Fahey beats Chisholm in match for the ages at US Open first round
Chisholm comes within 5 points of a rare victory over Fahey; Riviere, Shenkman and Virgona progress easily
Robert Fahey and Tim Chisholm locked horns for a three hour epic in the first round of the US Open at the Westwood Country Club on Sunday, writing yet another chapter in a saga that spans across four different decades.
The first round matches continued with eighth seed Robert Shenkman battling against the Radley professional Nino Merola. Shenkman, fresh off his British Amateur victory, was positive and aggressive in his play, getting balls to cut into a good length into the back wall. Merola struggled to adapt to the court, unsure of the bounce off the penthouse or off the walls. Shenkman was clinical in his execution, hardly letting Merola into the rally. Merola put in a good shift in the second set, winning a few games but never seriously challenging Shenkman for the set.
It took nine games of the match for Merola to start firing, but he eventually found a good lenght of his forces. The steep and slippy Westwood penthouse saw Shenkman deviate from his regular serving routine, opting for side walls over his more usual railroads and underarm twists. The Merola forcing and driving blitz, though it earned him a few games, was not nearly consistent enough to really put scoreboard pressure on Shenkman. Merola’s best passage of play came at 5-2 down in the second set, winning two straight games before Shenkman shut it down. The British Amateur champion bagelled the final set, moving on to a quarter final against John Lumley.
Next on was Steve Virgona playing Lewis Williams. Virgona was happy to use the match to play himself into the court. Williams embraced his status as the underdog and threw himself at the ball. Virgona was primarily looking to backhand volley the return of serve, only turning inside of the ball when it was deeper or took an extra bounce of the penthouse. His forehands were looking as good as they have ever been, fully utilising the heavy cut off the back wall. Williams strung a few games together on the back of some target hitting, but was never a threat to Virgona’s progression.
It was always going to be a tall task for home court Westwood amateur Noah Motz to challenge World Champion Camden Riviere. Riviere was casual and relaxed, hitting his volleys so softly that they hardly made it back over the stroke line, even though the previous ball had been fired in hard by Motz. He cycled through his library of rarely seen serves, especially by a left hander at the top level. Motz was happy to engage in the exhibitionist nature of the match, throwing in some unconventional shots of his own. Ultimately, though, he was no match for the calibre of Riviere, as he could seemingly pick and choose which points he wanted to win as he comfortably moved to the next round.
The most anticipated match of the first round was between the veterans Robert Fahey and Tim Chisholm. The two stepped onto the singles court for the 23rd time since 1998, with a head to head record featuring three World Championship finals and five Open finals, though all were prior to 2006. However, they had only played once since 2017, as both have reduced their tournament play in recent years, with both players now well over 50 years old. Both were eager to show they could still hit world-class shots, even if their movement around the court is not what it once was. Fahey had a 4-2 lead in the first set, until Chisholm found his range on the openings, hitting classy finishes into all three. The American won four straight games to take the first set.
It took until the second game of the second set for Fahey to break Chisholm’s run, but it wouldn’t last. Chisholm was happy to rally with Fahey knowing he had the better finish to back him up. At 1-3 down in the set, Fahey started to find a better range with his forces, hitting back-to-back dedans and he worked his way back into the match. Chisholm put his warm-up jacket back on mid-set as the two returned to equality in their tug-of-war. By the time the set reached 5-all, each time Fahey hit a grille, Chisholm responded with a dedans. Fahey had a set point in the deciding game, but Chisholm’s forced his way back into the match. Chisholm then successfully defended a short chase to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Despite leading the match, Chisholm looked somewhat annoyed at the start of the third, re-removing his jacket and staring at the wall or members of the audience as he went about his business. Fahey was simply too strong throughout, and as soon as he had established a decent lead, both players went through the motions until Fahey took the set.
Chisholm used the end of the third set to play himself back in ready for the start of the fourth. The fourth set was very tactical, with both players digging into their reserves to try and find an advantage. Chisholm had the lead in the set, which Fahey clawed back. Chisholm had a couple of game points for a 5-3 lead in the set, but was denied by Fahey at full lunge across the center of the court. Instead, Fahey brought it back to 4-all as Chisholm was denied the point from a ball that rattled around the edges of the grille. Fahey now had the momentum again, his champion spirit spurring him on to level the match at 2 sets all.
Chisholm was intent on forcing at the start of the fifth set, as Fahey tried to slow-play the game. Chisholm was hurried, with his serve unable to contain Fahey’s dedan striking. His movement was also more restricted, with his calf looking like cramping and unable or unwilling to back-pedal from his forward serves to cut Fahey off from floating into the dedans. Fahey was ascendant, keen to make his presence felt on the court. He wrapped up the final set 6/0, just the second time that scoreline had been registered in a match between between the two in over a century of sets in their careers.
Play continues on Monday with the first round of the doubles draw. The singles draw will continue on Tuesday.
Match results:
10:00 am: Robert Shenkman (8) def Nino Merola 6/0 6/4 6/0
12:00 noon: Lewis Williams lost to Steve Virgona (6) 1/6 3/6 3/6
2:00 pm: Camden Riviere (1) def Noah Motz (Q) 6/1 6/0 6/1
4:00 pm: Tim Chisholm lost to Robert Fahey (5) 6/4 6/5 1/6 4/6 0/6
Order of play for Monday (all times EST):
10:00 am: Lewis Williams & Darren Long (6) vs Danny McBride & Bertie Vallat (Q)
12:00 noon: Barney Tanfield & Freddie Bristowe vs Max Trueman & Chase Motz (Q)
4:00 pm: Will Flynn & Oliver Pridmore vs Leon Smart & Josh Dodgson (5)
6:00 pm: Robert Shenkman & Louis Gordon vs John Woods-Casey & Vaughan Hamilton