Experience proves key for Dodgson and Smart in narrow win over Pridmore and Flynn at US Open
Hamilton flair rattles Shenkman and Gordon in losing cause
The main draw of the US Open doubles kicked off on Tuesday, with four first round matches and pairs seeking to win through to play one of the top four seeds in the quarter finals.
The tournament opened with a match between the sixth seeds, Lewis Williams and Darren Long, and the qualifiers, Bertie Vallat and Danny McBride. Vallat, fresh from his experience in the British Amateur final, was happy to cover the back of the court while McBride used his lawn tennis skills at the net. Williams and Long, meanwhile, predominately played receiver-up. It was the first time the sixth seeds had teamed up competitively, with both now working professionally at adjacent clubs in Warwickshire. Despite some good forcing from Vallat, the qualifiers could not match the shot quality of Williams and Long, and struggled to put them under any serious pressure. Instead, Williams and Long bided their time, waiting for the inevitable loose ball before striking a winner. Their progression to the next round against Ben Taylor-Matthews and Nino Merola was never in much doubt
Next, Freddie Bristowe and Barney Tanfield started their campaign, looking to replicate their successes from the 2024 US Open where they reached the semi final. Their first opponents were Max Trueman and Chase Motz, who had come the qualifying draw over the weekend. Tanfield and Bristowe were both on all out attack from the very first ball, striking dedans through the gap between Trueman and Motz. The long rallies that usually are a feature of doubles matches were not present, with the point ending one way or another each time Tanfield touched the ball. The rallies grew longer into the third set as Bristowe was ripping backhand boasted drives as though he were on a rackets court. Trueman could not muster a sufficient defence from the force to trouble Bristowe and Tanfield as they move on to play John Lumley and Steve Virgona.
Oliver Pridmore and Will Flynn were looking to improve on an otherwise disappointing US Open, having both lost in the first round of qualifying. In their way was the established pair of Josh Dodgson and Leon Smart, having partnered together at each US Open since 2021. The first set was closely fought over, with Dodgson and Smart holding a slight edge throughout. They were able to convert points into games more efficiently that Pridmore and Flynn, with Dodgson proving his effectiveness as a doubles player, moving up and down the gallery wall effectively. Dodgson and Smart won the set 6/2 — a scoreline that Pridmore and Flynn would consider unduly harsh.
Pridmore was dancing all over the court throughout the second set, gliding around with his fast feet, and getting into position well to play all manner of boasts, drives, forces and volleys. Flynn was more clinical in his execution of his shots, hitting less into the net and forcing more racket errors out of Dodgson and Smart. Both pairs were eager to show off their skills with plenty of between-the-legs shots or outlandish retrievals. The momentum moved decisively to Flynn and Pridmore, running away with the set and leaving Dodgson and Smart with plenty to think about going into the third.
Through the third set, Flynn was plucking volleys out of the air that made Dodgson and Smart’s forces look much lighter than they were. The young pair established a 3-0 lead in the set, before Dodgson and Smart started to extract some errors. Dodgson and Smart controlled their length better, and the momentum of the match turned on a dime. Dodgson and Smart picked up three quick games before Flynn and Pridmore could repair the cracks in their defences. The remainder of the set was tight, neither pair having much of an advantage as it crept towards its 5-all conclusion. The final game saw the highest intensity play of the day, with the players at full stretch trying to keep the ball alive. Flynn and Pridmore had three set points, but failed to convert each one, as Smart kept boasting the ball back off the main wall, as if it were a rackets match. Dodgson and Smart instead won the set on their first set point, as Flynn and Pridmore’s adrenaline resulted in them hitting the penthouse one time too many.
After a quick bathroom break for the players, they resumed for a fourth set that was swinging back and forth between the pairs, aided by long runs at the service end. Flynn and Pridmore first built a 2-0 lead, before Dodgson and Smart responded with three games in a row. Flynn and Pridmore snuck through the next three games, with Flynn finding several winning galleries and Dodgson charging the net several times only to drop to the floor to protect his personhood. Dodgson and Smart clawed their way back into the set, never giving Flynn and Pridmore a set point before the 5-all game. Two rare volley errors from Flynn gave Dodgson and Smart the early advantage in the deciding game. Flynn tried to hit a high back wall to beat a hazard chase, but Dodgson was there to cover it and bring up two set points. They only needed one, moving through to play Robert Fahey and Nick Howell in the quarter finals.
The last match of the day had Robert Shenkman and Louis Gordon playing Vaughan Hamilton & John Woods-Casey. Both partnerships are in the third Open together, having both come together at the 2024 French Open, and carried on through the 2024 British Open. However, they had not played against each other before their US Open match. Unlike the chaos of the previous match, the players opted for more traditional doubles play. The dominant feature was Gordon’s forcing play, with the rally often playing out subdued until it came near Gordon with enough space to get his racket behind it.
Hamilton and Woods-Casey were improved in the second set, keeping the ball well away from Gordon and engaging Shenkman in the rallies. They were able to keep Gordon a little more quiet through the second set, but when he did engage he made his impact felt. Shenkman and Gordon maintained their lead throughout the set and looked like the would cruise through the next.
The shot of the day came in the third set from Hamilton, successfully back wall boasting a ball that bounced off the bottom grille ledge and onto the tambour wall that left Gordon holding his racket in his teeth. Gordon threw in a candidate a few points later, a ripper volley when stood in the middle of the court while ducking under the net on a ball that Hamilton had sent express at the dedans. The extravagance seemed to knock Shenkman’s momentum out of the match, with Hamilton and Woods-Casey stretching out a 5-1 lead. Although Shenkman and Gordon did recover a couple of games, the scoreboard pressure was too great with Hamilton and Woods-Casey taking home the set 6/3.
Shenkman was determined not to let the fourth set run away from him, though Woods-Casey and Hamilton were equally as determined to stay in the match, keeping the set levelled at 2-2. Shenkman and Gordon put in a few long shifts at the service end to push through to win the set. They move on to a tough quarter final against World Champion Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm.
Play continues on Tuesday with the singles quarter finals, with all eight seeds having progressed safely through the first round.
Match results:
10:00 am: Lewis Williams & Darren Long (6) def Bertie Vallat & Danny McBride (Q) 6/2 6/2 6/2
12:00 noon: Freddie Bristowe & Barney Tanfield def Max Trueman & Chase Motz (Q) 6/2 6/2 6/1
4:00 pm: Will Flynn & Oliver Pridmore lost to Josh Dodgson & Leon Smart (5) 2/6 6/1 5/6 5/6
6:00 pm: Robert Shenkman & Louis Gordon Vaughan Hamilton & John Woods-Casey 6/2 6/4 3/6 6/2
Order of play for Tuesday (all times EST):
12:00 noon: Camden Riviere (1) vs Steve Virgona (6)
2:00 pm: Leon Smart (7) vs Ben Taylor-Matthews (4)
4:00 pm: Robert Shenkman (8) vs John Lumley (2)
6:00 pm: Nick Howell (3) vs Robert Fahey (5)