Australia secures Clothier Cup with dominant doubles performance
Pridmore and Webster-Jones save set points but Aussies otherwise untroubled.
Australia has won the Clothier Cup against the USA at Seacourt on Thursday after winning all four doubles matches.
Australia held a 3-1 lead after the first day of the Clothier Cup, with four doubles matches to be played on the second. The first match on was the 1 and 2 doubles between Australia’s Oliver Pridmore and Nick Stenning against America’s Ben Dickinson and Spencer Yager. Pridmore maintained his unstoppable form, having not lost a match all week across all competitions. His approach was calm and methodical, ably assisted by Stenning at the galleries. Dickinson and Yager had to hit attacking shots every ball to try and get one past Pridmore, but the young Australian patiently soaked in all of the pressure. The American’s forcing did yield a couple of games, especially down the middle on Pridmore’s backhand, but never with enough consistency to trouble the Australians.
The Australians secured the Clothier Cup in the 3 and 4 doubles courtsey of Darcy Webster-Jones and Alex Rackham, playing the American duo of Tarquin Sotir and Dawson Chisholm. Rackham and Webster-Jones proved to be a very well balanced pairing, with Webster-Jones providing assured and stable defence and Rackham leaning into the aggressive shots looking for winners, including successfully playing a ball while lying flat on the floor. The Americans were only able to make progress while at the service end, but they failed to lay a chase during the entire first set. By the end of the second set, the Australians were getting their railroads to kick back nicely, but took a while to find the final finish for a much celebrated victory.
The last two matches were dead rubbers, but still played out in any case. In the first dead rubber, Australia’s Pridmore and Webster-Jones took on America’s Dickinson and Sotir. The first set was closer than anticipated, as the American pair looked to force between the two Australians. Webster-Jones was stuck in no-man’s-land, unwilling to drop back and help Pridmore with the defence of the dedans but unable to impose himself at the net, leaving Pridmore to have to carry the partnership. Dickinson and Sotir’s power hitting proved effective to lead most of the set, despite a rare, second-serve foot fault from Sotir. The Americans found themselves with two set points in the deciding game, before Pridmore stepped up to another level as he had done several times over the course of the week. Pridmore put in some clutch retrieval from the tambour to save both before securing the set at the first opportunity. The second set was more straightforward for the Australians, with Webster-Jone settling better into his role and with Pridmore at his belligerent best.
The Australians substituted in their reserve, Sammy Legg, for the final match of the event, partnering Stenning against the American pair of Yager and Chisholm. The Australians made easy work of their opponents, working synergistically to pile on the points. The Australians made it especially difficult for their opponents when at the service end, with Stenning covering the back well and Legg interjecting from the net to keep the ball in play, even if it didn’t produce outright winners. Yager and Chisholm were unable to penetrate through Stenning’s coverage at the back of the court, as the Australians put the icing on their victorious cake.
The final match of the youth team tournaments — the Van Alen Trophy — between Great Britain and the United States begins on Friday with four singles matches.
The previous edition of this bulletin incorrectly stated that the Australians had not previously won a youth team cup — it should have said that they have not won a youth team cup since the introduction of the triangular format.
Match results:
Clothier Cup — USA lost to Australia 1-7
10:00 AM (1 & 2 doubles): Ben Dickinson & Spencer Yager (USA) lost to Oliver Pridmore & Nick Stenning (AUS) 3/6 2/6
11:30 AM (3 & 4 doubles): Tarquin Sotir & Dawson Chisholm (USA) lost to Darcy Webster-Jones & Alex Rackham (AUS) 2/6 3/6
1:00 PM (1 & 3 doubles): Ben Dickinson & Tarquin Sotir (USA) lost to Oliver Pridmore & Darcy Webster-Jones (AUS) 5/6 2/6
2:30 PM (2 & 4 doubles): Spencer Yager & Dawson Chisholm (USA) lost to Nick Stenning & Sammy Legg (AUS) 1/6 3/6
Order of play for Friday (all times BST):
Van Alen Trophy (GB vs USA)
10:00 AM (4th Singles): Ned Batstone (GB) vs Dawson Chisholm (USA)
11:30 AM (3rd Singles): Will Flynn (GB) vs Tarquin Sotir (USA)
1:00 PM (2nd Singles): Benedict Yorston (GB) vs Spencer Yager (USA)
2:30 PM (1st Singles): Bertie Vallat (GB) vs Ben Dickinson (USA)
All matches:
7-8 July: Limb Trophy (GB def Australia 5-3)
9-10 July: Clothier Cup (USA lost to Australia 1-7)
11-12 July: Van Alen Trophy (GB vs USA)