Hamilton takes Category A Open title in physical three-set final
Eadle battles through cramp in vain
Vaughan Hamilton has won the Category A Open for the first time, winning in a physical three-set battle against Zak Eadle in the final on Hamilton’s home court at the Prested Real Tennis Club on Sunday.
The dedans and glass areas at Prested were packed out to see their two home favourites battle out the first semi-final. Home court pro and first seed, Vaughan Hamilton, was challenged by third seed and local prodigy Claire Fahey. Fahey took a while to adapt, having trouble reading the penthouse on the return of serve and mishitting plenty, allowing Hamilton to establish an early lead. The local pro was solid, hardly missing a ball and playing with a firm determination to win. His one-two on the railroad followed by a ball at the tambour paid dividends, dominating that end of the court as Fahey was never given room to play her usual line-and-length tennis. Fahey’s response was to stick to serving caterpillar serves, which, across the first set, were relatively loose giving Hamilton ample opportunity to place wherever he desired. In the second set, Fahey’s serves tightened up, forcing Hamilton to boast his way out of trouble. But Fahey couldn’t capitalise on the follow-up, with Hamilton fighting his way back into the rally and quickly turning the tables. He wrapped up the match in quick time, with Fahey only managing to win one game across the two sets.
The second semi-final, unusally, saw two unseeded players, Ned Batstone and Zak Eadle, battle out for a place in the final. Neither had made it past the quarter-final stage so both had plenty to play for. The first set was tight, with neither player pushing out to more than a game’s lead. The rallies were long and high quality, neither giving an inch. Once again, the service end was key, with both players winning a higher-than-normal percentage of shots from that end. The set went to a deciding game. Eadle, with the serve, got two balls to stick on the glass back wall, then Batstone sent one high on the penthouse to give Eadle three set points. Changing ends, Batstone saved two with back-to-back grilles, but Eadle sealed things off with a main-wall dedans.
Eadle took command in the second set, completing a run of five straight games at 3/0. His bobble serve remaining tight and preventing Batstone from getting a foothold in the rally. But then Eadle’s shots became more nervous, and he found himself stuck in neutral as he tried to rev to the finish line. Batstone battled back hard, never giving in as he took an increasingly deflated Eadle to 4-all. Then Eadle struck two back-to-back grilles of his own, giving him a new spurt of confidence that was enough to carry him through to secure his place in the final.
After a short break filled in by an exhibition match, Hamilton and Eadle returned to the court for the final. Eadle took command early as one of few players in the draw to fully get a handle on the service penthouse, ripping cut-volleys and gaining the upper hand early in the rally. The balls often refused to grip and cut, leading to plenty of rallies where both players were able to extend the play with scrambling dives and last minute reaching shots. Hitting targets was key as it was proving difficult to win rallies on the floor. Eadle had a small lead, but Hamilton battled back to 4-all, the highlight being a rare, floor-boasted dedans. After Eadle switched to his railroad, he was again enjoying the faster ball that Hamilton was sending him in response, able to parry it in the direction of the grille. He took the set with a scrambling, desparate rally ending in a flush back wall despite Hamilton being constantly on the press.
The pattern of Hamilton feeding balls into Eadle’s forehand continued into the second set, setting up shot after shot at the grille and tambour. But the toll of the tournament was starting to be shown on Eadle, developing cramp in his right leg and limping between points. Even so, he kept fighting to stay in the match, maintaining touching distance of Hamilton throughout. But Hamilton kept pushing and pushing, working Eadle from side to side as much as possible. Though Eadle ran him close, Hamilton kept marginally ahead, sending the final into a deciding set.
Both players were putting their bodies on the line in the third set, diving around trying to keep the ball in play as they dove around the court at full stretch trying to keep the ball in play. It was clear that it putting silverware on the line made it no ordinary match from either player as they were desparate to win each and every point. But Eadle’s problems with his right leg continued, and Hamilton, sensing blood, turned up the pressure. The crowd knew it too, getting louder and louder for every grille Hamilton hit. By the end, Eadle could barely put weight on his leg betwen points. Hamilton won the final set without dropping a game; Eadle was only able to blast nine points in the set — all from the hazard end.
Hamilton’s victory marks the second in a row for Prested pros at the tournament’s new home venue, and solidifies his place as one of the rising stars of the sport. He and Eadle will be able to resume their battle in less than a month, as they have drawn each other in the first round of the Moore Family Office Spring Challenge at the Oratory in May.
Match results:
10:00 AM: Vaughan Hamilton (1) def Claire Fahey (3) 6/1 6/0
11:30 AM: Ned Batstone lost to Zak Eadle 5/6 4/6
3:00 PM: Vaughan Hamilton (1) def Zak Eadle 4/6 6/4 6/0