Pete Dickinson has continued his excellent run through the IRTPA Satellite draw, upsetting the second seed Vaughan Hamilton in emphatic fashion at Aiken on Sunday. Meanwhile, Josh Smith put in strong display against Josh Dodgson to set up an all-unseeded semi-final.
Backing up from his two hour battle in the preliminary round, Pete Dickinson was back on court for the morning session, facing off against Vaughan Hamilton. Hamilton started confidently, easily picking up the first two games. But Dickinson soon settled. His underarm twist serves were able to pin down Hamilton, generating a soft return which he was able to get on top of with a flying volley. Dickinson started to put some games on the board, getting past Hamilton in a couple of tight deuce games. Hamilton was clearly feeling the pressure of being the favourite, as his stiff shots often couldn’t find their targets, while Dickinson was playing with complete freedom. He won three straight games to secure the first set. The loss of the set weighed on Hamilton, who struggled to get his game going for the second. He couldn’t find any venom to his shots, as Dickinson was able to mop up whatever did come his way before sending a bullet out of nowhere towards a target. Dickinson held a comfortable lead throughout the second set, giving up only two games in the middle. His eventual victory overturned more than ten points of handicap difference, vaulting him into the semi-finals.
Next was a battle between Josh Dodgson and Josh Smith. The opening exchanges saw a lot of short points, ending in either a winner or an error in the first couple of strokes. Neither player wanted to get into long, gruelling rallies, taking the high-risk approach early. The initiative see-sawed both ways over the first four games, before finally tipping towards Dodgson as Smith racked up the errors. Dodgson won the final four games, winning the set with a behind-the-back flick.
The flow of the match flipped for the second set as though the memory of the first had been erased. Now it was Dodgson making wild swings and Smith the measured and composed play. Smith immediately pushed out a three-game lead without much resistance. Dodgson briefly recovered to win two of the next three games, but thereafter it was one-way traffic for Smith. His force and his volley excelled, going on an eight-game run to take both the second and third sets. His win was the second upset of the day, setting up an all-unseeded semi-final against Dickinson.
The evening session saw Ben Dickinson go up against Max Trueman. Trueman was relaxed throughout, demonstrating an efficiency in his swing that allowed him to control the ball no matter where he was on the court. His changes of pace were subtle yet effective, catching his opponents out on multiple occasions. Dickinson couldn’t muster any counter-play as he was suckered into Trueman’s casual façade. Dickinson took just the single game in the first set, but his play became more expansive in the second. He caught Trueman flat-footed in the first few games of the second set, as the Tuxedo professional gave up a series of unforced errors. The first few games were evenly exchanged before Trueman tidied up his act, zeroing in on his targets as he wrapped up the final few games quickly to ensure his progression.
The last of the Satellite quarter-finals was between Lewis Williams and Henry Henman. The pair were tightly matched over the first few games, but Williams was keen to show why he deserved to be in the world top 10. He tested Henman’s backhand time and time again, with the younger professional often coming out worse off from the longer rallies, making errors on his half-volley. Williams would also occasionally throw in a force down the forehand side, picking on Henman’s volley as it beat him for pace. Henman couldn’t quite turn the tables, hitting more penthouses whenever he tried to attack. Williams’s lead snowballed, running away with the first set. Williams didn’t slow down for the second set, hitting a no-look ‘tweener winner on the first point as he quickly pushed out a four-game lead. With the match seemingly out of his grasp, Henman started swinging for the fences, taking two back-to-back games. Williams stuck to his method, utilising the galleries well to close out the match.
Play continues on Monday evening with the two Satellite semi-finals followed by the final on Tuesday evening. The main draw of the IRTPA Players’ Championship begins on Wednesday.
Match results:
11:00 AM: Pete Dickinson def Vaughan Hamilton (2) 3/6 2/6
12:15 PM: Josh Dodgson (3) lost to Josh Smith 6/2 2/6 0/6
5:00 PM: Ben Dickinson lost to Max Trueman (4) 1/6 3/6
6:30 PM: Lewis Williams (1) def Henry Henman 6/1 6/2
Order of play for Monday (all times EDT):
5:30 PM: Max Trueman (4) vs Lewis Williams (1)
7:15 PM: Pete Dickinson vs Josh Smith