Gale wins Category A Open in dramatic final against Williams
Comeback victory on home court puts competitors on notice after injury layoff.
Levi Gale has won the Category A Open Championships on his home court at Prested Hall on Saturday, after impressive performances against John Woods-Casey and Lewis Williams in the semi final and final respectively
The first semi-final saw battle between the home club head professional Levi Gale and the Melbourne professional John Woods-Casey. Gale leant into his home advantage, serving predominately railroads as he had done in his quarter final. Through the course of the match, Woods-Casey never looked comfortable reading the ball off the service penthouse. He came into the match looking to slap-volley the railroads, but sprayed the ball high into Gale’s forehand corner. Gale was able to punish the shot with a bullet at the grille. Gale, meanwhile, had more options on the return of serve, boasting his volleys to Woods-Casey’s backhand, tickling them down the line or throwing in a force. At every opportunity, Gale sought the galleries, either to set a chase or to defend one, hitting them almost every time.
The home pro raced through the first three games in a matter of minutes before Woods-Casey found any range in his response. His cut-volley came and went, but Gale’s railroad was tight and consistent, winning several of the key points in the first set to build an unassailable lead. Woods-Casey had a small opening at the start of the second, but Gale shut it down with some excellent retrieval, then capitalised on his opponent’s increasing frustration to win the last 5 games straight and lock in a home final.
The second semi-final saw former Prested professional Lewis Williams playing defending champion Nino Merola in a rematch of the previous year’s final. Williams still carried vocal support from the local crowd. The two started out playing rather defensively, with both players looking to keep their serves tight and restrict the play. But as the first set wore on, they each started to play more and more aggressively, with Williams looking for expansive forehands while Merola tried to attack Williams’s backhand corner. Williams took the first break, leading 4-1 and then 5-2 before Merola found a vein of form. Williams wouldn’t bring up his first set point until 5-4 with a pair of brutal forces which took his whole body to execute, before winning the set with a backhand winning gallery.
Williams carried the momentum into the second set, hitting his targets readily to win the first three games, before finding himself with a points for a 5-1 lead, playing a chase a yard worse than last gallery. Merola snuck a down-the-line forehand to sneak the ball into the last gallery, winning the chase and throwing a fist in the air in celebration. From there, Merola seemed to catch a second wind, shot by shot bringing himself back into contention and levelling up the set at 4-all through a number of close deuce games. Going into the deciding game, Williams was the one able to execute his shots marginally better, taking the set and booking his place in the final.
After a few hours break, the players returned for the final between their two home favourites Gale and Williams. The contest was incredibly tight, with both players giving it everything demonstrating their excellent retrieving and reflexes. Gale opted for his high serve over his railroad, breaking from his tactic all week. For the most part, it was aimed at restricted William’s force, making the rallies longer and allowing Gale to work the rally to his advantage. After Gale won the first two games, Williams responded with the next three, hitting his targets well and trying to apply as much pressure in the rallies as possible.
The remainder of the set swung each way until the players found themselves at 5-all. Gale brought up two set points on the back of a couple of Williams misreads, with the tension showing in his play. Williams then hit the back edge of the last gallery to set a worse than 4 chase, with Gale unable to get the ball to cut to beat it. Williams then brought it back to deuce with a full stretch back wall volley. From deuce, Williams brought up a set point of his own with a ball falling flush with the back wall under the grille — Gale could only stand and watch as he realised the ball was unplayable. Changing ends with a chase, Gale aced his next railroad, before setting his third set point with a high side wall serve that, in the marker’s opinion, tickled the penthouse on the way down. Williams remonstrated, but it was to no avail. Williams’s next shot trickled over the net cord for a long chase, Gale kicking away the ball in frustration. Back down the receivers end, Gale boasted the ball to Williams’s forehand, who could only spoon back a response onto the penthouse. It set Gale up for a straight force which he executed perfectly, winning the set to the delight of the crowd and letting out a scream of celebration.
Gale continued his run into the second set, executing his game plan perfectly. He took galleries at every opportunity, including hazard galleries when playing off chases. He found success by boasting any tricky serves into Williams’s backhand corner, then would go down the service end and retrieve anything Williams had to throw at him. He established a lead in the set and would not let it go. Gale won the championship in a long rally that deserved the title of the reste of the tournament, raising a fist in the air in celebration amid the cheers of the local crowd.
The win puts Gale’s name among a list of champions who went on to become solid better-than-scratch players, including Ben Taylor-Matthews, Bryn Sayers, Chris Chapman and Robert Shenkman, marking an important milestone in his playing career so soon after an extended break due to injury.
Match results:
10:00 (Semi Final): Levi Gale (1) def John Woods-Casey 6/2 6/1
11:30 (Semi Final): Lewis Williams (3) def Nino Merola (2) 6/4 6/5
15:00 (Final): Levi Gale (1) def Lewis Williams (3) 6/5 6/2
