Mavericks to play Henchmen in FLM Super League Final
Both teams win their Day 3 fixtures, knocking out the Forcers in the process
The Matthew’s Mavericks and the Shenkman’s Henchmen will play off in the final of the FLM Super League with the Henchmen seeking back-to-back titles after both teams won their Day 3 fixtures on Thursday at the Queen’s Club.
The Forcers went in to the first match against the Henchmen as ladder leaders, seeking to cement their place in Friday’s final, while the Henchmen needed every point they could get to stay above the Mavericks. First on was Nino Merola for the Henchmen against John Woods-Casey for the Forcers. The match was exceptionally tight through the first half, with neither player building any significant lead. But from 5-all, Merola started a long run of successful serves, particularly with his variation between his pique and his demi-pique. The uncertainty put Woods-Casey on the back foot from the start of the rally, with Merola looking to press home his advantage in each reste. He quickly won through the last four games to put the Henchmen level with the Forcers on 6 points.
The Day 3 doubles sees the first seed and fourth seed players in each team team up, so in general produces tactical tennis where the winning pair is the one that can pick on the weaker player on the other team. Robert Fahey and Craig Greenhalgh played for the Forcers, with Robert Shenkman and James Medlow for the Henchmen. Medlow was a more natural net player than Greenhalgh, having successfully performed that role in the British Amateur final 12 months prior. As such, he and Shenkman pulled out an early lead in the match. Fahey, ever the champion, put in the extra work required to cover the back of the court against a relentless Shenkman and Medlow. A good run at the service end gave the Henchmen the edge they needed, going on to secure the bonus point and their position in the final. Shenkman also recorded three wins from his three matches, leaving him top of the MVP table pending other results.
The Forcers needed to salvage a point from the last match to keep their lead over the Mavericks with one fixture still to play. However, Louis Gordon for the Henchmen was on fire against Forcer Claire Fahey. Gordon hardly missed a force for the first five games, as Fahey struggled to muster a defence. However, he could not sustain the onslaught, allowing Fahey to play her way back into the match, levelling up at 6-all. Gordon changed his serve to a full pique, cramping Fahey for room as he concluded a clean sweep for the Henchmen, putting the Forcers at risk of elimination on the final day for the second straight year.
The evening match saw the Mavericks face the Slayers. The Slayers were already out of contention, while the Mavericks needed to win the fixture to overtake the Forcers into second place. Maverick Lewis Williams took on Slayer Darren Long in the first rubber. Williams was content to play the bulk of the match from the hazard end, rolling dedans past Long with ease. Though the first few games were tight, Williams ran away with the match. Long tried switching to a demi-pique but couldn’t turn the momentum of the match around.
The doubles pitted the Maverick’s Ben Taylor-Matthews and Henry Henman against the Slayer’s Bryn Sayers and Neil Mackenzie. Taylor-Matthews looked more comfortable than he had been all week, mopping up the back of the court from the balls Henman hadn’t intercepted at the net. The first game hinted at a potentially exciting matchup to follow, as it saw half a dozen deuces before the Mavericks edged ahead. From there, the Mavericks dominated the contest, winning six straight games before the Slayers could get on the board. By that point, the match was already gone, with the Mavericks securing their spot in the final for the second year running, knocking out the Forcers in the process. Henman edged ahead of Shenkman to win the MVP award on a games count-back.
The last match between Bertie Vallat and Vaughan Hamilton was immaterial for the overall standings, both for the final standings and the MVP award. That did not make it any less competitive. The match was tight throughout, with both players retrieving exceptionally well. Vallat had a small lead early on, but Hamilton pared that back with a period of dominance from the service end to 7-all. For the first time in the week, the match went into a deciding game, with Vallat emerging as the winner.
Attention now turns to the final between the Henchmen and the Mavericks on Friday evening. The outcome could turn on the rematch between team captains Shenkman and Taylor-Matthews, the former having recorded his first win over the latter in all competition earlier in the week.
April 11: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Mavericks had played in the 2024 final. The 2024 final was between the Henchmen and the Slayers.
Robert Shenkman contributed reporting
Match results:
Fahey’s Forcers lost to Shenkman’s Henchmen 0-3
John Woods-Casey lost to Nino Merola 5/9
Robert Fahey & Craig Greenhalgh lost to Robert Shenkman & James Medlow 4/9
Claire Fahey lost to Louis Gordon 6/9
Sayer’s Slayers lost to Matthew’s Mavericks
Darren Long lost to Lewis Williams 3/9
Bryn Sayers & Neil Mackenzie lost to Ben Taylor-Matthews & Henry Henman 2/9
Bertie Vallat def Vaughan Hamilton 9/8
Points table after Day 3:
Shenkman’s Henchmen: 9 points (129%)
Matthew’s Mavericks: 7 points (111%)
Fahey’s Forcers: 6 points (102%)
Sayer’s Slayers: 2 points (68%)
Order of play for Friday:
Nino Merola & Louis Gordon (Henchmen) vs Lewis Williams & Vaughan Hamilton (Mavericks)
Robert Shenkman (Henchmen) vs Ben Taylor-Matthews (Mavericks)
James Medlow (Henchmen) vs Henry Henman (Mavericks)
