Howell edges ahead of Taylor-Matthews on Day 2 of World Championship Eliminator in Aiken
Home pro needing 2 more sets to secure place in Final Eliminator for second consecutive cycle
Nick Howell has moved one step closer to a second consecutive Final Eliminator, after winning three out of four sets on the second day of play in the First Round Eliminator against Ben Taylor-Matthews in Aiken.
Play resumed on the second day with the score even at 2 sets apiece. The first day had seen the momentum swing wildly between the two players, with Howell playing a hard-hitting forcing game and Taylor-Matthews playing a precision floor game. Starting in the fifth set, Howell was once gain the aggressor. However, instead of exclusively targeting the dedans, he was more willing to rip cut shots into the corners as well. He refused to engage Taylor-Matthews in the long backhand exchanges, looking to find a way to put his opponent under pressure as soon as possible rather than wait for the inaccuracy. The immediacy of the pressure within the rally caused Taylor-Matthews to play more rash shots than he otherwise might, especially as the scoreboard pressure grew throughout the set. Howell was fist pumping regularly on his way to a straight-forward 6/1 victory
Just as it had done on the first day, the start of the sixth set saw the momentum shift once again. Howell dropped his intensity, hitting more unforced errors, while Taylor-Matthews lifted his, playing for the targets more from the loose balls fed to him by Howell. The key battle of the set was Taylor-Matthews’s play out of the forehand corner on the third stroke of the rally. Diving into the corner at a full lunge, if he got a decent shot away he often controlled the remainder of the rally, whereas any loose ball gave Howell the option to attack. Taylor-Matthews earned a tactical victory, with Howell instead opting to hit more of his returns to Taylor-Matthews’s backhand towards the end of the set. Taylor-Matthews levelled the match up at 3 sets all.
Nick Howell played his way back into the contest in the seventh set. He spent more time at the service end, generating chases from his thick boasts and moving well across the back of the court to prevent Taylor-Matthews from laying chases. Howell was prolific in targeting the grille, as all Taylor-Matthews could do was helplessly watch it float in time after time. Taylor-Matthews didn’t quite have the same positivity as the sixth set, at one point having given up on a defensive volley and stared at the dedans, not realising he had successfully put the ball in play while Howell boasted it back at him. Howell won the last 5 games of the set unanswered.
Taylor-Matthews was desparate to get some of the play going his way in the eighth set. But he seemed to find the edges and lips of the openings more than the openings themselves, with Howell extending his winning streak to eight games before Taylor-Matthews could put another mark on the scoreboard. Howell was reading the court exceptionally well and able to cover most of Taylor-Matthews’s shots. The fist pumping returned for Howell as the momentum grew, the crowd propelling their home pro towards a crucial lead going into the final day. The resistance from Taylor-Matthews came late in the set, saving several set points before losing the last point of the day attacking a worse than a yard chase.
A minimum of two sets will be played on the final day on Saturday. Ben Taylor-Matthews will be looking to replicate the feat of Mike Gooding in winning four sets on the final day of the 1996 First Round Eliminator against Frank Filippelli, while Nick Howell needs just two more sets to secure his spot in the Final Eliminator against John Lumley for the second straight cycle. There will be no play on Friday, as it had been scheduled for a match between Lumley and Steve Virgona had that fixture required a deciding match.
Match results:
John Lumley defeated Steve Virgona 2-0 in the three match series
Match 1 (Chicago): 6/1 6/4 6/3
Match 2 (Philadelphia): 6/2 6/1 6/0
Nick Howell leads with Ben Taylor-Matthews 5-3 in the best of 13 set match:
Day 1 (Aiken): 4/6 6/1 1/6 6/4
Day 2 (Aiken): 6/1 1/6 6/2 6/3
Upcoming matchdays (Check streaming links for match timings):
March 29 (Aiken): Nick Howell vs Ben Taylor-Matthews (Best of 13 sets)