Hudson takes out second seed Pridmore in shock result at Victorian Open
Booth overcomes first-set scare from Legg
Ben Hudson has pulled off an upset for the ages, defeating the number 2 ranked amateur in Australia, Oliver Pridmore, in straight sets in the opening round of the Victorian Open at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club on Friday.
Play began with two qualifying matches for the main draw singles — a third being awarded as a walkover to Alexander Marino-Hume by Rhys Williams. First on court, the Hobart professional Jackson Pastoor challenged the nomadic Ben Dickinson. Pastoor had a quick start, extending out a 3/0 lead on the back of his straight dedans shooting. But Dickinson warmed into the match, gaining plenty of success from playing balls across court into Pastoor’s outstretched forehand. The errors from Jackson started to mount, as Dickinson focussed on keeping the ball in play and letting his opponent make mistakes. He took eleven of the next thirteen games, with Pastoor’s resistance only kicking in when 5/1 down in the second set, as Dickinson started searching for the big finish to the match. Pastoor pulled back two games but it was too-little, too-late as Dickinson secured qualification to the main draw.
The other qualifying match saw a battle between Sammy Legg and Michael Happell. Legg’s game was superior through much of the first set, throwing in a variety of serves that each generated a straightforward ball in response. When Happell did manage to get Legg to play out a longer rally, the play became more even, but such events were few and far between. From 1-all in the first set, Legg won seven straight games before Happell could reply. When he did, it came on the back of being able to engage Legg in more rallies, which resulted in more errors from the young Tasmanian. Happell took four games himself as the match seemed destined for a third set. Legg had other ideas, stepping up for some hyper-aggressive returns of serve that kicked his game back into gear. A strong finish beckoned, taking the last four games and wiping out Happell’s last hopes.
The main draw began with matches taking place simultaneously on both courts. On the North, Ben Hudson took on Oliver Pridmore. Hudson stole a march on Pridmore, pressing hard while the Tasmanian amateur struggled for consistency. While his speed around the court was far from lacking, when he got to the ball he couldn’t find anything useful to do with it, often pushing it back to the middle of the court where Hudson stood, waiting to slam it back into difficult areas again. Though Pridmore found some counterplay late in the first set, his chances of winning it had long since evaporated. His woes then continued into the second set, dropping the first three games and once again finding himself under pressure. In response he pushed up the court, playing out several rallies from around last gallery even if it exposed him to the risk of being lobbed. Hudson was a defensive beast, getting strings on everything no matter how far out of position he looked. Again, Pridmore looked to have recovered slightly mid-way through the set, but Hudson had the legs to bring it home strong, winning the match, overturning 10 points of handicap difference.
Meanwhile on the South court, local pro John Woods-Casey took on American Ben Dickinson. The tennis was fast-paced, with both players looking to get a move-on. Woods-Casey was precise in his shot-making, taking advantage of Dickinson’s defensive weaknesses. While Dickinson had some brilliant attacking moments, his vulnerabilities against the Woods-Casey force became evident. Woods-Casey took the first set to love, and while Dickinson had slightly more success in the second, a fairytale comeback was not to be, with Woods-Casey easing into the semi-finals.
Following on on the South court, Sydney pro Alex Marino-Hume took on local amateur Michael Williams. Marino-Hume was searching for a way through Williams’s defense through much of the first set, but couldn’t seem to break through as the Melbournian hit his targets well. He stretched out a three-game lead before starting to lose his length, giving plenty of balls on the penthouse for Marino-Hume to lap up. He pulled back to a one-game deficit, playing out a tight deuce game at 4/3. Williams backed himself to win the backhand-to-backhand rallies, as Marino-Hume often was the first to make an error. Williams took the game, going on to wrap up the set moments later. Williams broke away early in the second set as well, despite Marino-Hume’s best efforts to keep in touch. Williams’s target hitting remained the highlight, stretching out to 4/0 before Marino-Hume pulled back two games. A full fightback didn’t materialise, with Williams taking the set and progressing to the semi-finals.
Back on the north court, first seed Kieran Booth entered the competition against Sammy Legg. Legg was lightning quick around the court in the first set, chasing down anything that Booth had to throw at him. Booth’s play was loose, especially on the return of serve, often giving Legg an easy ball off the penthouse that he eagerly cashed in. Booth’s big weapon was his forcing at the dedans, which kept him alive through much of the set even though Legg led most of the way. Legg reached a 5/3 lead, which Booth brought back to set up a deciding game. However, after Legg snuck two chases past him on the forehand, he finally had the decisive advantage he needed to take the set.
Booth was eager to make sure an upset wasn’t on the cards, lifting his game for the second set and making quick work of the upstart Tasmanian after a long opening deuce game. Legg was trying hard to force his way through Booth again, but more often than not he was overstretching. Booth lapped up the easy balls from Legg as he blitzed the second set and took a lead in the third. Despite pulling back a couple of late games, Legg’s hopes of causing the day’s second upset faded, with defending champion Booth ensuring his progression.
The day concluded with the only doubles qualifying match. Pastoor and Marino-Hume teamed up, both in their second match of the day, to play Legg and Dickinson, both in their third match of the day. The service end was key, being the only way that it was possible to make progress. Legg and Pastoor played up for their respective teams, with their volley battles often entertaining the crowd. The games exchanged with the changes of ends, with Legg and Dickinson holding a slight advantage through the first set, but Pastoor and Marino-Hume pulled back to reach a deciding game. Pastoor thought he’d snuck a ball into the winning gallery but it cruelly bounced back out to hazard the line. The chase gave up the service end to Legg and Dickinson, who used it to seal the set themselves.
Legg dropped back for the second set, but the advantage that each pair was able to generate from the service end was unchanging. Pastoor and Marino-Hume held the advantage, on the back of Pastoor’s fearless volleying at the net both winning points and preventing chases. The professionals had several opportunities to convert 5/1 lead, but Legg and Dickinson fought back instead, weathering the storm of the attack and bringing the score to 4-all instead. At that point, Pastoor and Marino-Hume were back at the service end, able to win the next game and take an advantage in the 5/4 game. Legg and Dickinson saved set point as Marino-Hume’s force at the dedans barely missed high, instead taking the set to another deciding game. Legg framed a pair of Pastoor serves to give Pastoor and Marino-Hume the advantage they needed to secure the set.
In the third set, nothing could separate the pairs again, with a sisyphean battle continuing throughout. They were never separated by more than a game, with both pairs still unable to make progress from the hazard end until a chase was secured. The match seemed to be inevitably heading to another deciding game finish, with Legg and Dickinson 40-15 up while trailing 4/5. But another change of ends changed their fortune again.
Play continues on Saturday with the semi-finals of both the singles and doubles competitions, alongside with the commencement of the singles plate matches.
Match results:
12:00 PM (North): Ben Dickinson def Jackson Pastoor 6/4 6/3
1:30 PM (North): Sammy Legg def Michael Happell 6/1 6/4
1:30 PM (South): Rhys Williams lost to Alexander Marino-Hume w/o
4:00 PM (North): Ben Hudson def Oliver Pridmore (2) 6/2 6/3
4:00 PM (South): Ben Dickinson lost to John Woods-Casey (3) 6/0 6/3
5:00 PM (North): Kieran Booth (1) def Sammy Legg 5/6 6/0 6/2
5:00 PM (South): Michael Williams (4) def Alexander Marino-Hume 6/4 6/2
7:30 PM (North): Alexander Marino-Hume & Jackson Pastoor def Ben Dickinson & Sammy Legg 5/6 6/5 6/4
Order of play for Saturday (all times AEST):
11:45 AM (North): Kieran Booth (1) vs John Woods-Casey (3)
11:45 AM (South): Michael Williams (4) vs Ben Hudson
4:00 PM (North): Chris Chapman & John Woods-Casey (1) vs Alexander Marino-Hume & Jackson Pastoor
4:00 PM (South): Kieran Booth & Ben Hudson vs Oliver Pridmore & Michael Williams (2)