Aptos 75k challenger [outdoor hard]

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Rd1 preview: After nearly three weeks of inactivity on the tour, Jamie makes his eagerly awaited return on the hard courts at the Aptos Challenger. In round 1 Jamie comes up against qualifier Robert Yim from California. The 21 year old 'leftie' is currently 863 in the world and has a career high of 444 achieved in July 2004. Yim has recently been playing most of his tennis on the futures tour after a return to tennis after 10 months out. Notable recent results for Yim include a win in USA F11 on the clay in May.

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Rd1: J Baker [GB] bt R Yim [USA] 6-1, 7-5
Report: Jamie eased through to the 2nd round on Tuesday, disposing of local boy and qualifier Robert Yim 6-1, 7-5. What could easily have been a tricky match, proved to be a nice warm up match for the next round against Rajeev Ram, the world 248 and last years runner-up here.

Jamie's interview with the Aptos official website:
First, there’s the 2006 U.S. Open that is on Jamie Baker’s mind. The 19-year-old from Nottingham, England, also wouldn’t mind winning a few more rounds at the $75,000 Comerica Challenger so he could enjoy the Seascape Sports Club a bit longer. “It’s extra motivation to stay one or two more days,’’ Baker said. “I love this place.’’ Baker opened his U.S. tour with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Robert Yim on Tuesday. Baker will be playing in six American tournaments, including the U.S. Open qualifying tournament next month, if he can move up from his No. 289 world ranking. In order to play in the U.S. Open qualifying tournament, a player needs to be ranked about No. 240 in the world. That ranking is within Baker’s reach and could be accomplished as early as Sunday should he put together a string of victories this week. Once in the U.S. Open qualifying tournament, a player needs to win three matches in order to advance to the main draw.
Baker, who turns 20 next month, received a wildcard into the 2006 Wimbledon main draw. He dropped a tough four-set loss to Andreas Seppi in the first round, learning several lessons. “I’m trying to get fitter,’’ Baker said. “The first experience playing in Grand Slam takes a lot of energy out of you. I know I’ve got that kind of match in me.’’ In his quest for a berth in the U.S. Open qualifying tournament, Baker will continue his U.S. swing at Challenger tournaments in Lexington, Ky., and Vancouver. “I have a short space of time to do it,’’ Baker said. “I need to go out and get after the ball.’’ The 20th annual Comerica Challenger along the Pacific Ocean near Monterey has been a springboard for other talented players, including 2005 champ Andy Murray of Dunblane, Scotland. Murray entered the 2005 Comerica Challenger ranked No. 205 and has risen to No. 35 in the world. Baker’s second-round match will prove to be a measuring stick of how he can expect to fare on the Challenger circuit in the United States. His second-round match Thursday is against third-seeded Rajeev Ram, who lost to Murray in the Comerica final last year, 6-4, 6-3. Ram has received a wildcard into the U.S. Open the past two years.

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Rd2 preview: Ram, aged 22, from Colorado is a regular on the challenger tour and has previously come close to some big results - he lost in 5 very tight sets to Stan Wawrinka in the US Open last year , and to Ivo Karlovic in Sydney (shared 2 tie breaks before a solitary break in the 3rd). Last summer Ram lost here to Andy Murray in the final, but later eased past David Sherwood at Binghampton. All in all, a really tough match for Jamie, but one which he needs to rise to if he wants to compete regularly at this level.

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Rd2: J Baker [GB] lost to R Ram [USA][3] 3-6, 4-6
Report: Jamie's run at Aptos ended in round 2 with defeat to Rajeev Ram, the 3rd seed, 6-3, 6-4. Jamie had previously talked about his liking for the conditions and courts here but couldn't quite find the level of performance to beat the seeded, local player. Next Jamie moves on to the Lexington Challenger where he will find similar courts, and a similar standard of field. A great chance to find some results and jump up the world ranking list.

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Jamie's rd2 defeat to Ram was slightly disappointing, I thought it might be a 3 setter but Ram is at his best on these courts having reached the Aptos final last year. He's 6ft 4 with a big serve and his game is based around attacking the net, on his day his big reach and athletic volleying skills make him extremely difficult to pass and I guess that was the problem for Jamie.