Fahey wins Schochet Cup, 24 years after first title
Taylor-Matthews defeated in first tournament final on US soil
Almost a quarter of a century after first winning the US Professional Singles, Robert Fahey returned to Newport to win his ninth Schochet Cup with a straight sets victory over Ben Taylor-Matthews on Sunday. It marked the first final of the US Professional Singles since 2005 not to feature two American-based professionals.
Both players picked up where they left off in their respective semi-finals. Taylor-Matthews was looking to soak up the pressure with his clean hitting consistency; Fahey played ultra-aggressively, trying to keep the rallies short and reaching deep into his extensive library of shots to keep Taylor-Matthews on his toes. Fahey’s variation won the initial battle, earning himself the advantage in the first set. Taylor-Matthews switched to more aggressive play as well, looking more for the targets and short chases. While it did lift Taylor-Matthews into the set, Fahey’s lead was too large to overcome, with the former World Champion taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
Fahey carried on his brilliant performance into the second set, hitting his shots with his usual combination of power and precision that any observer of the game over the past three decades has grown to know. The scoreboard pressure was building on Taylor-Matthews as well, as Fahey won game after game. At 3-0 in the second set, he swiped his racket on the wall after missing a return of serve, fracturing the frame and requiring him to pick a new weapon from his collection. It didn’t change his fortune, with Fahey continuing the unbeatable run, taking the set without dropping a game.
Taylor-Matthews’s drought ended in the first game of the third set, by now adopting a much larger proportion of high risk-high reward shots. It was hard going for the British professional, giving away more but was able to earn enough to convert points into games despite the strategy proving to be an emotional rollercoaster. The set was therefore much more competitive, with the games going back and forth between the two. Fahey moved to a 5-4 lead, beating a chase better than 3 by mere millimeters, with Taylor-Matthews staring at the spot the ball had bounced wishing for it to have been called chase off. Taylor-Matthews leant on his cut-volley to bring it back to 5-all. Fahey brought up match point with a volley off the tambour tight on his chest that lobbed into the dedans, before pulling off a coup d’Orleans1 to win the tournament. The win marks the first tournament victory — excepting twice at the British Over 40’s Open — for Fahey since the 2022 Champions Trophy, the year he defended his World Championship for the final time. It was also the first final since his retirement at the British Open the same year. For Taylor-Matthews, it is his tenth loss in a major championship final, but his first at the US Professional singles.
“A huge congratulations to Ben [Taylor-Matthews], you played an unbelievable match yesterday to get here today, which makes me the luckiest man in the world so I’m sorry about that,” said Fahey, “[you had a] great tournament and hopefully with your move to the US that goes smoothly and you’ll have plenty more great tournaments to come.
“A special thank you also to the Schochet family,” he continued, “I heard from the cocktail party on Wednesday that their endowment has almost touched $1 million and this tournament is going to go forever because of that. Long may it continue, but probably not for me.”
Both Fahey and Taylor-Matthews will be back in action over the coming weeks at the half-handicap Moore Family Office Summer Challenge at the Oratory, where they enter as the top two seeds.
Match results:
11:00 AM: Ben Taylor-Matthews (3) lost to Rob Fahey (4) 2/6 0/6 5/6
A return struck against the high service wall such that it falls directly into the dedans, named after Philippe Égalité, the Duc d’Orleans who perfected the stroke.