Gale and Williams battle past Woods-Casey and Hudson in five sets at Australian Open quarter-final
Remaining seeds safely through to doubles semi-finals
Levi Gale and Lewis Williams have pulled off a hard-earned come-from-behind five-set victory over local favourites John Woods-Casey and Ben Hudson on Friday to book their place in the Australian Open doubles semi-finals. Meanwhile the remaining seeds have all progressed in straight sets as the doubles draw kicked off at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club.
The doubles main draw began with a match between the defending champions and second seeds Camden Riviere and Chris Chapman against the qualifiers Claire Fahey and Alex Marino-Hume. Riviere was in full exhibitionist mode, dancing around the court with ease and pulling off shots that nobody else would dare attempt. Fahey and Marino-Hume were trying as hard as they could to stay alive in the rallies, but they and Chapman could do little more than watch on as the Riviere show played out in front of them. But even then, the most unbelievable shot of the match came from the racket of Fahey: when lining up to return serve she slammed the ball into the stroke line for the ball to fly over the net and into the dedans. Laughter ensued, with Fahey putting her head in her hands in amusement. The whole match was fairly light-hearted, with Riviere and Chapman breezing through to the semi-finals.
The second match was a more serious affair, with first seeds Nick Howell and Steve Virgona playing the unseeded but dangerous Kieran Booth and Oliver Pridmore. Even so, Virgona and Howell were giving nothing away, with Virgona killing the ball with severe cut and pace to beat Booth and Pridmore. Unusually, Booth was outpaced and unable to play his typical dominating style in the rallies. Howell was more than happy to play the rock-solid supporting role as Virgona played outstandingly. The first set was over almost as soon as it began, prompting Booth and Pridmore to switch receivers for the second, putting Pridmore on Howell’s serve. It didn’t immediately pay off, only gaining one game by the end of the second set.
Into the third and Pridmore’s game lifted, moving more freely around the court while Virgona and Howell came off the boil. Booth rose with Pridmore, winding up his power game as they took the first three games of the set. Virgona and Howell pulled back to 3-all, and then to 5-all with the set turning into a tough battle for control of the long rallies. Pridmore and Booth took the lead in the deciding game with excellent defense of winner after winner until Pridmore finally found a dedans down the middle. Virgona and Howell defended three set points by the barest of margins with the ball threatening the net tape and a flush back wall. On Howell and Virgona’s first match point, attacking hazard second, the rally of the match ensued, with the ball barely staying in court and Booth refusing to smack the ball as he had done all match. Eventually, Booth could carry on no more, sending the ball looping out of court and Howell and Virgona into the semi-finals.
The next match was between the Melbourne pro-am duo of John Woods-Casey and Ben Hudson and the British pros and third seeds Lewis Williams and Levi Gale. Hudson and Woods-Casey took a little while to warm into the match, but they were very impressive when in full flow. Hudson was maintaining a very high court position, plucking out volleys with ease. Despite Williams and Gale holding an early lead in the set, Woods-Casey and Hudson came home hard, losing a set point in the 5/4 game before securing the set in the deciding game with a shank off Hudson’s frame.
Gale and Williams switched receivers at the start of the second set to put Williams on the Woods-Casey serve. Slowly, they were able to build the advantage in the match, with both players contributing well to the partnership, moving in sync and hitting their targets well. Hudson, meanwhile, went absent at the galleries, and Woods-Casey wasn’t able to compensate. Gale and Williams snowballed on the scoreboard for the second half of the set, levelling up the match.
Hudson kicked back into gear early in the third set, playing a series of winning volleys while almost stood in the ball trough. Through the set they were unstoppable from the service end, with Woods-Casey finding it much easier to absorb pressure with the attacking play of Hudson fully firing. Gale and Williams couldn’t find much in response, either to win points at the hazard end or to gain the service end, as they watched the set sail by winning just one game.
Gale and Williams put Gale back on the Woods-Casey serve for the fourth set. Gale was determined not to let the match slip away, putting in a determined effort to chase every ball down. They kept the ball off the Hudson volley, instead, aiming for balls deep onto the grille back wall and cutting down, challenging their wall play rather than their volleying. They worked hard to earn a 5/2 lead in the set, but Hudson and Woods-Casey refused to give in. They recovered back to 5/4 before Gale and Williams could find a set point to win.
For the fifth set, Woods-Casey and Hudson had choice of retrievers for the first time, with Woods-Casey retaining himself on the Gale serve. Gale and Woods-Casey engaged in epic battles up and down the main wall, with both players exhibiting their excellent retrieving. Gale’s refusal to accept the rally was over was the key difference, muscling the ball back over the net each time while making very few errors. Williams and Gale slowly edged ahead on the scoreboard, with Woods-Casey and Hudson unable to convert chances into points and points into games. Gale finished the match with a blasted force at the dedans to beat a worse than a yard chase, finishing off a three-hour match in style.
The first women’s doubles quarter-final brought a refreshing change of pace. Of the four players on court, three had won Australian Open singles and doubles titles with seventeen Australian Open titles between them. Former World Champion Penny Lumley partnered with Jo See Tan against the mother-daughter combination of Prue & Julia McCahey. Tan and Lumley opened the match with a grille each, before setting up camp at the service end and refusing to let it go. When the McCaheys did get the serve, their most productive shot was Julia McCahey pinning down Tan with her high serve. But it didn’t last long, as Tan and Lumley were quickly able to get a short chase and get back to business at the service end.
The McCaheys finally got a decent run at the service end at the start of the second set, using their time there to pick up three games. Prue McCahey was able to catch Lumley out a couple of times with her demi-piques, and then stepped forward into the middle of the court and volleyed well. Tan and Lumley had to focus hard on putting every ball back into play and patiently await the error. Once they settled, their progress through the rest of the match was relatively straightforward, winning the last five games to book their spot in the semis.
The second of the women’s doubles quarter-finals saw world number 2 Lea Van Der Zwalmen partnering junior World Champion Katherine Carney. They were opposed by Rachel Hollington and local favourite Emma Clyde. Clyde and Hollington took the first game with Clyde beating a better than a yard chase with a main wall dedans. They benefited from some nervous play by Carney, snatching at her volley rather than allowing the ball onto her strings, while Hollington’s volleying was well above her standard. Van Der Zwalmen very quickly had to assert herself into the match in order to regain control. Once she did, Carney settled down and started to show off some class shots of her own. They won the next nine games before Hollington and Clyde could get their second. The second seeds grew stronger as a pair as the match went on, with their progression to the semis inevitable.
The last match of the day was the final open doubles quarter-final between the Melbourne amateurs Michael Williams and Chris Sievers and the British pros Henry Henman and Nino Merola. Merola and Henman teed off from the get-go, looking to force at every opportunity and were largely uninterested in playing out long rallies. The strategy did leak a few games in the first set as Williams in particular was keen to repost with forces of his own. Merola and Henman took the first set dropping three games.
Merola and Henman had less success at the start of the third set, as Henman overextended while Williams was solid defensively. Sievers held his own at the galleries, including playing a volley from inside the marker’s box from a high back wall shot. Henman and Merola had to recover from behind, but Henman stepped up to get the job done, showing off his amazing touch, fast feet and quick hands to pick off what were otherwise certain winners. They completed a come-from-behind win to take a two-set lead. Henman and Merola continued their strong play into the third set, even if Sievers was pulling off enough deft touch volleys to keep things at least interesting. But it wouldn’t be enough to trigger a full fight-back as Henman and Merola sealed the set.
Play continues on Saturday with the four singles semi-finals. The doubles draws will continue on Sunday with four further semi-finals.
Match results:
11:00 AM: Claire Fahey & Alex Marino-Hume (Q) lost to Camden Riviere & Chris Chapman (2) 1/6 1/6 0/6
12:30 PM: Nick Howell & Steve Virgona (1) def Kieran Booth & Oliver Pridmore 6/0 6/1 6/5
2:00 PM: Lewis Williams & Levi Gale (3) def John Woods-Casey & Ben Hudson 5/6 6/2 1/6 6/4 6/3
5:30 PM: Julia McCahey & Prue McCahey lost to Jo See Tan & Penny Lumley (4) 1/6 3/6
6:30 PM: Emma Clyde & Rachel Hollington lost to Lea Van Der Zwalmen & Katherine Carney (2) 1/6 1/6
7:30 PM: Michael Williams & Chris Sievers lost to Nino Merola & Henry Henman (4) 3/6 4/6 2/6
Order of play for Saturday (all times AEDT):
12:00 PM: Tara Lumley (3) vs Lea Van Der Zwalmen (2)
Followed by (approx 1:00 PM): Camden Riviere (1) vs Lewis Williams (4)
Not before 2:30 PM: Claire Fahey (1) vs Saskia Bollerman (4)
Followed by (approx 3:30 PM): Steve Virgona (3) vs Nino Merola (7)