Josephs advances to Moore Family Office semis after saving 4 match points against Henman
Fahey battles through second set wobbles in three-set victory over Gordon
Jack Josephs has progressed through to the Moore Family Office Spring Challenge semi-finals by the skin of his teeth, after saving four match points in the second set against local pro Henry Henman at the Oratory School on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the other Oratory interest Claire Fahey also advanced with a testing three-set victory over Louis Gordon.
The first of the quarter-finals saw battle between local pro Claire Fahey and Petworth professional Louis Gordon. In the early stages, Gordon was trying to preserve his shoulder, eschewing any of his characterstic big forces and opting to try and beat Fahey into the corners instead. Fahey lapped it up, at least initially, out-rallying Gordon around the tambour. Fahey took the first three games of the match before a fallow period followed, hitting a series of unforced errors as her concentration waned. Gordon, meanwhile, wound up his attacking shots and started to test Fahey’s volley defence. He brought the score back to 4/3 but after Fahey took the eighth game, Gordon’s fightback fell away. Fahey took the set moments later.
Fahey’s serving was poor in the second set, allowing Gordon to stand and deliver hard-hit forces at the dedans. Throughout the match, Fahey had ignored the galleries, instead trying to lay short chases on the floor. She had also been perfectly happy to give up long chases, backing herself to beat them on the change of ends. But the strategy wholly depended on the execution of her cut-volley, which was not firing well through the second set. Her line erred, allowing Gordon to step across and fire balls at the tambour instead. Eventually she had to change tack, especially as Gordon’s railroad was biting back hard. She took on the force, initially catching Gordon out for pace, but by that point the set was too far gone, with Gordon evening up the scoreline going into the third.
Gordon won the first three points of the third set and it seemed like his control of the match would continue. But Fahey hit a vein of form, winning eleven of the next twelve points to secure a firm foothold in the final set. Gordon’s balls were starting to spray, giving Fahey opportunities to put the ball away. At a deciding game point while 4/0 up, Fahey hit a shot into the top of the net tape. Annoyed, she kicked her racket at the tambour. Gordon fought hard to bring the scoreline back to 3/5 with the final few points hanging like a burden on Fahey. On a deciding point in that game, Fahey landed a tight high serve to secure the match, turning to the dedans and throwing her arms in the air in celebration.
The local intrigue continued with Oratory’s neo-pro Henry Henman playing the Royal Tennis Court’s Jack Josephs in the second match of the evening. Henman attacked Josephs’s serve from the start, sending Josephs diving into the corners to retrieve the ball. The rallies were long, with Henman slowly working Josephs over and eventually finding a winner. But it was tough work, as Josephs kept putting the ball back in play no matter how hard Henman pushed. Nevertheless, Henman led throughout the set, holding a solid advantage over Josephs despite the handicap he was giving away.
Henman’s play in the second set was somewhat more reckless as he tried to force the issue. He was throwing his whole body at the ball, hitting plenty of main-wall dedans but also putting several onto the high back wall and out for long chases. Josephs stayed calm, fighting for every point and waiting for the implosion to come from the other end. Henman had moments of brilliance, but would also often throw in a few strange decisions or unexplainable unforced errors.
After Josephs had a 2/0 lead, the rest of the set was evenly matched. Henman found himself with three match points in the 5/4 game. The first he slammed at the dedans, picking up plenty of topspin from the top of the net, sending Josephs forward to cover the ball and resulting in a chase. Changing ends, Henman served a drag serve for the first time in the match, then inexplicably ran forward to defend the galleries — giving up the whole forehand side of the court. Still, Josephs went down the line and cramped Henman for room on the volley. On the second, Henman made an error on the half-volley. On the third, Josephs hit an easy ball onto the backhand side. With the grille and tambour wide open, Henman could only put the ball onto the top of the net tape, dribbling over for a hazard chase. Changing ends, Josephs served a short railroad, catching Henman flatfooted as he had lined up to shoot a high back wall shot. The deciding game soon became a deciding point. Henman had the serve, but couldn’t find the tambour again as Josephs slotted a ball into the last gallery. Playing off the chase, Henman boasted a ball short, threatening the last gallery line on the floor. Josephs, running forward, jammed Henman up against the tambour wall to walk away with the set.
Initially, it looked like Henman had put the disappointment of the second set behind him, pushing out a 3/1 lead in the third set and having several opportunities to make it 4/1. But Josephs kept fighting back time and time again. Time and time again, Henman went searching for the winning openings, but nothing seemed to stick except his main-wall dedans. Josephs was always there to cover the miss, keeping the rally going until he could find an awkward ball onto the tambour, into a nick or simply an unforced error. As the set wore on, Josephs opened up in his play, looking for attacking options whenever they presented themselves, sliding several balls into the backhand side of the dedans. Josephs won the last four games of the match, with Henman throwing away plenty of opportunities to put the game to bed. Josephs
Play continues on Thursday evening with the remaining two quarter-finals, with the semi-finals and final to follow next week.
Match results:
5:00 PM: Claire Fahey (Owe 1/4 15) def Louis Gordon (Love) 6/3 2/6 6/3
7:00 PM: Jack Josephs (Love) def Henry Henman (Owe 1/2 15) 3/6 6/5 6/4
Order of play for Thursday:
5:00 PM: Robert Fahey vs Zak Eadle
7:00 PM: Nino Merola vs Bryn Sayers