The inaugural Eastern Openbeganat Cambridge on Wednesday, with two pathways of qualifying matches playing out on both courts. Home professional Mark Hobbs and Oxford pro Nick Jamieson both won places in the main draw as every match of the day featured a dramatic 5-all set.
The first qualifying match took place on the Green court between Oxford’s Nick Jamieson and Radley’s Archie Campbell. Campbell took the first game of the match, but Jamieson quickly found a pattern of play where he could target Campbell’s left-handed forehand. He persisted with railroads and drags, tempting Campbell into a cut-volley that the young pro couldn’t quite control. Jamieson dominated the first set, controlling and dictating the play as he took the set by winning six straight games.
Campbell mixed up his serve for the second set, looking for a better length to draw Jamieson into the volley and thus hit to his backhand side. There, he was able to attack the tambour more regularly, benefiting from more wild balls onto the back penthouse. Though Jamieson held a two-game lead, Campbell was able to hold on from 3/1 through to 5/3. Jamieson thought he’d brought up match point with a ball floating towards the grille, only for it to bounce back over the stroke line for hazard. He dropped his racket on the floor in disbelief, only to double-fault the next serve and give Campbell a get-out-of-jail-free card. Jamieson’s horror continued in the following game: up match point with a hazard chase, his railroad struck the back penthouse, looping up in the air and bobbling out to a chase off. Campbell once again breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the set into a deciding game with a trio of good returns of serve. For the third game in a row, Jamieson had match point, and for the third game in a row the tennis gods were against him, this time, with a flush back wall that spun back into the dedans. Campbell had a set point moments later, which he was able to convert with a Jamieson error.
Jamieson regrouped for the third set, quickly re-establishing his two-game lead. The play was very server-dominated, with both players still yet to control their cut-volleys off the respective railroads. Campbell’s more attacking play both yielded more winners but also more errors, giving away plenty of penthouses for Jamieson to finish off. Jamieson again found himself ahead 5/3, but Campbell’s forehand volleying helped him win the next two games easily, sending the match into a deciding game. Campbell opened the final game with a better than a yard chase, but Jamieson attacked the grille enough to go to the change of ends with a 40-15 lead. Though he lost the chase, he won the match on the next reste owing to a backhand error from Campbell.
Over on the Blue court, Leamington professional Josh King was challenged by Prested’s Zack Smart. Smart drew ahead first, with King pinned down by the demi-pique as he tried to work the ball towards the backhand side. Often, it wasn’t tight enough, with Smart able to step across and work the ball to his advantage quickly in the exchange. Smart reached a 5/1 lead before leaning a little too hard into his force, allowing King to pull back a couple of games simply by cleaning up his errors. Smart wasn’t bothered, using his buffer to secure a one-set lead.
King was more patient for the second set, sitting in the rally as long as he could and waiting for the mistake from Smart. It worked for the first two games of the set, but Smart’s natural attacking style helped him reestablish control. Anything loose would be hit hard, trying to generate a volley error from King. It worked, with Smart collecting the next five games to be one away from the match win. But finishing the match proved difficult. Smart tried to blast his way to the end, but was too erratic, while King took a more calculated approach that started to yield results. He mounted a big comeback from 2/5 down all the way to a 5-all game without conceding a match point. King went 30-15 up with two short chases, but Smart beat a 1-and-2 chase to stay in the set. King dug the next point onto the high back wall, which Smart opted to leave for a hazard chase rather than try and hit something shorter. It was a decision that proved fatal for the set, with King picking off a gallery in the subsequent reste to win the set. Smart didn’t let up for the third set, continuing to try and attack King wherever possible. Initially, it looked as though his lack of control was going to cost him further, as King picked up two early games for a 2/1 lead. But Smart cut out the errors, playing cleverly for the final five games of the match. He sealed his victory with a force at the dedans from a ball that rolled around the back penthouse.
In the evening, Smart returned to the Blue court to play the home court professional, Mark Hobbs, for a place in the main draw. The dedans packed out to see their favourite star, and he rewarded them immediately with four dedans in the opening two games. Smart had to change up his serve early to stop them raining in, but Hobbs had already built an early lead in the set. His demi-piques were more controlled, allowing him back into the set. Hobbs was getting vocal, both as a grunt whenever serving his centre-court railroads and as a cheer when winning a key point, getting the crowd to fall in behind him. Though the play was now more level, he was able to maintain his lead for the rest of the set, winning it 6/2.
In the second set, Smart determined that the best defence was attack, as they both started slogging the ball around the court. Smart went ahead 3/1 but never established control of the play. Hobbs had to take a short timeout in the following game to treat his wrist but it didn’t stop him forcing any ball in open space. He slowly pulled back the deficit, pulling level at 3-all and then 4-all. Upon hitting the grille to go 5/4 up, he turned to the crowd and pulled a fist-pump. Smart persisted, hitting several grilles of his own to take the set into a deciding game. It seemed as though Hobbs’s chances for the set were slipping away, making two errors and conceding two chases at the start of the final game. The chases were split, one apiece, giving Smart two set points. Hobbs snuck a short chase past Smart’s backhand to recover the serve, then punished a high back wall to bring the game back to deuce. Smart’s forces both were above the penthouse, laying two long chases. Consequentially, he attempted a second-serve railroad for the first gallery chase, but framed it instead, giving Hobbs a match point. Smart defended it, with the deuce game continuing with set points going to both players. Eventually, Smart hit one too many into the viewing glass above the service penthouse, giving Hobbs the decisive edge he needed. With a chase still to play, Smart swung at a volley and framed it, with Hobbs letting out a burst of excitement and receiving the gracious applause of his crowd. His win put him into the main draw to face Oliver Pridmore.
Returning to the Green court — Nick Jamieson was back on to face another left-hander in his second qualifying match: Hatfield’s James Law. Jamieson picked up where he left off earlier in the afternoon, controlling the service end with his tight railroads that put Law on the defense on the return. Jamieson won the first four games before Law could register a notch on the scoreboard. Jamieson’s main weakness came whenever Law could earn a chase and spend some time serving himself, but fortunately for the Oxford pro, such stints were short and rare across the first set.
The second set devolved into a series of cross-court exchanges, with Jamieson often the more favoured to come out on top. He established a two-game lead but the play was the tightest of the match to date. A long, drawn-out sixth game helped Law return to 3-all. As the patrons then filtered through from the now-complete Hobbs and Smart fixture, Law tested out some high serves and demipiques, but it allowed Jamieson to get on top again. Jamieson won the next game easily but the battle quickly resumed with Law pressing toa avoid defeat. Jamieson had a 5/3 lead for the third time in the day, and for the third time in the day he couldn’t find the final flurry to finish as the nerves seeped into his play once again. He had two match points in the 5/4 game but dumped both into the net. Law pushed the set into a deciding game, but Jamieson was now at the service end. Jamieson got into a set of favourable rallies, each time taking advantage of a mistake by Law to get himself into a winning position. He took the match on his fourth match point, securing his place in the main draw.
The main draw of the Eastern Open starts on Thursday with round of 16 matches taking place on both courts at Cambridge.
Match results:
12:00 PM (Green): Archie Campbell lost to Nick Jamieson 1/6 6/5 5/6
1:00 PM (Blue): Zack Smart def Josh King 6/3 5/6 6/2
6:30 PM (Blue): Mark Hobbs def Zack Smart 6/2 6/5
7:00 PM (Green): James Law lost to Nick Jamieson 2/6 5/6
Order of play for Thursday (all times GMT):
2:00 PM (Green): Claire Fahey (7) vs Rhys Williams
2:30 PM (Blue): Henry Henman (8) vs Thomas Durack
3:30 PM (Green): Robert Fahey (1) vs James Medlow
4:00 PM (Blue): Mark Hobbs (Q) vs Oliver Pridmore (5)
5:00 PM (Green): Will Flynn vs Vaughan Hamilton (3)
5:30 PM (Blue): Levi Gale (4) vs Jack Josephs
6:30 PM (Green): Nick Jamieson (Q) vs Zak Eadle (6)
7:00 PM (Blue): Benedict Yorston vs Lewis Williams (2)