Gordon edges past Trueman to keep US Open qualifying hopes alive
Bristowe and Hollins cruise into second round of matches
The first round of singles qualifying for the US Open was completed on Thursday at the Westwood Country Club in Virginia, while the final doubles qualifiers saw Max Trueman and Chase Motz progressing to the main draw. Four Seacourt alumni take to the court over the course of the matches, with the highlight being the derby between Louis Gordon and Max Trueman.
The first match of the day was between the two American-based professionals — Tony Hollins and Pete Dickinson. It was just the second time they had faced off, following a three-set derby at the 2023 Below Zero in New York. This time it was not as close an affair, as Hollins was able to pin Dickinson down with his underarm twists. Dickinson’s returns were loose, either thumping into the net or giving an easy ball to Hollins onto the penthouses. Hollins was happy to place the ball into the corners and wait for the error to come from Dickinson.
“It definitely helped I came down a few days early to get used to the court,” said Hollins, “Everything is super, super fast. I went in with a game plan and stuck to it. I’m excited for another good match [tomorrow against John Woods-Casey].”
The next match was a highly anticipated affair between two more Seacourt alumni in the form of Louis Gordon and Max Trueman. All four of their previous meetings had gone the full three sets—twice at the Seacourt Silver Racquet and twice on the Tambour Tour. It would be Trueman’s first match against international opposition since he moved to Tuxedo nearly a year ago.
The small aperture of the openings on the Westwood court prevented Gordon from playing his usual forcing style, instead having to play into Trueman’s corners and moving quickly into the corners himself. The first six games were evenly contested, with Gordon happy to play Trueman in the floor game until eventually drawing an unforced error from his younger opponent. At 3-all, Trueman found his length on the cut-volley, laying some short chases and beating the those set by Gordon. He won the next 5 games straight, taking the set along the way on the back of some faultless play.
At 0-2 down in the second set, Gordon started playing his shots more, rolling in several dedans, both down the middle and off the main wall. He brought back the deficit before the players engaged in a lengthy battle for the fifth and sixth games. It saw several changes of ends through the numerous deuces, until Gordon’s defensive volley came good, edging through both games. Gordon was playing with more and more confidence, including hitting a rare floor-boasted winning gallery. He won the set with a drop shot to defend a second gallery chase followed by a missed force into the net from Trueman.
The third set was tight. Gordon tested Trueman’s backhand by playing with heavy cut into his corner, while Trueman responded with a display of clean, well-weighted shots. Trueman probably felt he had the better of the play, but couldn’t convert it to a scoreboard advantage, as Gordon kept getting the ball back with shots around his ankles, including a classy, nonchalant winning gallery. Neither player had a lead of more than a game throughout the set, with the match going to a deciding game at 5-all. In that game, Gordon lifted the pace of his shots an extra notch, using the tambour effectively to build a 40-0 lead. Despite completely whiffing his swing on his first match point, Gordon finished it the most Petworth way possible, striking the ball into the dedans off the main wall.
Running nearly an hour behind schedule, Freddie Bristowe took to the court against Will Flynn. The two had played seven times before, mostly in various age-group competitions, with Bristowe coming out on top each time. Flynn cycled through a number of different shots and tactics through the first part of the match, trying to find a hole in Bristowe’s defences. In the meantime, Bristowe raced ahead on the scoreboard, cementing a 4-1 lead. Flynn eventually found an exploit, hitting the ball at Bristowe’s backhand volley and drawing the errors or loose shots in response. Combined with his solid volley, Flynn played himself back into the set, working his way back to 4-all. The last shots to get there involved several adventures up the court to the net, followed by a rapid retreat back to the back of the court after Bristowe returned what looked to be a winner. The adrenaline took a toll on Flynn, as Bristowe regrouped to push on through the last two games.
Flynn battled hard through the start of the second set, keeping pace with Bristowe for the first four games. However, he struggled to maintain the service end, meaning Bristowe was able to milk points out of the severe Westwood tambour. Flynn’s quick-footed side-stepping across the back of the court could only do so much, with any ball running off the main wall first a certain winner to Bristowe. Although Flynn hit several dedans to beat short chases, his radar was too high during open play, allowing Bristowe to attack easily. Bristowe will now move on to play Gordon in Friday’s qualifier.
The fourth match was scheduled to be between Vaughan Hamilton and Henry Smith, however Smith pulled out of the match due to a pre-existing injury. Hamilton therefore moves on to face Oliver Pridmore, himself having received a bye in the first round.
Instead, the day finished with the last of the doubles qualifiers with Max Trueman and Chase Motz vying for a spot in the main draw against Erik Barker and Noah Motz. Barker and Noah Motz are a well established pair, with a partnership lasting over eight years through club, age-group and national tournaments, whereas Trueman and Chase Motz played for the first time together the previous day. As such, Barker and Noah Motz were synergistic, complementing each other’s play and maintaining a positional balance on the court. Meanwhile, Trueman sent Chase Motz up to the galleries to try and volley what he could, while Trueman stayed behind to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.
The straight force became a feature of the first set, with both pairs looking to split their opponents down the middle. Although Trueman and Chase Motz had a couple of good runs in the first set, Barker and Noah Motz were in control throughout, being able to pick off Chase Motz to build up a good tally on the scoreboard. They built an initial 3-1 lead, which was brought back, but were able to take the set 6/3.
Chase Motz’s volley improved at the start of the second set, hitting some good grilles and floor winners past his cousin. Coupled with Trueman’s consistency at the back of the court, they took the momentum in the match, with Trueman serving piques to pick out Barker over Noah Motz. They quickly created a buffer in the set, piling on the scoreboard pressure as the set ran away from the established pair.
Barker and Noah Motz conceded the last point of the set to secure the receiving end, and the right to switch receivers going into the final set, with Barker now explicitly taking Trueman’s serve. The change did not immediately pay dividends, as the momentum stayed with Trueman and Chase Motz winning the first two games of the set. It took some good forcing from Noah Motz to bring them back from the brink, but only just. Trueman played with pin-point accuracy backed up by Chase Motz’s now well-tuned volley. Barker played some desperado retrieval behind the tambour but it was to no avail. Trueman and Chase Motz marched on to victory and a place in the main draw, to play Freddie Bristowe and Barney Tanfield.
Play will continue on Friday with the remaining singles qualifying matches. Matches will begin at the earlier time of 8:30 am as the second round match winners will be required to play twice in a day.
Match results:
11:00 am: Pete Dickinson lost to Tony Hollins 0/6 1/6
12:15 pm: Louis Gordon def Max Trueman 3/6 6/3 6/5
1:45 pm: Will Flynn lost to Freddie Bristowe 4/6 3/6
3:15 pm: Vaughan Hamilton def Henry Smith w/o
4:45 pm: Erik Barker & Noah Motz lost to Max Trueman & Chase Motz 6/3 1/6 3/6
Order of play for Friday (all times EST):
8:30 am: John Woods-Casey vs Tony Hollins
9:45 am: Freddie Bristowe vs Louis Gordon
11:00 am: Bertie Vallat vs Noah Motz
12:30 pm: Vaughan Hamilton vs Oliver Pridmore
4:00 pm: Final qualifier (top half)
5:15 pm: Final qualifier (bottom half)