Doubles day delivers quality at the British Open
High quality tennis thrills audiences in array of styles and matchups
The doubles draw at the 2024 British Open started with a bang as Wednesdays play saw unconventional pairings winning through in an excellent exhibition of doubles play. Robert Shenkman and Louis Gordon surivived a minor scare against James Medlow and Will Flynn, while Vaughan Hamilton and John Woods-Casey played a very exciting brand of doubles in their four set match against Claire Fahey and Henry Henman. Later, the new partnership of Adam Player and Freddie Bristowe gelled against a struggling Neil Mackenzie and Darren Long, while the unlikely pairing of Lewis Williams and Jonny Whitaker moped up Tony Hollins and Thomas Durack
James Medlow and Will Flynn were sluggish at the start of their match against the fifth seeds Robert Shenkman and Louis Gordon. It was a set defined by the fifth seed’s stronger serving and cohesive doubles play. Gordon in particular found an exceptional length of his bobble to Medlow, and made outstanding use of the side walls to find good angles against the young pair. Shenkman was reliably solid at the back of the court as they closed down the set in just 20 minutes.
Flynn opted to take Gordon’s serve in the second set and started with some punishing forces down the middle. Flynn also found some initiative from the back of the court at the service end, including winning a rally with three fantastic shots after he broke his racket on the serve. The set was much closer, with games exchanged throughout but Flynn and Medlow maintaining a small lead. Gordon’s force came good, which Flynn countered by switching out for Medlow as the gallery player playing some well-weighted volleys from the last gallery line in the center of the court. Flynn and Medlow’s had chances came at 4-all, where Flynn twice sunk easy balls into the net coming off a missed Gordon force. Shenkman and Gordon had set points at 5/4, but couldn’t convert after a long rally where Shenkman patrolled the tambour. Flynn and Medlow worked their way back into the set spending a lot of time at the servers end, themselves bringing up two set point at a last gallery chase. A brilliant cut-volley to beat last gallery, and a good railroad from Gordon saved both. Gordon increased the pace, hitting some big forces and strong volleys as they fought to the finish line, calling Shenkman off several balls for his best period of the match. Eventually they took the set on the eighth set point with a nick railroad from Gordon.
Flynn continued receiving from Gordon in the third set. The early stages saw some of the longest rallies of the match, as Shenkman seemed to disappear at times, with Gordon doing the bulk of the heavy lifting. Flynn took the game on, with some fast reflex volleys as the younger pair took an early 3/1 lead, continuing to dominate the service end. Shenkman and Gordon clawed their way back through consistency and grit. Towards the end of the set, Gordon hit some high power forces at the dedans, while Shenman floated a couple of slow dedans. On the second match point, Gordon hit his slowest dedans of the match to complete a deserved but difficult victory.
Qualifiers Claire Fahey and Henry Henman battled hard against French Open semi finalists John Woods-Casey and Vaughan Hamilton. Both pairs embraced the chaos theory, with dynamic movement around the court, taking on impressive shots from unusual positions. Over the course of the first two sets, Woods-Casey and Hamilton maintained the edge as Henman was slightly too ambitious with his shots at times, while Woods-Casey in particular mainted a calm composure throughout.
Come the third set, Fahey and Henman wrestled control, building on an early lead by mixing up their positioning, Fahey hitting some excellent balls into the corners and Henman picking the ball up behind him and placing it over the net as if it were on a string. The pair took the pace out of the game, both in and between the rallies. It did them well taking the set 6/4. Woods-Casey then dropped anchor, playing a solid role at the back of the court and let Hamilton express himself as they methodically worked their way through the fourth set, never giving their opponents a chance as they built a 5/1 lead. It would be too much for Henman and Fahey to chase down, despite stringing two games together, but the loss of the serve was fatal. Woods-Casey beat a better than 3 chase drawing an unforced error from Henman to win the match.
Freddie Bristowe partnered with his former Wellington school coach Adam Player to take on Darren Long and Neil Mackenzie. It was a match of heavy target hitting, with Player, Long and Bristowe all looking for openings at any opportunity. The first four games along featured three winning galleries. In the first set, Player was the weaker player in the partnership as he was targeted relentlessly by Long. However, he played his way into the match, his confidence growing through every volley. By the second set, Bristowe was dominant and Mackenzie a liability, clutching at his back and hampered in his movements. Player improved also, hitting main wall dedans to take the lead in the second set. Despite a double-double fault in the 5/2 game, Player and Bristowe comfortably won the set leveling up at 1-all.
Come the third set, Player’s play improved to the point where he was equalling Bristowe shot for shot. Bristowe’s trust in player also grew and let Player take more on. Long had moments of excellence in the set but was compensating for Mackenzie’s restricted movement and couldn’t do it all on his own. After losing the third, the fire had gone out of Long, with the final set lasting just 19 minutes as Player and Bristowe stormed into the quarter finals.
Jonny Whitaker got the call-up to partner Lewis Williams following the withdrawal of Levi Gale. They played Tony Hollins and Tom Durack, re-kindling a partnership seen twice before at the US Open in 2011 and 2018. Williams took control of the match early, expertly covering the back of the court and never looking under pressure. Whitaker held his own in the galleries with some excellent volleying, as they worked their way through the match. Hollins and Durack had moments of aggression, particularly on the Whitaker service games, but never enough to truly trouble Williams. It was ended a straightforward straight sets victory for Williams and Whitaker.
Match Results:
12:00 pm Will Flynn & James Medlow lost to Louis Gordon & Robert Shenkman 1/6 5/6 4/6
2:00 pm Vaughan Hamilton & John Woods-Casey def Claire Fahey & Henry Henman 6/2 6/2 4/6 6/3
4:00 pm Darren Long & Neil Mackenzie lost to Freddie Bristowe & Adam Player 6/3 2/6 4/6 1/6
6:00 pm Jonny Whitaker & Lewis Williams def Tony Hollins & Thomas Durack 6/2 6/3 6/1
Order of Play for Thursday:
12:00 pm Robert Shenkman (7) vs Nick Howell (2)
2:00 pm Nino Merola vs Ben Taylor-Matthews (3)
4:00 pm Robert Fahey (4) vs Leon Smart (6)
6:00 pm Camden Riviere (1) vs Steve Virgona (5)
Tickets are still available for the main draw matches here: https://tennis-rackets.eventize.co.uk/calendars/tennis
For full match listings see the Tennis and Rackets Association: https://www.tennisandrackets.com/real-tennis/tournaments-fixtures/british-open-singles-and-doubles-championships-2024#overview