Batstone and Eadle upset seeds to reach Category A Open semis
Fahey survives second set wobbles in victory over Yorston.
The quarter-finals of the Category A Open at Prested Hall has delivered four entertaining and unpredictable matches. Ned Batstone and Zak Eadle both have upset seeds to qualify for the semi-finals, while third seed, Claire Fahey, survived a second set scare to ensure her progression. Meanwhile first seed, Vaughan Hamilton, cemented his status as the overall favourite with a straight sets win over Adam Player.
The quarter-finals began with the home club favourite and first seed Vaughan Hamilton playing the upset winner from the first round, Adam Player. Player got off to a sluggish start, with the first few games failing to see a rally more than three shots and the first chase not being laid until deep in the second set. Player found it difficult to read the tambour, with Hamilton sliding balls past again and again underneath the grille. In contrast, Hamilton showed off his home court knowledge, reading the court well and predicting the various angles and bounces. He mixed up hyper-aggressive attacking balls with others of deft touch, with his best shots bouncing twice or more before reaching the back wall. It was flashy and entertaining, but brought enough unforced errors midway through the second set to keep Player interested. But Hamilton improved more and more as the match progressed, throwing more variety of shots into his repertoire, and hitting several aces with his high serve. Hamilton raced to the finish line to secure a comfortable straight-sets victory, progressing to the semi-finals for the first time in his career.
Another home crowd favourite, Claire Fahey played the second quarter-final against the amateur Benedict Yorston. Yorston’s approach was to try and pick off the galleries whenever offered, then cause enough chaos with his serve to tie Fahey up against the glass back wall. But Fahey’s control was superior and her shots were clean. She never gave Yorston the long, scrappy rallies that he relishes. She was able to find winners or hit short chases, nullifying the strengths of Yorston’s game. Fahey won the first set comfortably, conceding just ten points in the process.
Yorston started reading the court better into the second set, able to extend the rallies further and demonstrate his receiving prowess. Fahey’s game faltered, missing a number of cut-volleys and letting Yorston take command. He won the first two games of the set, serving well and getting the loose ball he wanted in response. Yorston led, 2/0, and then 4/2, but Fahey was able to bring it back each time, helped by her clutch dedans strikes. Yorston persisted, refusing to give Fahey a way out of the rally, winning the set on his third set point as Fahey fought desparately to stay alive.
Fahey often found herself stuck at the hazard end, her unwillingness to target the galleries trapping her in an unwinnable backhand exchange with the threat of the tambour or the glass back wall looming. In the third set, she conceded that short chases were no longer an option, acquiescing instead to taking hazard chases or galleries. Early in the set, Fahey struck three back-to-back grilles that lifted both her and the crowd’s spirits. It spurned her on to the finish line, holding off Yorston’s fightback to secure her place in the semi-finals to play Hamilton.
The bottom half of the draw saw a quarter-final between the two amateurs, Ned Batstone and the fourth seed, Will Flynn. Flynn set the tone from the first reste, slamming a ball into the dedans. Batstone had to swiftly muster a defence, which he turned into a rather effective counterattack. Controlling the service end was key, with Batstone struggling to read Flynn’s tight serves in order to execute his cut-volley. Meanwhile, from the hazard end, Flynn was prone to hitting the penthouse hard or the high part of the net with his aggressive play. In the end, Flynn’s low drives and deep cut-volleys generated enough chases for him to control the service end, leading from start to finish in the first set.
Batstone found some resistance at the start of the second set, winning the first two, long deuce games. However, Flynn’s ability to work Batstone around the court was dominant, patiently putting shots into difficult areas until an opportunity presented itself to hit a winner, often into the winning gallery. He fought back to equality, but then Batstone pushed ahead once more, keeping his serving tight and neutering Flynn’s big volley returns. Batstone’s targeting of the grille corner was relentless as he pushed through a tight 3-all game before running away with the set.
Into the final set, Flynn needed to make things happen, so he started targeting the opening relentlessly. Batstone, though, wouldn’t give an inch as the two continued to battle out game after game, point after point. The 2-all game alone saw six deuces, eventually won by Flynn. Batstone finally broke away after winning the 3-all game, his managing to keep his error count lower than Flynn’s. It took four attempts to win a match point, but Batstone was able to hold his nerve, progressing through to the semi-finals for the first time.
The last of the quarter-finals saw Bristol’s Zak Eadle play the second seed, Darren Long, from Moreton Morrell. Eadle had the advantage at the start of the match, moving around the court well and generally maintaining control of the play. After Eadle took the first three games, Long fired back, finding a better length on his shots and sending Eadle scrambling into the corners. Long took four straight games and looked to be charging ahead to win the set. Eadle had a chase off call go against him, but used it to fire up for the back half of the set. His shots had a new vigour, pressing on through the next few games. The 5/4 game was tense and nervy, with both players making tactical errors in their shot selection as they exchanged deuces. Eventually, Eadle got the job done, courtesy of a lucky ball on the net tape.
The second set was still tight, with neither player able to fully stamp their dominance on it. Excellent retrieval and hard-hitting strokemaking were punctuated by a tendancy overhit and give their opponent an easy ball off the back wall or penthouse. Both players took on the dedans and the grille on a regular occasion, even if other tactical options were available. Eadle’s execution of said shots was better, pushing out a 4/2 lead before Long slowly started to creep back into content. But after Long put a ball into last gallery to lose a better than 6 chase in the 4-all game, Eadle knew that victory was within his grasp. He pushed through the last game, winning through to his first career semi-final at the event.
The tournament concludes on Sunday with both semi-finals and the final to be played, separated by a doubles exhibition match.
Match results:
10:30 AM: Vaughan Hamilton (1) def Adam Player 6/2 6/1
12:00 PM: Benedict Yorston lost to Claire Fahey (3) 1/6 6/4 2/6
1:30 PM: Will Flynn (4) lost to Ned Batstone 6/3 3/6 3/6
3:00 PM: Zak Eadle def Darren Long (2) 6/4 6/4
Order of play for Sunday (all times BST):
10:00 AM: Vaughan Hamilton (1) vs Claire Fahey (3)
11:30 AM: Ned Batstone vs Zak Eadle
1:15 PM: Robert Shenkman & Sarah Vigrass vs Zack Smart & Archie Sprott (Exhibition)
3:00 PM: TBC vs TBC (Final)