Howell and Lumley into US National Open final
Both progress through quarters and semis in straight sets
Nick Howell and John Lumley have progressed through to the US National Open final, proving to be easily the strongest players in the field in the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia on Saturday.
The first quarter-final was between Aiken’s Nick Howell and New York’s Barney Tanfield. Howell was still a relaxed figure, as had been the case in his round of 16 match. He rarely put on a jog, relying on his ability to hit a quality ball from wherever he happened to be standing. Tanfield ran even with Howell in the first few games, but as the match got going, Howell streaked ahead. His dedans hitting helped him win the second set largely untroubled.
Next, the other New York professional remaining in the draw, Josh Dodgson, took on the Washington professional Ben Taylor-Matthews. The latter was playing in the tournament for the first time since his move from Bristol a year prior. Taylor-Matthews played with his trademark control and precision to annul Dodgson’s flair. He won the first set easily, though Dodgson unleashed in the second. The New York professional turned the match from quiet and controlled to chaotic and full of unusual shots and winners. Dodgson built a three game lead while Taylor-Matthews slowly emerged from his conservative shell to play more winners himself. Taylor-Matthews pulled back a 1/4 deficit to lead 5/4, but Dodgson forced a deciding game. Dodgson had three set points courtesy of a framed winner, but Taylor-Matthews saved them all, with Dodgson sprawled out on the floor mid-rally for the second. Taylor-Matthews won the match on his first match point, placing a ball into the galleries to win a hazard chase, after which Dodgson slid his racket across the court into the net in despondency.
The third quarter-final was between the Tuxedo professional Max Trueman and the US Amateur Champion Freddie Bristowe. Through the first set, Trueman was somewhat rushed, giving away plenty of cheap points while a solid Bristowe sat in, knowing he didn’t have to play outlandish shots and could wait for Trueman’s error. After winning just the one game in the first set, Trueman tidied up his game, making Bristowe have to work harder for his points. Bristowe was more than up for the challenge, still controlling the play while making few errors of his own. He became more expansive in his shot-making towards the end of the match, easily securing his place in the semi-finals.
Local professional John Lumley played the final quarter-final against the other Tuxedo professional Tim Chisholm. Lumley absorbed anything Chisholm had to throw at him like a sponge, making no racket errors and not letting anything past him. He reached 4/0 40-0 having lost just three points and conceded two chases. He spent almost no time at the hazard end, winning one point in open play and hitting a chase at every other opportunity. Chisholm broke his rut by slapping a few balls at the dedans, while Lumley started to find the top of the net tape for the first time in the match. Chisholm’s most productive strategy was to try and hit the dedans with the first stroke of the rally, using it to win a majority of the points needed to take three games. In the second set, Lumley started mounting a defense of the dedans, which cut off Chisholm’s point scoring ability, winning the set to love in barely a quarter of an hour.
The semi-finals then followed, the first of which saw Taylor-Matthews playing Howell. Taylor-Matthews’s serving was not tight enough to restrict Howell’s force or cut-volley on the return, allowing the Aiken professional to dominate the rally over the subsequent few strokes. From the hazard end, Taylor-Matthews’s weapons were not sufficient to keep Howell under pressure, though he did play more expansively as the first set wore on. Howell found it too easy to find the tambour or an opening, with Taylor-Matthews having to drive the ball at the back wall to earn, albeit long, chases. His best counter-play came on his high serve, but he didn’t stick with it for long, often defaulting back to a demi-pique or a railroad. Howell earned a comfortable victory, sending him through to the final on Sunday.
The second semi-final, and the final match of the day, was between Bristowe and Lumley, both playing on their home court. Bristowe won back-to-back games early in the first set to own a small lead, opting for a high-intensity attacking stanza. Lumley weathered the storm, before wrestling control of the match himself by mixing his defensive retrieval in with a few more expansive shots when the situation called for it. His railroad was proving particularly fruitful, getting it to bite back and restrict Bristowe’s attack on the return of serve. Even so, he mixed it up, throwing in a full selection of service options to prevent Bristowe getting into any kind of rhythm. Lumley won eleven straight games to move into his fourth consecutive final.
Howell and Lumley will play off in the final on Sunday in a best-of-five set match.
Match results (all times EST):
9:00 AM: Nick Howell def Barney Tanfield 6/3 6/0
10:15 AM: Josh Dodgson lost to Ben Taylor-Matthews 3/6 5/6
11:30 AM: Max Trueman lost to Freddie Bristowe 1/6 1/6
12:15 PM: Tim Chisholm lost to John Lumley 3/6 0/6
2:30 PM: Nick Howell def Ben Taylor-Matthews 6/2 6/2
4:00 PM: Freddie Bristowe lost to John Lumley 2/6 0/6
Order of play for Sunday (all times EST):
12:30 PM: Nick Howell vs John Lumley