Henman exacts revenge on Merola in deciding game thriller on British Open Super Sunday

Flynn banishes first round demons to fell Long; Vallat scores victory over Hamilton

Henry Henman and Will Flynn have respectively scored the biggest wins of their careers, defeating two of the highest-ranked first round players at the British Open in Nino Merola and Darren Long respectively on Super Sunday at the Queen’s Club.

On the east court, the day kicked off with the match between Josh Smith and Josh Dodgson. Dodgson got the upper hand early, tossing up a series of good length high serves which were consistently finding a good length, generating a weak response from Smith. From the hazard end, Dodgson was hitting slower, but accurate, dedans, often able to use the shot as an easy out for the rally. Apart from dropping the first game, Dodgson led through the rest of the set, with Smith struggling to find chases at key moments meaning he was stuck at the hazard end at inopportune times.

Josh Smith

Smith opened the second set by crunching a forehand volley into the grille, setting the tone for what was to come. Smith hit a run of form, mixing a traditional floor game with a few more expansive shots. Dodgson switched out to serving a railroad but generally hit it too long, giving Smith an opportunity to put Dodgson under pressure early. Smith led the set from start to finish, with a crowd of Royal Tennis Court members keenly in the crowd in support.

He carried on his form into the start of the third, especially when he hit two back-to-back winning galleries to go 2/1 up. But as the set wore on, Dodgson slowly started to turn the tide. The changes were subtle, but as Dodgson’s confidence grew, Smith’s waned. Dodgson took five of the last six games to gain a valuable 2 sets to 1 lead. The fourth set was a tight battle, with neither player establishing a lead of more than a game throughout, eventually reaching 5-all. By this stage, Dodgson was leaning into his force more — still not reaching extreme pace but with enough on it to cause a few errors from Smith. Though the deciding game went to deuce, Dodgson took the match after Smith missed the dedans a ball on chase worse than five.

Josh Dodgson

The first match on the west court was between the local rackets pro James Medlow and Prested head professional Levi Gale. Gale was solid early, controlling the play well and finding the grille with ease, at one point having a point for a 5/1 lead. But Medlow slowly started to play himself into the game, pulling back a couple of games and starting to find moments where he could put a few balls past Gale. In particular, he hit Gale’s slow bobble out of the game with controlled hitting off the back wall, leaving the Prested professional to experiment with a side wall serve — and later a low chandelle — instead. Gale finished off the first set but Medlow stretched out a 4/0 lead in the second. Though Gale once again tilted the balance of the play toward his favour especially with his play from the hazard end, Medlow’s lead was too much to overcome with the match being tied at one set all.

Levi Gale

The fight was by no means over for Gale, but by the third set his serve was much less vulnerable. He was able to get into the rallies much more easily, working Medlow over shot after shot until eventually beating him or finding a ball into the grille. Though Medlow had a point for a 3/1 lead, it would instead be Gale who took the initiative, hitting an impressive 11 grilles in the third set alone. Gale struck ten games without reply, winning the third set and putting the fourth set beyond doubt as he secured progression to the second round to play long-term friend and rival Lewis Williams.

James Medlow

Back on the east court, two rising stars faced off in the shapes of Bertie Vallat and Vaughan Hamilton. The early few games were fought to a draw, though Vallat would have enjoyed the nature of the match as it suited his style of long backhand to backhand exchanges. Even so, Hamilton was more than capable of holding his own in the long rallies. Neither player had more than a game’s advantage before the first set reached 5-all. Hamilton took the set with main wall dedans at the first opporunity, but there was little to separate the two otherwise.

At the start of the second game of the second set, while the players were mid-rally, out of nowhere a ball fell from the windows above the service penthouse and bounced onto the court. Hamilton raised his arms in appeal, while Vallat protested that he had hit a winner anyway and that a let should not be awarded. Whether causal or not, it was the first moment in the match that either player established more than a single game buffer, with Hamilton going on to stretch out a 4/1 lead. Staring down the barrel of a two set deficit, Vallat needed to step up and deliver and he did. His shots found a new piercing venom, especially on the down-the-line backhand. He saved set point at 4/5 with an easy winner off the penthouse then took the 5-all game to love.

Hamilton was visibly frustrated with his inability to close out the second set, but Vallat wasn’t going to let him recover easily. Vallat only dropped the second game of the third set, serving his railroad well and picking up the third ball of the rally with relative ease. He was winning the psychological war as well, as Hamilton’s play no longer had the intensity it did in the first set. A quick court clean between the third and fourth sets did little to slow Vallat’s rate of scoring, sealing the match in just over two hours on his first match point.

Bertie Vallat

Meanwhile, Darren Long was locked in a high-paced battle with Will Flynn on the west. Flynn opened the battle by rolling back a few years to when he was known on the circuit as one of the hardest hitters of the ball, punishing anything loose or short from Long with a belting as hard as he could. Through his experience, Long was more than capable of fending off the barrage with his volley — even if it was still only to invite a further force a few shots later. Thick boasts were popular among both players as a way of generating chases by bringing their opponent forward on the backhand side to around chase 6. The opening games were evenly matched. In particular, the 4-all game was a tense deuce battle, salvaged by Long after he had been 40-0 up earlier in the game. He couldn’t immediately capitalise on his advantage by letting Flynn back in to a deciding game. Long went 40-0 up in that game as well, courtesy of some overreaching shots from Flynn, and though Flynn fought hard to recover it was Long who took the set.

Flynn was not perturbed by the loss of the set, playing some of the best tennis of the match at the start of the second. He could not miss a ball, with some fantastic volleys putting Long under plenty of pressure. In no time at all, he won the first four games of the set. Long had appeared to have partially given up on the set, playing towards the start of the third when Flynn came down off his high. All of a sudden, Long somewhat surprisingly found himself on the cusp of a comeback, pulling back from 1/5 to 4/5, saving several set points along the way before Flynn finally got the job done.

The third set played out like the first, with the contest tight throughout. Both players were giving the dedans netting on the west court a thorough working over, with over 50 targets struck during the match. Flynn edged ahead in the 4-all game, giving Long’s backhand a thorough examination, before taking the 5/4 game with some nagging balls cross-court to the tambour. Long chanced his arm more in the fourth set with a forcing barrage but Flynn was equal to it. In particular, Flynn’s topspin bobble serve was successful in getting the rally into a backhand exchange early before he could eventually find a ball on the low tambour. He went up 5/2 and saw his first match point come and go, but found himself unable to find the finish required. Long fought back all the way to 4/5 40-0 when Flynn called a very tight ball a hazard chase rather than a stroke. Though he would lose the resultant chase, it put him at the service end for the 5-all game, which was enough to seal the match and progress to the second round for the first time, with Long missing out for the first time since 2016.

With the matches well and truly behind schedule, home court pro Neil Mackenzie stepped onto the east court to play Melbourne’s John Woods-Casey. The opening phases of the match were extremely scrappy, with very few rallies lasting more than a few strokes. In general, it played to Mackenzie’s advantage, who benefitted from the staccato nature of the play. As such, it prevented Woods-Casey from getting out of first gear. Mackenzie took the first set while Woods-Casey tried various different techniques to jump-start his match. The Australian was gesturing to and berating himself, the court and the balls as he tried to figure out the puzzle in front of him. Even so, over the course of the second set he started to find his groove, at least a little, improving his return of serve and finally starting to put some pressure on Mackenzie as he levelled up the match at 1-all.

Mackenzie went 3/1 up in the third set winning a couple of tight deuces leaving Woods-Casey once again to have to rebuild. The fate of the match was decided in the 4-all game of the third set. At advantage on the sixth deuce, Mackenzie was in disbelief that a ball was called not up which Woods-Casey had put in the net, giving him a better than 2 chase. Woods-Casey then beat that chase on the floor, going on to take the game and then the set. By the fourth, the rallies were now long and flowed well, much to Woods-Casey’s preference. Mackenzie started swinging for the fences, with Woods-Casey needing only to hold firm to secure his advancement to the second round.

Perhaps the most anticipated match of the day was on the west court between the former coach and pupil, Nino Merola and Henry Henman. It was a rematch of the same fixture on the same court 12 months prior, when Henman had unexpectedly taken Merola to five sets, but on that occasion Merola came up trumps in the final set. A year on, and with Henman now a professional at the Oratory under Rob Fahey, he would get another crack at reaching the British Open second round. Merola’s serving game provided the backbone over the first few games, hardly missing a ball as he built an early 3/1 lead. But Henman fought his way back into the set well, with Merola unable to execute his cut-volley well enough to trouble the young pro. Henman was covering the back of the court well, neutralising anything Merola had to throw at him as he won four straight games to go 5/3 up. Merola put on a wry smile as he clawed back to 5-all, saving two set points in the drawn out deuce game at 5/4 before finally able to force an error or two. In the deciding game Henman weathered a barrage of attacking shots to go 40-0 up, beating chase a yard to do so with a well-directed force on to Merola’s backhand volley. He took the next point and the first set on chase the line with a ball that trickled over the net tape.

Nino Merola

Merola was still under pressure in the second set, conceding a 1/3 deficit as Henman was able to patiently wait for the errors to come. Merola tried tapping the release valve of a force to the dedans from time to time, but Henman maintained a hold of his two game lead. But later in the set, Merola’s tactical maneouvring started to bear fruit, pulling the scoreline back to 4-all and then 5-all. A very tight deuce battle followed at 5-all, with both players having several set points. On the sixth deuce, Henman found a lucky lob into the dedans, marching off to the service end with a 1 and 2 chase in the bank seemingly assured of the set. However, Merola put in two very good forces to come back from the brink. A few moments later, Henman left two long chases, heading back down the receivers end with enough breathing room to strike one down the forehand and one at the backhand to take a two set lead on the fifth attempt.

The players took a break before the third set while Henman re-gripped his racket. With nothing to lose, Merola started slapping balls to Henman’s forehand, a tactic that was able to draw several inconsistencies from the junior’s play, before following up with an excellent nagging line and length ball under the last gallery. Throwing in some nice forces for good measure, Merola took control of the third set, while Henman was still unwinding from the pressure of the end of the second. He won seven straight games to register the widest set scoreline of the match and a useful buffer in the fourth set. Henman went straight into the fourth set without a break, briefly unwinding Merola’s two game lead before Merola struck back with his usual confidence. Late in the set, Henman struck his knee with his racket, taking an injury time-out to shake things out — briefly changing back into his tracksuit to do so. Merola took the set a few moments later, sending the match into a fifth set — the first such instance of the tournament.

Henry Henman

Into the fourth set, Henman was finally able to find some decent counterplay to Merola’s hard-hitting forehand and reliable backhand by breaking out of the backhand battles to push Merola around to other parts of the court. The play was tense, with few outright winners and long, tactical rallies. Henman built a two game lead, with the road slowly running out for Merola. Still, the fight never left the Radley professional, always willing to mix things up and throw new ideas into the mix. Henman had several opportunities for a 5/3 lead, but Merola dug deep to bring it back to 4-all. A two-game shootout turned into a one-game shootout as Henman shut Merola out of the 5/4 game.

A match win, world ranking points, a place in the second round and, most importantly, personal pride were on the line for just a single game of tennis. Merola opened the game with a drive low onto the forehand side for a more than a yard worse chase. He then struck a rare backhand error into the top of the net tape after moving Henman from side-to-side earlier in the rally. Henman’s next bobble serve was tight, but Merola still got his racket behind it putting it deep into the backhand corner and picking up a stroke from Henman. With the score now 15-all, Merola struck a backhand into the second gallery to win the serve. Playing off the chases, Merola’s first demi-pique was too loopy, giving Henman a big opportunity for a cut-volley to Merola’s forehand. On the next chase, Merola’s demi-pique clipped the penthouse on the way down but Henman was still able to get his cut-volley away, jamming Merola against the side wall and causing the error again. With two match points to play, Merola served a tight bobble with a weak response from Henman, but Merola’s ball at the grille missed high. Henman drove the ball, with Merola only able to spoon it back. Henman struck the follow-up deep into the forehand which finally drew the error from Merola. Merola then chucked his racket half the distance of the court, landing it on the service line on the side penthouse while Henman threw his head back at the heavens. After the handshakes, Henman took a moment to soak in the fact he had won, progressing to the second round for the first time in his career.

While the Merola and Henman was concluding, the match between Claire Fahey and Zak Eadle was just getting started. Fahey, with her kids watching down on her from the member’s bar, was as disciplined as ever, hitting chase after chase to worse than a yard. Eadle was relatively scrappy at the start of the match, attempting to hit big forehand volleys but only finding they ended up in the net. Fahey was particularly effective by putting her volley return of serve into Eadle’s forehand, immediately putting him under pressure and looping back a ball that Fahey could easily kill, or at least give her the true upper hand in the rally. Eadle tried to play a power game, but was putting too many balls onto the back penthouse rather than in the dedans. He did surge back from 5/2 down to 5/4 in the second set, but Fahey was not going to let any notion of a comeback fester. She put in a few big forehand volleys to close out the set. Eadle’s heart wasn’t in it for the third, with Fahey securing a comfortable victory.

Claire Fahey

With the majority of punters having left following Henman’s victory, the last match of the day was a relatively quiet affair between Tony Hollins and Ned Batstone. Hollins had the faster start, earning an early 3/0 lead before Batstone started to really get into the contest. His backhand volley was impressive, moving across to cut as much as possible off before reaching the back wall and put time pressure on Hollins. Hollins, meanwhile was playing positive shots with lots of good intent and purpose. He was never passive and made Batstone work for every point. Although the second half of the set was evenly matched, Hollins early advantage proved sufficient — even if it did take him five set points to close out.

Into the second, Hollins remained positive, while Batstone had to grind through point after point to stay in contact. Batstone clawed back an early advantage held by Hollins, with the latter part of the set moving game by game in a tug-of-war contest between two players who didn’t want to give up. The rallies were long and tactical, but Hollins’s force was always a reliable weapon that he brought out only when the situation permitted. The set went to a deciding game, won by Hollins to love as Batstone’s game started to crack. Batstone struggled to make an impact through the third set as Hollins looked increasingly strong. The amateur fought to the last point but Hollins was now ascendant. He won the set easily, moving on to the British Open second round for the first time in his career.

The British Open continues on Monday, with the first four of the second round matches to be played. The second round will conclude on Tuesday, with the women’s draw scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

Match results:

• Queen’s East:

  • 11:00 AM: Josh Dodgson def Josh Smith 6/3 2/6 6/4 6/5

  • 1:00 PM: Vaughan Hamilton lost to Bertie Vallat 6/5 5/6 1/6 3/6

  • 3:00 PM: Neil Mackenzie lost to John Woods-Casey 6/4 3/6 4/6 1/6

  • 5:00 PM: Claire Fahey def Zak Eadle 6/2 6/4 6/2

• Queen’s West:

  • 11:00 AM: James Medlow lost to Levi Gale 3/6 6/3 2/6 1/6

  • 1:00 PM: Darren Long lost to Will Flynn 6/5 4/6 4/6 5/6

  • 3:00 PM: Nino Merola lost to Henry Henman 5/6 5/6 6/1 6/3 5/6

  • 5:00 PM: Tony Hollins def Ned Batstone 6/3 6/5 6/1

• Holyport:

  • 1:00 PM: Elvira Campione & Alex Garside lost to Alexandra Bryant & Araminta Oldham 0/6 0/6

Order of play for Monday (all times GMT):

• 12:00 PM: Levi Gale vs Lewis Williams (8)

• 2:00 PM: Leon Smart (5) vs Will Flynn

• 4:00 PM: Robert Fahey (4) vs Josh Dodgson

• 6:00 PM: Bryn Sayers (7) vs Tony Hollins