Medlow and Batstone hold off late comeback to qualify for British Open doubles
Mackenzie and James qualify without dropping a game
James Medlow and Ned Batstone have earned their maiden British Open main draw doubles appearances — on the back of their singles victories yesterday — by winning both rounds of doubles qualifying at the Queen’s Club on Friday. Meanwhile, Neil Mackenzie and Nick James have won the other qualification pathway without dropping a game.
The first doubles qualifier pitted Oxford’s Benedict Yorston and Craig Greenhalgh against Ned Batstone and James Medlow — the former having both lost their singles qualifying matches the day prior, and the latter having both won theirs, even though none of the players had yet graced the court together in the tournament. Yorston and Greenhalgh poached an early 3/1 lead with Yorston holding a high line as the gallery player. Medlow and Batstone quickly settled into a good rhythm, with Medlow reading the court well from the back and Batstone getting his eye in quickly at the galleries. The first set was notable for the number of unreturnable flush back-wall balls catching both pairs out. Once Batstone and Medlow had seized the initiative, helped by Batstone’s accurate forcing, Greenhalgh and Yorston switched to having Yorston at the back, but it could not turn around the run of their opponents. Greenhalgh and Yorston’s situation was not helped by a number of late reactions from Greenhalgh. Medlow and Batstone won five of the last six games of the set, despite having to fight through a long deuce battle in the final game.
The second set played out very similarly to the first. Greenhalgh and Yorston pulled out a 3/1 lead as Yorston tried his hardest to make his presence felt on the court. But again, Medlow and Batstone were methodical and consistent, making few errors as they would back the deficit and converted it into an advantage. As hard as Yorston tried to hit the ball, Medlow was solid in defense at the back of the court. Also like the first set, Yorston and Greenhalgh threatened a late surge but could not make it stick. Medlow and Batstone moving onto the second qualifying round later in the day.
The second match of the day featured two professional-amateur pairings. Nick James partnered with Neil Mackenzie — both from the Queen’s Club — while James Sohl partnered Adam Player. James and Mackenzie controlled the match from the first ball, with James pouncing on anything floated down the middle of the court and Mackenzie mopping up at the back. From the hazard end, both were bringing the heat to their forcing, beating Sohl and Player for pace. They largely outplayed their opponents throughout, winning both sets in just 14 minutes apiece, all without dropping a game.
After an hour break, Medlow and Batstone returned to the court to face the Newport pairing of Josh Smith and Tony Hollins in the final match of the Open doubles qualifying. Medlow and Batstone continued their excellent form from the afternoon, with a punishing pace that left Hollins and Smith lunging into corners to try and retrieve anything they could. Living by the maxim that the best defense is a good offence, Hollins and Smith played with plenty of pace of their own. Through the match, both pairs were winning a majority of their points from the hazard end, such was the pace of play. The pairs were fairly evenly matched, as exemplified in the first game of the match which lasted nine deuces before Batstone and Medlow finally notched a game on the board. Batstone and Medlow snuck a 4/1 lead before Hollins and Smith fought it back to 3/4. Another long deuce battle followed, this time numbering eight deuces, before Medlow’s back-court defensive play finally wavered — Hollins and Smith tying the set at 4-all. Medlow took the next game with a flush high serve ace. They then sealed the hour-long set by beating two two-yard chases in the next game.
Medlow was fired up at the start of the second set, slapping Batstone’s hand so hard in a high five after winning the first game that it sounded like a clap of thunder — contrasted with the polite fist-bump of Smith and Hollins upon winning the second. The fourth game was yet another tight battle, with the tension building shot after shot. From 1-all, to 2-all, 3-all and 4-all, there was little to separate the pairs as Medlow found himself of the receiving end of a relentless barrage of shots at back of the court. Batstone and Medlow were within inches of taking the match in the 5/4 game. With a ball hitting just above the penthouse on a long chase on match point, Smith and Hollins sent it to a deciding game instead. The rallies in the final game were long and nervy, with Smith and Hollins giving Medlow’s forehand a thorough examination. Medlow and Batstone beat the first set point against them with a nick roller. Then, after leaving a long railroad for a hazard chase, Medlow and Batstone defended the second with a lovely shot down Smith’s forehand side. Smith won the set on the third attempt: a cut-volley, main-wall dedans that snuck past Medlows flailing racket.
Smith took a time-out at the break before the third set to strap his wrist. Once play resumed, Medlow fired into a new gear, playing with renewed intensity as he chased down everything he could reach. Batstone played his gallery role well, while Smith and Hollins fell a bit flat. Medlow and Batstone opened the widest margin of the match moving through games quickly. Having taken nearly two hours for the firstt two sets, they won four games inside eight minutes as Hollins and Smith were increasingly unable to find an effective return of serve. By the fifth game, they were able to put in a bit more resistance, with yet another long deuce exchange before Medlow found a big force to beat a half yard chase by causing Smith to miss his volley. However, the fightback was on, as Smith and Hollins conjured up the next four games as Medlow and Batstone went searching for the big finish. Finally, in the 5/4 game, Medlow found some good balls up the line and onto the tambour, completing victory after 2 hours and 20 minutes of play.
Batstone and Medlow will next play in the main draw on Wednesday against Claire Fahey and Louis Gordon, while Neil Mackenzie and Nick James have drawn to play sixth seeds Josh Dodgson and John Woods-Casey. Saturday will see a break in the action from Queen’s — though the top six seeds will all be playing at the Real 10 at Middlesex — with the main draw singles scheduled to start on Sunday with play on both courts.
The qualifying tournament for the women’s draw got off to a false start at Holyport, with the only scheduled match of the day being awarded as a walkover to Sabrina Didizian following an injury concern to Karla Popovic. Didizian will now play Alex Garside in the second qualifying round on Saturday at Holyport, followed by the other qualification match between Araminta Oldham and Alexandra Bryant.
Match results:
Queen’s East:
3:30 PM: Craig Greenhalgh & Benedict Yorston lost to Ned Batstone & James Medlow 4/6 4/6
5:00 PM: Nick James & Neil Mackenzie (2) def Adam Player & James Sohl 6/0 6/0
6:30 PM: Tony Hollins & Josh Smith (1) def Ned Batstone & James Medlow 4/6 6/5 4/6
Holyport:
4:30 PM: Karla Popovic lost to Sabrina Didizian w/o
Order of play for Saturday:
Holyport:
2:00 PM: Alex Garside (1) vs Sabrina Didizian
3:30 PM: Alexandra Bryant (2) vs Araminta Oldham