Dodgson survives R&T face-off to reach IRTPA Satellite semi-final
Trueman late surge wins through Williams
Josh Dodgson has scraped through a final-game finish against his New York Racquet & Tennis Club colleague Pete Dickinson in the quarter-final of the IRTPA Satellite in Aiken on Sunday, earning a match-up against Max Trueman, who registered a well-deserved victory over Lewis Williams. Meanwhile, Bryn Sayers is set to face off against Vaughan Hamilton, with both having both won their respective quarter-finals.
Fresh off his win in the first round, Tony Hollins took to the court against the World Number 9 — and first seed in the event — Bryn Sayers. Hollins was not put off by Sayers’s higher ranking, taking on the game from the start. Sayers’s return of serve was failing to put Hollins under pressure, floating the ball off the main wall and giving Hollins a shot at the tambour — a target that was proving difficult to read at Aiken. Hollins raced through the first set, barely giving Sayers a look-in as the Queen’s Club professional won just the one game.
The second set was a complete reversal of the first. Sayers’s world-class ability shone through, as he started to extract more and more errors from Hollins. His nagging line and length shots were more than enough to put pressure on his opponent. Hollins tried hitting his way out of trouble, but Sayers’s retrieval was getting more and more solid. By the third set, Sayers’s cut-volley was swinging nicely into the corners, with Hollins struggling to find an effective serve to counter. After having won the first set, Hollins won just one more game as Sayers secured his progression into the semi-finals.
As was the case in the first round, Josh Smith followed his Newport colleague on court, this time to face Vaughan Hamilton. It was a match of two flamboyant styles, with Hamilton’s flair and extravagant shot-making trading off against Smith’s late-reaction volleys and squash pedigree. Hamilton was the better of the early exchanges, going up 5/1 before stalling out, with Smith slowly mounting a comeback, winning the next three games before Hamilton could close out the set. The second set also started close, but soon enough, Hamilton broke through once again. Ascendant, he was able to win through the games he needed to take the victory. Nevertheless the Aiken contingent were thrilled by the spectacle, the highlight being a floor-boasted winning gallery from Hamilton in the final game.
A break of a few hours preceded the evening session, with a decent crowd turning out to see the two New York Racquet & Tennis Club pros in the draw do battle. Josh Dodgson was the strong favorite on paper, with a 12 point handicap lead over his colleague Pete Dickinson. However, given how well they knew each other’s games the match was always destined to be closer. Dickinson was playing with nothing to lose, opting for a high court position to cut off as many balls as possible, and opting to thick boast where possible. Hitting with a heavy ball, he had Dodgson immediately on the defensive as he built a 4/1 lead. However, Dodgson used his experience to absorb the attack, as Dickinson’s error rate climbed. Dodgson won the next seven games and it seemed as though he would carry it through for the rest of the match.
But Dickinson would not go quietly. He reined in his error rate and hauled in Dodgson’s two game advantage in the second set. His high-risk, high-reward play style started showing dividends as he once again put Dodgson on the back foot, unable to get an advantage in the rallies. Dickinson sent the set to a 5-all decider, though was at the receiving end throughout. He alternated between an excellent return of serve and a poor one, sending the game to deuce before ultimately winning the set with a tricky backhand that Dodgson put in the net.
The third set progressed like the second, with Dodgson once again taking an early lead and looking as though he could finish proceedings quickly. A long deuce game at 3/1 down seemed to be Dickinson’s last chance to stay in the match, but it fell instead to Dodgson, stamping his authority with balls onto the tambour. But Dickinson would still not give in. He lifted his retrieving game again, unwilling to give in to Dodgson’s attacks. He worked his way back into the set, winning the next three games to take the score to 4-all. Dodgson won the next game with a winning gallery, turning to the crowd in the dedans and throwing a fist pump. Dickinson’s forcing pulled back the next game, hitting three dedans to send the match into a final game decider. Dodgson spent the next three restes targeting the grille at every opportunity, and Dickinson’s defenses finally failed. Dodgson took the match as Dickinson sent the final ball into the middle of the net. Relieved, he turned to the crowd once more to throw another fist-pump, through to the semi-finals.
The final match of the round was between Max Trueman and Lewis Williams, the former having drawn a bye to progress straight to the semi finals despite not being seeded. Though the first few games were evenly shared, it would be Trueman who first established control of the match. His play was deliberate and disciplined, serving wide bobbles to exploit Williams’s preference to play off the back wall. He kept his shots short and tight, refusing to give Williams much to work with off the back wall. Williams didn’t recover from dropping a couple of games well, throwing in an ill-fated ‘tweener attempt when 3/5 down in the first set that gave Trueman all he needed to finish off the set.
The second set began much better for Williams, winning the first three straight games as he benefited from some much-needed time at the service end. The Aiken crowd had clearly picked a side as well, urging Williams on at every point. But at the hazard end, Trueman’s bobbles still caused issues, as Williams could not get any pace or bite on his volleys. The two had an epic deuce battle in the sixth game, falling the way of Trueman after Williams finally misread a ball off the tambour. Despite Trueman then moving to a 4/3 lead, Williams kept chipping away, with his serve tightening up and with his strokes becoming more accurate. He won the next three games to wrap up the set.
Trueman was determined to prevent Williams get a foothold in the match, immediately opening a two game lead at the start of the third set. Williams was looking strong to even up the match when returning to the service end at 2/3 down, 30-0 up with a worse than four chase to defend. Trueman’s attempted main wall missed, but Williams left the ball only for it to narrowly beat the chase. Trueman needed no further encouragement, from then on he seized control of the match, using his retrieving skill to turn the screws on Williams. Though Williams saved three match points at 2/5 down, Trueman sealed the deal in the following game, registering the first on-paper upset of the tournament.
All of the day’s winners and losers still have something to play for in Aiken, as each will play off against one of the top 8 seeds in the first round of the IRTPA Player’s Championships beginning on Wednesday. Before then, Monday evening sees the semi final of the IRTPA Satellite and, as Dodgson showed at the US Professional Singles earlier in the year, going far in the Satellite can bode well for one’s chances in the main draw.
Match results:
10:30 AM: Bryn Sayers (1) def Tony Hollins 1/6 6/0 6/1
12:00 PM: Josh Smith lost to Vaughan Hamilton (4) 4/6 2/6
4:30 PM: Josh Dodgson (3) def Pete Dickinson 6/4 5/6 6/5
6:00 PM: Max Trueman def Lewis Williams (2) 6/3 4/6 6/3
Order of play for Monday (all times EDT):
5:00 PM: Bryn Sayers (1) vs Vaughan Hamilton (4)
6:30 PM: Josh Dodgson (3) vs Max Trueman