Nathan Healey with some confidence, another toughie but if he wins that, with the number 2 seed out, he'd have a great chance of making the final."
Andrew:"Good win for another young Scot !  Jamie can beat Nathan Healey I'm sure."

Rd2 preview: Jamie plays his 2nd round match in the early hours of Thursday morning, starting at around 11.00pm GMT tonight. Australian Robert Smeets also had a comfortable victory in rd1, beating Finlands Tino Niemenen 6-1, 6-4. Smeets is ranked around 100 places higher than Jamie at 269. Jamie will have a good chance but will have to be at his best. Smeets is a leftie and has a reputation as a ferocious ball-striker though sometimes he can be too erratic in matches. Smeets nearly qualified for the Aussie Open main draw this year, beating Adrian Garcia and Mathieu Montcourt [who'd beaten James Auckland in rd1] before losing to Jean Faurel in 3 sets in the qualifying round. Last year he did well in futures in Korea, USA and Australia. He played 2 British players in 2005, losing in straight sets to Dave Sherwood in a challenger in the USA in the summer and beating James Auckland in a futures event in Korea in May, 7-5, 6-3 .
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Round 1: J Baker bt J Kerley [Aus] 6-3, 6-4
Report: Great win for Jamie, first match in Australia against one of Australia's most promising young players. Joel Kerley had already qualified and won 3 matches on the surface so he was very match-sharp on it but Jamie had little trouble, securing breaks midway through both sets and easing to a comfortable victory. 19 year old Joel Kerley is among a group of young Aussies including Carsten Ball and Robert Smeets aswell as Chris Guccione who are the next generation for Aussie tennis and Tennis Australia have high hopes for them. This is Jamie's first challenger victory and he now faces another Aussie in rd2, 5th seed Robert Smeets.
Fans views:
Niall: "I think that is Jamie's first win at this level so, hopefully it will be a breakthrough tournament."
Mystic: "Great win for Jamie. Good to see him putting one over an Oz.  5th seed possibly next round but shouldn't be too much of a concern."

Update 1: Instead of playing the GB 1 satellite which starts this week, Jamie has embarked on a trip to Australia. He will begin by playing the Burnie 25K Challenger starting on 6th Feb. Jamie is currently 15th on the entry list so he will get into the main draw comfortably. This is a wise move from Jamie as there are plenty of points available at this challenger and the field is very weak, the main draw cut being down to 444. Another boost for Jamie is that his ranking this week is now a career high at 366. The next couple of months offer a really good chance to continue moving upwards as Jamie doesn't have any major points to defend until the end of April.
Fans views:
Scotfan: "All the best in Australia Jamie Baker. Come back ranked in 200's. You can do it!!!"
Madeline: "Wow that is a low cut for a challenger. Good luck next week Jamie !"

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Wrexham 25K +H Challenger:
Rd1: J Baker lost to H Mankad [Ind] 3-6, 6-7[6]
Report: A good effort from Jamie against a very tough opponent ranked around 150 places higher. Jamie started slowly but came back strongly in the 2nd set and came very close to taking the match to a decider. Mankad has a good record against British opposition with victories over the likes of Martin Lee, Richard Bloomfield and Jamie Murray. In August he came within a point of beating Andy Murray in Binghampton. Jamie started off slowly in the 1st set and got broken early on. Mankad had little difficulty in closing out the 1st set. However, Jamie recovered well from this setback and broke Mankad early on in set 2 going on to lead 4-1. Unfortunately, Jamie was unable to keep up this level and a few errors crept into his play and Harsh levelled things and the set went into a tiebreak. Several minibreaks were exchanged before Mankad secured the decisive minibreak at 6-6 in the tiebreak and took it 8-6.  So disappointment for Jamie as he wasn't able to secure his first challenger victory but as this match and his rd1 win of Jean Pequery of France [ranked 213] in Barnstaple F2 last week, shows; he can compete with and beat players ranked close to the top 200 which is extremely promising.  Jamie now heads to Australia where he will compete in the main draw of a 25K Challenger in Burnie.                               
Fan's view [Geraint]:
"Shame Jamie couldn't hold on to his 4-1 lead in the 2nd set. Great effort though against someone ranked 100 places higher. Up to 4-1 Jamie was really holding his own brilliantly with a mixture of great shots within some excellent rallies. I hope one day to say (when he makes it "big") .... "I was there early on in his professional career, & predicted he'd be a star of British/World tennis !!! "

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Update 4: Jamie spent the day before his round 1 match going through a solid workout with compatriot Dave Sherwood who has qualified for the main draw. Jamie is 4th on court today for his match. The result should be available at around 4.30. I will try to obtain score updates and post them on this page.

Rd1 singles preview: Jamie faces India's Harsh Mankad in rd1 on Tuesday. Mankad is ranked over 100 places higher than Jamie, at 229 in the world. However, it is still a better draw than in the Sunderland and Southampton Challengers last autumn when Jamie was drawn against seeded opposition in rd1 both times and both went on to reach the final. Mankad has not been in particularly good form recently, he played in Aussie Open qualifying but lost 6-3, 6-1 in rd1 and lost in rd2 of ATP Chennai qualifying. He may find it tough making the transition from Rebound Ace courts to fast indoor hard. The match will be on Tuesday. If Jamie wins he could face top seed Jean Lisnard of France ranked 109, in rd2.
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Update 3: The main draw has been made and Jamie faces India's Harsh Mankad in rd1. If he wins, he could face top seed Jean Lisnard of France in rd1.

Update 2: Jamie has been offered a wildcard for the main draw

Update 1: The cut for the main draw is currently very high and Jamie is a long way down the alternates list. As a lot of the British players ranked above him have not yet made the main draw either, there is a possibility that Jamie might not receive one of the 4 wildcards. Jamie will be hoping that the tournament organisers will take into account his excellent start to the year and so award him a wildcard. Otherwise Jamie will be in qualifying which starts on Sunday.  
                                                                                                                   
Rankings info [16/1/2006]: Jamie is currently ranked 377 and will go up to around 365 next week after his points from GB F2 are added. He's 7 points away from a place in the top 350. 7 points could won reaching the semi-final of a 15K future and then rd2 of another 15K future.

Schedule update: Jamie is now taking a 1 week break before the Wrexham 25K Challenger. Jamie will be hoping to get a wildcard but otherwise he will be in the qualifying draw.

GB F2 [Barnstaple][15K]:
Quarter-final result:  J  Baker lost to S Robert [Fr] 7-6[1], 3-6, 1-6
Report: Stephane Robert's greater experience and power ultimately won him this match but Jamie produced an extremely good performance and after the 1st set he looked on course for victory. The 1st set was very tight going to a tiebreak in which Jamie dominated most of the points with his forehand and took it 7-1. Robert was came close to breaking into the top 150 in 2004 before injury and in the 2nd and 3rd sets he stepped up a level, hitting with greater depth and accuracy and Jamie was unable to match him. Still, a very good week for Jamie and his points gained should take him close to the 360 mark.  

Quarter-final preview: Baker will face his toughest match of the week against 25 year old Frenchman Stephane Robert. Robert was once ranked 167 in the world in June 2004 before succumbing to injury and since then he's been on the comeback trail. In the autumn he won a futures title in Spain and reached the quarters of a challenger. Last week in Exmouth he reached the singles final before losing in 3 sets to Andis Juska. So far this week, he's yet to drop a set. However, Baker is also on top form and his confidence will be high after beating top seed Pequery in straight sets in rd1.  

Rd2 result: J Baker bt P Popovic [Ser]  6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Report: Many players have acknowledged that  the next match after a career-best victory is always tough, having to come down from that high and get on with grinding out another victory. Jamie Baker passed that test today, ovecoming dogged Serbian Popovic in 3 sets. Jamie took the first set comfortably as his opponent made too many errors from the baseline but suffered a wobble in set 2 as Popovic really started going for some big groundstrokes. Jamie regrouped and dug deep to get a crucial break in the decider taking it 6-4. He will next face on-form Frenchman Stephane Robert who won in straight sets today.

Rd2 preview: Hopefully Jamie can continue his fine form and secure a place in the quarter-finals. He will be favourite for this match as Popovic is ranked 476. Popovic's highlight in 2005 was reaching the final of a clay-court futures event in Tunisia but since then he's mainly been reaching the 1st or 2nd rounds of futures and satellites. Last week he took a set off Dave Sherwood and this week he beat Alex Miotto 7-5, 6-2 in rd1. Jamie is first on court 3 starting at 10.00am so a result should be available around 11.45am. If Baker wins he will face either Sergei Bubka or last week's finalist Stephane Robert, in the quarter-finals.  

Rd1 result:  J Baker bt  J Pequery [Fr] [1]  6-1, 6-4
Report [more to follow]:  Fantastic win for Jamie Baker against the French top seed ranked 213 and around 380 places above Jamie.  Jamie outplayed the Frenchman in both sets and was completely in control throughout the match. He next faces the Serbian Popovic, in round 2 on Wednesday. Popovic is ranked 473 in the world and won today 7-5, 6-2 against Britain's Alex Miotto

Rd1 preview: Jamie Baker has probably the toughest draw of all the Brits against the French top seed Jean Pequery. In 2005, Pequery reached a host of challenger semis and quarters and reached the latter stages of several futures events. Although Pequery is ranked about 190 places above Baker at no 213, he lost to a Czech with a similar ranking to Jamie in the quarters of a futures event in Germany last week. Jamie beat several seeds on his way to the Exmouth semi-finals and was reportedly looking in fine form. If Jamie wins he will face either Serbian Popovic or Britain's Alex Miotto in rd2.  This week Jamie is only in the singles draw.    

GB F1 [Exmouth] [15K]: 
Semi-final result: J Baker lost to A Juska [Lat]  3-6, 5-7
Report: A slightly disappointing result for Jamie against the eventual tournament winner but still a very good week for him. Jamie gains 6 points which will move him up to around 374 in the rankings. He moves on to GB F2 in Barnstaple starting on Tuesday. 

Update 6: Jamie is 2nd on court 3 for his semi-final against Juska.

Quarter-final result: J Baker bt G Lugassy [Fr][6] 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Another fabulous result for Jamie, knocking out seeded opposition in 3 sets. Lugassy is ranked 20 places higher than Baker. Jamie's success so far this week has gained him 6 points which will take him to around 374. If he reaches the final he will move up to around 365. In the semis he faces Latvian Andis Juska who knocked out top seed Richard Bloomfield in straight sets.

Update 5: Jamie is 2nd on court 4 against Gary Lugassy.

Rd1 doubles result:  Lugassy/Robert [Fr] bt Baker/Cleveland  6-3, 6-3

Rd2: J Baker bt M Kasiri [GB] 6-3, 7-6
Report: Jamie moved into the quarter-finals with an impressive straight sets victory over fellow Brit Miles Kasiri. Tomorrow,  Jamie is up against 6th seeded Frenchman Gary Lugassy who won several futures and satellite tournaments in Britain last year.

Update 4: Jamie faces fellow Brit Miles Kasiri in rd2. Kasiri who won 6-0, 6-2 in rd1. The match is 2nd on court 3. Jamie Baker and Tyler Cleveland play their rd1 doubles match last on court 2 against France's Gary Lugassy and Stephane Robert. 

Rd1 result
J Baker bt P Simmonds [USA][4]  6-7[6-8], 6-1, 7-6[7-4]
Report: An impressive victory for Jamie over the American left-hander. Simmonds qualified for ATP Washington in August beating Jamie Delgado in qualifying so Baker did extremely well to come through such a tough match.

Update 3: On Tuesday, Jamie is 2nd on court 2.

Update 2: The main draw has been released and Jamie has a tough first round match against higher rated opposition. Jamie plays 4th seed, American Phillip Simmonds who's ranked about 60 places higher. Jamie Baker is also in the doubles main draw playing with big-serving American Tyler Cleveland.

Update 1:  Jamie is entered for the 1st British futures event of the year and is 9th on the entry list. The line -up is very strong with in-form Brits Richard Bloomfield, Matt Smith and Martin Lee heading the field. Dave Sherwood is also in the line-up and will be looking to repeat so of the success he has had in the past in British indoor tournaments. There are several foreigners including big-serving American Phillip Simmonds who made big progress in 2005 and also Gary Lugassy who has won several GB futures and satellite titles. Young Latvian Andis Juska has also entered as has Irish number 1 Conor Niland. Hopefully Jamie will have the best possible start to the year. Draw is on New Year's Day.   
                                                                                                                                               
Jamie Baker identified as one to watch for 2006 by tennis expert [Mark Staniforth]:

Jamie Baker knows he has a lot to live up to as he heads into the new year aiming to make his senior breakthrough onto the cut-throat ATP Tour.

Baker watched his fellow Scot and childhood friend Andy Murray zoom more than 400 places up the world rankings in 2005 to gatecrash the world's top hundred.

For the time being at least Baker - who at 19 is actually just over a year older than Murray - has been left in the shade.

But, after a consistent season on the Futures circuit earned him a creditable world ranking of 367, Baker has a firm base from which to emulate his increasingly famous friend.

Baker first began to attract mainstream attention when he reached the quarter-finals of junior Wimbledon in 2004.

And the rave reviews from those who matter most paid off earlier this year when he was named as a non-playing team member of Jeremy Bates' Davis Cup squad which travelled to Switzerland for a World Group qualifying tie.

Like Murray, Baker is beginning to reap the rewards of choosing to pursue success the hard way.

He gave up the easier option of a place within the Lawn Tennis Association's established London operation to go with Murray to learn the basics in Barcelona.

Returning to Britain, Baker alternated his time between Nottingham and the Scottish National Tennis Centre in Scotland.

Baker's ambition paid off as he reached number six in the world junior rankings before his bid to make it in the big time prompted him to turn his attention to ATP events.

During a hectic 2005 Baker won a Futures event in Guanajuanto, Mexico, and also reached semi-finals or better in Ankara, Joplin and Illinois.

Baker and Murray have clearly both come a long way from the days when they used to hit balls across their mothers' kitchen tables using cereal boxes as bats.

But as he begins the daunting process of attempting to emulate his friend, much bigger things are expected of Baker in 2006 - not least from the man himself.

Training update:  Colin, Jamie and Alan Mackin are currently training at Stirling University in preparation for the new season. However, earlier this month Jamie Baker was involved in a car crash, he's not believed to have been badly injured but has been shaken and is taking it a little easier. Hopefully, he recovers well.

Jamie looking ahead to the new year:
Baker will seek to gain momentum back into a series of new year Futures tournaments in Devon where he will look to catch the eye of Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates. He has his eyes on a spot in the Davis Cup team to play Serbia/Israel. He said "My experience in Geneva was fantastic but I definitely want to part of the team next and with the Braehead Arena being three minutes from my doorstep it's a huge motivation.

"I always thought we were onto something quite big with tennis in Scotland but now things are starting to take shape and the whole energy and belief amongst us is fantastic.

"In terms of the effect it is having on the public it can only be measured by events like this - hopefully it will be sold out and the fans will be going absolutely crazy."

In the meantime he is looking forward to next week's practice sessions with Tim Henman in London during which the question of national pride is sure to be on the agenda.

"There has always been a lot of banter and in the past Tim has generally come out on top," added Baker. "I don't think he's going to like it so much this time."
                                                                                                                              

Jamie Baker bidding to become part of the Davis Cup team:

No sooner is one Davis Cup over than the preparations for another have begun. On Sunday, Croatia defeated Slovakia to win the 2005 competition: yesterday, the Braehead Arena box office opened for the tie to be held there in April, when Great Britain will play either Israel or Serbia&Montenegro.

Britain will only be in the second tier of the competition next year following their loss to Switzerland in September, but their hopes of getting back into the World Group soon look increasingly realistic. Although Tim Henman has retired from national service and Greg Rusedski does not have long left, the up-and-coming group of younger tennis players led by Andy Murray promises to give the British a strength in depth they have not enjoyed for some time.

Jamie Baker, like Murray still only 19, is part of that group. Having been part of the group trained by Murray's mother Judy, he has known the British No3 for most of his life, and is not at all surprised by the breakthrough he has made this year.

"We knew he was good - he's always been a year ahead of me," Baker said yesterday at the venue for the April clash. "He's always seemed able to win matches, from the under-tens, under-eights even. He'll cry on court, throw his racket around, but somehow he'll manage to win the match.

"For the last few months you could never write him off. He's not stupid in the way he acts on court as well. I've heard commentators say after the fourth game of a match that he's struggling, looking tired. No he's not - he's lulling his opponent into a false sense of security."

Murray played in that last Davis Cup tie against Switzerland, as did his fellow Scot Alan Mackin. Baker was there only as a non-playing squad member, but he believes the experience gained by being part of the set-up then will be invaluable if selected for the match in April.

"My experience in Geneva was fantastic, but I definitely want to be part of the team next. To be honest, playing [against Switzerland] never crossed my mind, because my ranking is not good enough to be playing live rubbers. It was just a great experience being part of the squad.

"Meeting Greg for the first time, meeting Roger Federer - you can't buy that sort of experience. It's no coincidence that after the Davis Cup I started winning more often. To be on court with someone like Greg was a huge factor in that.

"He set us all goals at the end of that match against Switzerland. He said to me, 'I want you inside 150 by the time of the next match' - which is tough. I'd like to be inside the top 200 by the end of next year.

"This is my first year out of the juniors and my aim was to be inside the top 450 by the end of it. I started 2005 at 690 and I'm now 386, so I should finish inside the top 400. I was actually a bit higher a month ago - I was up about 360 - but I played 12 tournaments in a row and during the last three I was pretty knackered.

"In the shorter term, my goal is to be part of the four-man team for the match here in April. It's definitely realistic.

"Obviously Greg and Andy will be in the team, then there are two spots up for grabs and six or seven of us in with a shout."

Mackin, David Sherwood and Jamie Murray will be among Baker's rivals for third and fourth places in the team, but there is one little bit of local knowledge which the Glasgow-born player believes may prove crucial. "I have plenty of experience of the Braehead Arena - I used to go shopping there all the time with my mum."

Baker will be back on the tournament trail at the start of next year, but before then he has two weeks' training at Bisham Abbey with Henman. Like Murray, Baker rates the British No1 highly, and thinks those who label him a loser are only exposing their own ignorance.

"I don't know Tim well, but I have had four or five days' training with him already. Everything about him, his whole aura, screams out a winner to me. People might think 'boring old Tim' and all that, but he's got so much personality. I think 90 per cent of people only see him at Wimbledon, where there is so much pressure on him. "

That pressure will also be very much on Murray come summer thanks to his achievements this year. For the moment, at least, Baker may not have quite the same spotlight on him, but he aims to change that as soon as possible, and April at Braehead is as good a time and place as any.

                                                                                                                          
Jamie opens Davis Cup box office for tie v Serbia/Israel:
Jamie said:

"I had a really great experience with the team in Switzerland and I learnt a lot being there, especially from the likes of Jeremy, Greg and Andy over that time. Overall I am really happy with my progress this year and achieving my goal of reaching the world's top 400. But it is really important that I keep moving forward and the possibility of being selected for the tie in April provides me with an added incentive.”

Baker added: “Currently I am training hard at the National Tennis Centre in Stirling before heading off in the New Year for my next tournament block.”

Press release:

Rising Scottish tennis star Jamie Baker was on hand today to officially announce the ticket box office open for the forthcoming Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie in April at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire.

Discounts will be offered to Tennis Scotland and LTA Advantage members and offers will also include group bookings, two & three day tickets and half price tickets for children under 16.

The box office number is 0870 444 6062 and website details are: » ticketmaster.co.uk

Nineteen year old Baker, who hails from Glasgow and trains in Stirling was attached to the Davis Cup squad in Switzerland in September, and is seen as an exciting young prospect having risen nearly 600 places over the last year to enter into the world’s top 400.

Last year he achieved a career high junior ranking of six in the world and reached the quarterfinal of The Junior Championships, Wimbledon. This year he has travelled throughout the world winning two Futures events and reaching another two finals.

LTA Tournament Director Gavin Fletcher said: “This Davis Cup tie will offer a fantastic chance for tennis fans in Scotland to see some world class tennis action and I’m sure tickets will sell very quickly.”

The tie, due to be played between 7-9th April 2006 at Braehead Arena, Renfrewshire, will be played against either Israel of Serbia Montenegro.

Jamie Baker's latest Times article:  "Players reaching break point too fast"
IT WAS a cold winter’s Sunday evening and we had just checked into our hotel for the coming week. If I was buoyed by my 300-place surge up the rankings in the past ten months, then this hotel room brought me down to earth.

One of the difficult aspects of attempting to climb the rankings is that in terms of accommodation, it doesn’t matter whether you are ranked No 650 or No 250. Finances mean that in most cases I am looking for a budget room. Ninety per cent of the time this does not bother me. However, as this was my tenth consecutive week of competition, the week definitely fell into the other 10 per cent!

Having made the final of week one of the satellite event in Nottingham, I headed for week two in Sutton still feeling confident but starting to become aware of fatigue. Predictably, this mounted up over the next few days and led to neck and hip problems. For the first couple of rounds I would play my match in the morning in Sutton and then drive to Queen’s Club in the afternoon for extensive treatment.

I limped my way through the opening two rounds but then lost in the quarter-finals. Clearly my body was telling me it was time for a break and my mind was starting to believe it. My obvious problem was that I was halfway through a four-week satellite circuit. This meant that for me to get any ranking points, I had to complete the circuit — even though I had already made the final of the first week.

Inevitably, I lost in the first round of week three (my first opening-round defeat at this level since early July). At this point I had two options. I could sit back and accept what was happening and just let it be, or I could do everything in my power to be in the best possible shape for the fourth and final week. Being a firm believer in judging myself and others on the ability to cope with adversity, I chose the latter option and produced some positive qualities before losing to Martin Lee for the second time on the circuit in the quarter-finals.

There is no doubt that my smooth and successful year will be slightly dampened by my limping over the finish line. However, the Nos 2 to 6 in the world were not even able to do that, as we saw in the shambolic season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai. I think the manner in which the issue of “overplaying” has come to a head has forced the sport as a whole to look at what can be done. This is a delicate area as there are so many different agendas to cater for.

I would argue that as a result of the financial benefits of being a top-50 or 100 player, somebody like myself who has a genuine chance of breaking through should have just as much to say on this issue. However, I am not saying that my views would be exactly the same if I was already sitting in that position. Although I have got some knowledge of the ATP tour, I have better knowledge of the level I am experiencing now. This year I have played 32 tournaments and will have had 12 weeks of intensive training. These days, training often involves pushing my body to the absolute limit, so there is no way this is a mini-rest for me.

The solution to overplaying is to play less. The trouble is that most weeks there are ten to 15 tournaments of similar prize-money around the world, so if I am not playing then I can almost guarantee that most players are.

In Shanghai, the players could not have sent out a stronger message. But in reality, the brutal scheduling is a problem facing all levels of men’s tennis.

                                                                                                                                      
Winter County Cup:

Report: West of Scotland have been promoted, they beat Nottinghamshire 6-3, Norfolk 8-1 and Avon 6-3.  I'll try and find out Jamie's individual results.

Bulletin 2: Jamie's side West of Scotland  are in Group 4A with Nottinghamshire, Avon and Norfolk

Bulletin 1: This begins this weekend.  Jamie is competing in the event and is representing West of Scotland.
                                                                                                                                            
Sunderland 25K Challenger:
Rd1 singles: J Baker lost to D Udomchoke [Th][3]  4-6, 4-6
Report: A very creditable performance from Jamie despite being outranked by nearly 250 places. He pushed Danai very close in both sets and showed signs of real promise. Danai is one of the one-form players on the challenger tour having won a challenger in Champaign on Saturday. Danai's experience at the latter end of each set really helped him win the match and Jamie didn't play so well on the big points which ultimately cost him. Danai was full of praise for Jamie at the end saying: "Jamie played so well and will be a good, competitive player." Jamie will now move on to the Winter County Cup where he will be representing West of Scotland next week.      

Bulletin 3: Jamie plays on Wednesday. 

Rd1 preview: Jamie Baker has one of the hardest draws possible. He faces the 3rd seed Danai Udomchoke in rd1. Baker can count himself extremely unlucky as in his previous challenger [Southampton 25K in October] he was drawn against the eventual finalist Kristian Pless in rd1. Udomchoke is one of the most stylish players on the challenger tour. He is also extremely fast and athetic around the court and has just won a challenger in the USA dropping only 1 set along the way. Jamie will have to play his best ever match to win.    
Bulletin [19/11/2005]: Jamie has been granted a wildcard into the main draw.

Bulletin [17/11/2005]: Jamie is participating and is hoping for a wildcard into the main draw.
                                                                                                                                                  
Aberdeen Cup info: It has been asked as to why neither Colin or Jamie were asked to play for Scotland. However, I believe that neither of them wanted to participate as it clashes with the Winter County Cup. Colin is representing North of Scotland and Jamie is representing West of Scotland.

GB Satellite Masters [Sheffield]: 
QF [16/11/2005]: J Baker lost to M Lee [GB] 3-6, 3-6
Report: A really good game, Martin Lee looked good but there were some great rallies all round the court. In the first set Martin was 0-40 up on Jamie's serve in the sixth game and Jamie was getting wound up by a call that went against him on the first point of the game (A serve that looked an ace but was called out). Jamie fought back to hold, then played some inspired tennis to get to 15-40 on Martin's serve, but Martin dug himself out and then broke to 15 in the eighth game and served out to take the first set.
There were no breaks in the second set until Martin broke in the seventh game, he then held comfortably and broke again in the ninth game to take the set 6-3. Jamie fought really hard today but was edged out at the ends of each set. Today, Martin just had too much power and variety of shot for Jamie. Jamie is probably not playing his best tennis at the moment as recent results have shown and he failed to defend last year's points total by 7 points. He will slip to about 384 but will end his season at the Sunderland Challenger next week.

Rd2 [15/11/2005]: J Baker bt J May [GB]  6-4, 6-4
Report:  A hard-fought victory for Jamie Baker. Baker's tennis was lacking his usual energy but he did enough to win the match. It was a baseline battle throughout  with Jamie ultimately having more consistency. This means Jamie is within one win of defending his points total from last year. However, he will have to beat Martin Lee who is playing some great tennis at the moment and beat Jamie in week 1 of this satellite.

Tournament preview: Jamie has been seeded here ,mainly due to his final appearance in week 1. May will be tough to beat as he's an experienced player and well regarded among his fellow players. He beat Ian Flanagan in rd1 after Ian retired injured.  If he wins this match he would face a possible quarter-final against Martin Lee who he lost to in the week 1 final. This would be a must-win match if he is to defend the points he got in this satellite last year. Jamie's poor loss last week was mainly due to fatigue after so many matches and travelling in recent weeks. The GB satellite circuit and futures events are tough as all of the matches take place on successive days with no rest day. If you reach the final of a stage, it's then straight on to the next stage with a day for travelling and a day for practise and the cycle continues. Being pros the players can cope with this but when it happens week after week for nearly two months non-stop it's bound to have a reverse effect at some point.

                                                                                                                                              
GB indoor satellite week 3 [Wrexham]:
Rd1 [8/11/2005]: J Baker  lost to  M Marrai [It]  4-6, 2-6
Fan's report: Jamie started very sluggishly and dropped his first two service games to trail 3-0, then got first break back for 3-1 but didnt seem to get all that close to a second break. Had to go into my meeting after Jamie had been broken in the first game of the second set and he'd lost by the time I came out, but he did look pretty jaded, and made a lot unforced errors.

My view [8/11/2005]:  I reckon that Jamie's losses in Sutton and Wrexham are basically due to tiredness. He's played 27 events this year and he's played every week for the last 7 weeks achieving some fantastic results. He's achieved a momentous ranking rise this year. Hopefully he can raise himself for next week's Masters which will have double points so he needs to make the semis to defend last year's points total. Then it's Sunderland and then a well-deserved break.

Preview [7/11/2005]: Baker opens up his Wrexham campaign against the 19 year old Italian from Pisa.  Marrai has only won 1 first round match since August. Jamie needs to get to the semis if he is to improve on his points haul from last year. He is in the same quarter as Neil Bamford who beat him last week and Jamie is in the same half as Matt Smith who won in Sutton.
                                                                                                                                  

GB indoor satellite: Week 2 [Sutton]

QF: lost to N Bamford [GB]  7-6, 2-6, 3-6
Today, Jamie lost to a guy on fire. Bamford has had some poor results recently but he looked right back to top form while Jamie looked slightly jaded in sets 2 and 3 after all the matches he has played recently. Set 1 was a tense affair and went  to a tiebreak which Jamie took comfortably as Bamford made too many errors. However, in the next 2 sets, Bamford let rip from the baseline taking control of the rallies with aggressive ball-striking on both sides. Jamie had no answer and was broken several times. So Jamie needs 20 more points to defend last year's total and 40 more points for the top 350. After all his good results recently, he now takes a few days rest before the tour moves on to Wrexham.  

Rd2: bt M Viola [It] 6-4, 7-6 [5]
View: Good win for Jamie moving into the quarter-finals where he will face Britain's Neil Bamford. Motti fought with determination from the baseline and pushed Baker hard in both sets especially the 2nd set where several breaks were exchanged. Baker got the decisive minibreak in the tiebreak and edged it 7-5.

Rd1: bt C Llewellyn [GB]  6-0, 6-1
View: Jamie scored an emphatic win over British 17 year-old Chris Llewellyn who was in the main draw as a wildcard. Baker was never troubled and conceded just 1 game. Jamie now faces Italian Matteo Viola ranked 851 in the world who struggled past lucky loser Alex Miotto in 3 sets in rd1. 

Preview:  Jamie Baker returns to the scene of his biggest success in 2004 when he reached the final on the way beating Dave Sherwood and James Auckland. This confirmed Baker as a name to watch in 2004 and the tournament catapulted him up the world rankings. Jamie has had an extremely successful 2005 with 2 titles and 5 finals in all to date. He returns as top seed in the absence of Mark Hilton. He has a good looking draw and his 1st real test should come in the quarter-finals against probably Neil Bamford or Miles Kasiri. There is the prospect of a battle of the youngsters in the semis as Jamie is seeded to face Matt Smith who has also done well recently.    

Week 1 [Nottingham]: Final: lost to M Lee [GB] 6-4, 4-6, 2-6
Report: Jamie returned extremely well throughout this match and this was especially evident in the 1st set which Baker edged 6-4. Unfortunately as with several of his matches this week, Jamie struggled with the consistency of his serve. In the 2nd serve there were a lot of service breaks but Jamie was unable to close the match out and Martin edged it 6-4. Lee's powerful groundstrokes then found there groove and he took control in set 3 and took it easily 6-2. Despite this defeat, Jamie can take heart from an excellent week in which he achieved his 1st ever victory over Josh Goodall and secured 15 circuit points. He needs 26 more to defend his haul of 41 points from last year.  Jamie needs 61 points to break the top 350.

Preview: This will be Baker and Lee's 1st meeting. A lot will depend on how Baker returns Lee's big 1st serve with the tricky left-hander's spins and swing. Lee has been serve-volleying quite a lot during this tournament and he has been hitting his groundstrokes with real purpose, placement and power. Jamie will need to improve his 1st serve percentage as it has been rather erratic during this tournament. A win in the final would give Jamie 21 points, he needs around 60 to move into the world's top 350.

 SF: bt J Goodall [GB] [2]  6-3 ret
Fan's report: Josh broke Jamie's serve early on in this match and held on after a long game with lots of long rallies to lead 3-1 in the 1st set. Jamie held reasonably comfortably to reduce the deficit to 2-3. Then cam the 1st major incident of the match. Goodall suddenly pulled up short during a rally - he must have felt something go, he clutched his left leg below the knee, hobbled off the court and called the trainer. The trainer wrapped bandages around Goodall's left leg and he continued but Baker broke back for 3-3. Baker seemed to then just cruise through the next 3 games to take the set 6-3. Goodall seemed to be moving well and there were quite a few long rallies so no real indication that the injury was bothering him. At the end of the 1st set the trainer came on again and the 2nd set started but during the 2nd point of Goodall's service game he came to a halt, walked over to the umpire and retired. A shame really but this does see Jamie move through to the final against Martin Lee. He needs a good performance in this satellite as he has 41 points: [equal to 14 entry points] to defend.   

Preview: Baker and Goodall have met 3 times before with Goodall winning all three meetings. Before now they have always played in the quarters of an event. The 1st two matches were real marathons, true baseline grinds with loads of long rallies. In 2004 Baker came up short in a final set tiebreak and when they played twice in Nottingham just over a month ago, Baker didn't return well and made too many errors. This year, Baker has been the one storming up the rankings and has overtaken Goodall, the 20 year old having langished after his good progress last year. It will be interesting to see if Baker's recent form can see him reach the final but I feel it is important that he wins this match as these two will probably meet again at some stage of this satellite and if Jamie loses there is a possibility that Josh might be getting a slight psychlogical hold over him.

QF: bt C Niland [Ir] [5] 7-5, 6-1
View: The last time these two played was in the semis of Edinburgh futures just over a month away and Baker won in three really tight sets. This time, Jamie was even better and used his big forehand to good effect sealing a semi-final meeting with 2nd seed Josh Goodall

Rd2: bt T Rushby [GB] 6-1, 6-4
View:  Jamie scored an emphatic win over his former junior doubles partner Rushby. This gives him a 2-0 head - to-head record over Rushby as Jamie beat him in straight sets when they were both competing in junior events. 

Rd1: J Baker [GB] [4] bt F Figliomenti [It] 7-5, 6-1
View: Straightforward 1st round win for Jamie against the 19 year old Italian ranked 877 in the world. After Baker edged a tight 1st set he took control in the 2nd and was rarely in any trouble as he sealed victory.

Tournament preview: Jamie is the 4th seed and has a fairly nice draw. He is seeded to face Conor Niland who he beat in the semis of Edinburgh futures. He could then meet nemesis Josh Goodall in the semis. Jamie is defending 41 points from his success in this event this time last year an equivalent of 14 ATP points.
                                                                                                                                                                  
Baker to play GB satellite: Jamie Baker has entered for the 4 week GB satellite on indoor acrylic courts. Week 1 is this week at the Nottingham tennis centre where Baker is based. He will face stiff competition as Mark Hilton, Josh Goodall and Sebastien Fitz are all ranked above him. Meanwhile Colin Fleming is taking a rest week as he prepares for his stint in Mexico beginning with a hard-court futures event in Leon starting on the 31st October. Fleming is the 4th highest entrant.
                                                                                                                                  
Southampton 25K+H Challenger:
Rd1: K Pless [Den][8]  bt J Baker [GB]  7-5, 6-2 [Fan's views]
Jamie said: "Despite losing, I felt the match was a positive experience."

View 2: Jamie Baker looks to have a great attitude and commitment. Him and Alan Mackin had a really long workout  the day after his match which went on longer than anyone else's session. Seing him practise like that was really impressive.

View 1: Was suprised that I was the only one watching him apart from Pless's coach and g/friend..where was his coach/parents/support? As Pless's coach kept geeing up his man I felt I had to do the same for Jamie! and he battled well in first set coming back from break down but Pless is a grunty/vocal sort of player with a huge forehand and in the end just had too much experience for Baker but I feel he has a good future.

Preview: Jamie Baker received the wildcard he was hoping for but unfortunately the draw has been less than kind. Jamie faces big-serving 8th seed, Kristian Pless of Denmark who has been as high as no 65 and is currently at no 180, some 200 places above Jamie. Pless has a wealth of experience having won matches at
Grand Slam level and having achieved good results on the ATP tour. Jamie is
making his debut on the challenger tour and he's certainly been thrown in at the
deep end.
                                                                                                                                   

GB F15: SF: S Harston [GB] bt J Baker [GB]  3-6, 6-4, 7-5
View: Disappointing for Jamie Baker who would have reached the top 350 with a win in
Jersey. However, Harston continues his astonshing run, amazing for a player who has
only just reached a futures main draw for the 1st time. Apparently the quality of the
tennis was extremely high and it was reckoned to be one of the outstanding matches of
the tournament. It could have gone either way, Harston just edged Baker out in the end.

QF: J Baker [4] [GB] bt L Pellerin [Fr] 4-6, 7-6[4], 6-1
 View: Jamie Baker pulled through yet another tight match to reach the semi-finals. The
1st set was close with one crucial break deciding it for Pellerin. The Frenchman was full
of confidence and blasting winners all over the court with a devastating forehand and it
looks as though he would wrap up the match in straight sets. However Baker kept
fighting and somehow kept himself in the match despite several times being under
pressure on his serve. Pellerin was often only a few points away from the match.
However, Jamie managed to snatch the tiebreak with some controlled strokeplay and
after that, the Frenchman seemed to give up and Jamie ran away with the final set 6-1.
He now meets unranked Brit Simon Harston who is enjoying the best week of his career
having beaten giant-killer Alexander Slabinsky.    

Rd2: J Baker [GB] [4]  bt J Murray [GB]  3-6, 6-4, 6-4
View: Good fighting win from Jamie Baker against a determined Murray who looked on course to create an upset after the 1st set. In the 1st set, Jamie was piling on the pressure with his attacking serve-volley game and rushing the net at every opportunity. Baker was struggling with his passing shots and seemed to have no answer. However crucially Baker reasserted himself quickly and got an early break at the start of the 2nd and 3rd sets. Baker was serving a lot better and hitting his groundstrokes with more accuracy keeping Murray pinned at the back of the court. Murray kept coming though and Baker was forced to serve out in a tense finish  

Rd1: J Baker [GB] [4] bt R Norby [Den]  6-3, 6-4
View: A good solid victory to start the week off from Jamie who has now won 6 straight matches. His 23 year old opponent has enjoyed some success of late on Spanish hard courts but rarely posed any problems for Jamie  who moved through comfortably to a 2nd round meeting with Jamie Murray. Baker also received a further boost when Mark Hilton lost so the only major obstacle on his route to the final is 5th seeded Frenchman Ludwig Pellerin.

Jamie's overview:  This time it was a short flight to Jersey and the week was a nice change from the normal venues of the winter circuit. I lost in the semi-finals but, I have to say that the sea views and lush golf courses made me feel like I should have been on holiday rather than playing a tournament.
                                                                                                                                                    
GB F14:  Final: J Baker [GB] [3] bt L Chramosta [Cze] 6-3, 6-2
View: A superb result to cap a fantastic week in Bolton for Jamie only dropping 1 set all week. This win will take him up to around 380 in the world rankings, a career high. He is now only 32 entry points away from the top 300. This was his 2nd ever futures title and his 1st on British soil. Jamie will be hoping that this performance earns him a wildcard for the Southampton 25K Challenger in two weeks time.The Davis Cup experience against Switzerland fuelled Baker's desire even more to make it to the top of the men's game and he is hoping to use the British futures circuit to boost his ranking so he can start competiting regularly on the challenger circuit. His next event is the 10K futures in Jersey this week.
Jamie said: "In the final, my good play proved too much for Ladislav Chramosta, my Czech opponent. I won 6-3, 6-2 to win my first British title and catapult my ranking up to 381. I feel that I have made the absolute most of my Davis Cup experience and there is no doubt that this has been a huge factor in my latest improvement and surge up the rankings. I celebrated with a meal with my coach Keith."

SF:  J Baker [GB] [3]   bt  M Hilton [GB] [1]  6-2, 6-2
View: Jamie gets his revenge in fine style against the opponent who beat him in last week's futures final. Jamie was on red-hot form as he outpowered top seed Hilton for a career-best victory and guarantee a place in the top 400 for the first time at around 390. Jamie will be the favourite for the final against the Czech Chramosta who upset 2nd seed Nicholas Tourte of France in 3 sets.  Jamie said " I managed to rectify most of the mistakes I made in the final in Edinburgh and put together one of my finest performances to win 6-2, 6-2."

QF: J Baker [GB] [3]  bt A Kennaugh [GB] 6-3, 6-4
View: Jamie eased through a potentially tricky encounter against 18 year old Kennaugh who has been making solid progress through the rankings this year and beat Jamie Murray in the last round. He now faces top seed Mark Hilton in the semis. Hilton will be the big favourite for this match as he beat Baker comfortably in straight sets in the Edinburgh futures final just 5 days ago.

Rd2: J Baker [GB] [3] bt M Kasiri [GB] 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
View: Jamie survived a tough 3-setter against a determined if erratic Kasiri. At times in the match some of Kasiri's tennis was sublime especially in the 2nd set though he did benefit from a slight lapse in concentration from Jamie. Jamie was the more consistent of the two players and it paid off when he gained a decisive advantage in the 3rd set and held on to progress to the quarter-finals and a match with the on-form 18 year-old Andy Kennaugh.   

Fan's view before match: After the way Baker played in Edinburgh last week I'd be very suprised if Kasiri can beat him!

Rd1: J Baker [GB] [3] bt A Slabinsky [GB] 6-3, 7-6[8]
View: A good solid performance from Jamie to get the week of to a good start and continue his recent good progress. Slabinsky rarely threatened in the 1st set but Jamie relaxed in the 2nd and dropped his level. This nearly proved costly as Slabinsky started dominating and came within a whisker of taking this match to a deciding set. However, like his fellow Scot Andy Murray, Baker is made of stern stuff and relishes fighting his way through close matches. He had just too much for Slabinsky in the 2nd set tiebreak and set up an intriguing 2nd round match with fellow 19 year-old Miles Kasiri. Kasiri has bundles of natural talent but has been rather wayward and has not made the expected progress since he reached the Wimbledon junior final in 2004. Many fans feel this match could go either way but Baker is the slight favourite.     

Jamie's preview: After Edinburgh it was on to Bolton. Being ranked in the 300s and having reached the final the week before, these tournaments now have a slightly different feel. At the beginning of the year I was playing as a lower-ranked player and was, therefore, “the hunter”, whereas I am now one of the higher-ranked players and have, as a a result, become “the hunted”. I think it is important that this is recognised because I know I have to be fired up to play every single match. Most players are gunning for me  
                                                                                                                                               
Baker and Fleming realise the need to travel: Both murmur about needing to test their game elsewhere; thoughts, no doubt, influenced by Andy Murray's development at a Spanish tennis academy.

Fleming says: "It's accepted that playing on a variety of surfaces against a variety of players is best for your game. At a tournament like this, I've pretty much played or at least watched everyone in the draw. It's difficult to get better. One thing we saw with Andy is that you need to vary it up."