Being outbid for Eliminators a "disappointment," says Taylor-Matthews
World number 4 "hopeful" for maiden Open victory at Australian Open
Ben Taylor-Matthews has labelled being outbid by Nick Howell for the World Championship as a “disappointment” during his pre-tournament interview for the Australian Open on Saturday, though he remained optimisic about about a positive result in Aiken.
“I mean definitely a disappointment because uh we threw in a bid which we thought would be very competitive, which it did turn out to be.” said Taylor-Matthews, “Nick utilized the clause that he has as the higher ranked player. But it's a kind of win-win situation really as the lower rank guy because if he had chosen not to rebid then I get to play at home which is great and then having a match taken away and being forced to play away just means the purse is a bit bigger.”
“It is a disappointment as we would have liked to have done it. The UK has been absent from the World Championship scene for a while. So we definitely wanted to be competitive and try and get that match on home soil - but not to be.”
He also reflected on his draw being changed by Howell’s withdrawal from the Australian Open draw, bumping him from third to second seed. “It's an interesting one because purely on paper looking at handicaps my first round has become a lot tougher now, with the caveat that on paper if I were to make it through to the quarter-finals that is an an easier opponent than it would have been. I practiced with both Lewis [Williams] and Claire [Fahey] who I would be due to play if I can get through my first round match so I probably wouldn't have done that if I had known that was my draw. But the plan is always to try and make them worry about me and not the other way around,” he said.
Taylor-Matthews also reminiced on his previous experience playing with Rob Fahey, who he is teaming up with at the Australian Open this year. “The first time was horrible, through no fault of Rob’s. I thought it would be really fun and then I got out there and I was like a deer in headlights. It was tough - also in Australia but I'm really looking forward to it. It's not very often you get to say you've played with played with a GOAT so I will enjoy it.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Williams hinted at how his game has improved since the 2022 British Open, the last time he draw against his Australian Open first round opponent Claire Fahey. “[Since] Claire and I played last time at the British Open [in 2022] that been quite a while back I’ve probably lost a decent amount of weight, so hopefully I’m a little bit bit better around the court - as in speed-wise and mobility-wise. I’m probably a little bit stronger as well, so those things hopefully bode well,” said Williams, “I’ve been practicing a lot and getting a bit more consistent and I think in general just trying to develop my floor game to be that a little bit better because against someone like Claire if there's too many weaknesses she'll find you out.”
Local prodigy Oliver Pridmore is returning to international competition after a year out starting his university degree. In his interview, he commented on the advantages of playing on his home court. “It's a bit of fun watching people who I know come along [to Hobart] and struggle and dislike the court in their first hit,” said Pridmore, “I've always liked it and so it's always it's always entertaining to see that. I feel I know the court better than most people.” He also hinted at his desire to be in the contest against the top seeds. “I was quite looking forward to playing Chris [Chapman] because I've never actually I've played him. I was looking forward to having crack at him on my home court but I can't really complain about I guess drawing a qualifier.”
Will Flynn, making his Australian Open debut, explained how he was motivating himself from his first round British Open exit. “Zak's just one of those people that I’ve got a bit of a problem beating at the moment,” said Flynn, “I've just moved on and it’s given me lots to practice. The preperation [for the Australian Open] has been good. I’m the fittest I've been, I’ve been on court loads and making a lot of time for solo practice as well - that's a huge huge part of it.”
Pre-tournament interviews continue through practice on Sunday. Main draw matches begin on Monday. Full details on the draw and ticketing information is available through the Hobart Real Tennis Club website. All matches will be streamed live on YouTube.