Medlow and Henman to make British Open debuts
Mackenzie and Eadle also through to main draw
The next generation has arrived at the British Open with young stars Henry Henman and James Meldow set to make their debuts in the main draw after impressive displays during qualifying on Thursday at the Queen’s Club. First and fifth seeds Neil Mackenzie and Zak Eadle also progress, the former making a meal of his match against Ned Bastone and the latter in a hard hitting dominant display over Benedict Yorston.
The first match of the day saw IiP Trainee James Medlow make his British Open Qualifying debut against Oxford’s Craig Greenhalgh. Medlow spent most of the first set at the hazard end but was able to consistenly put Greenhalgh under pressure through a series of forces and drives. Greenhalgh, meanwhile, was content to use the natural advantages of the service end which balanced out the pressure that Medlow was able to apply. Medlow never looked for the galleries and the chases he did lay were due to errors from Greenhalgh. Eventually, Medlow did obtain the serve late in the set and was able to combine both the serve and the pressure around the tambour to close out the set. The second set was considerably more one-sided, with Greenhalgh’s solitary game coming after he was already 0/5 down. Medlow was dominant from both ends of the court, always in control of his strokeplay and finding a devastating length meant Greenhalgh never found an advantage in the rallies.
“First time getting to enter the qualifiers here, so happy with the result,” said Medlow. “As always when coming to a newer court that you don’t play on loads it was going to be a shaky start. Craig was definitely quicker off the mark at the start. But got a bit more into it and was quite comfortable in the second set.”
In the youth battle between Henry Henman and Will Flynn, both players came out firing. Flynn was unafraid to force at Henman, including one point where his racket left his hand, skidded off the net cord and landed at Henman’s feet. Henman was up for the challenge, moving his feet well and covering Flynn’s power with his double-handed backhand. The players exchanged games throughout the early half of the set with little to separate them.
Despite reaching a small 5/3 lead, Henman could not find a set point as Flynn slowly and methodically brought it back to 5-all. Flynn was the first to have a set point, albiet off a lucky bounce off the penthouse. He came within inches of winning the set on his first attempt, with a ball that struck the bandeau above the winning gallery. On his second set point, Flynn looked to have the advantage of the rally only for Henman to respond with his best retrieval of the set behind the winning gallery. Henman then brought up his own set point and boasted his way to a better than 2 chase. Flynn put the final ball into the net as Henman took the first set.
There was not much to separate the players in the second set either, with both at the top of the game. Each player was keen to eschew tambours and grilles in order to attack the battery wall under the winning gallery, forcing their opponent into a difficult scramble. At one point, Henman slipped sliding into the corner and had to take a short break to recompose himself and clean the court, fortunately avoiding hitting his head on the wall. The breaked served him well as he edged a slight lead in the set which he was able to carry through to the end.
“I think I warmed up effectively today, focusing on my footwork, as that hadn’t been so good yesterday,” said Henman. “Other than that, I tried to remain emotionless throught, which helps when defending set points especially. Will was inches off hitting a hazard gallery at set point, and that could’ve easily swayed the result of the match entirely. Overall, buzzing to be through, and looking forward to the British Open debut on Sunday against Nino [Merola]. We know each other very well, so should be a fun battle!”
Local Queen’s Club professional Neil Mackenzie maintained a slight advantage over amateur Ned Batstone throughout their first set. However he made tough work of it, as his relaxed style and low intensity fed into Batstone’s fast-paced volleys and powerful forces. Mackenzie was also prone to errors at times, but turned it on when it mattered as Batstone’s game wasn’t sharp enough to truly put Mackenzie on the defensive. Mackenzie eventually won the set defending two 1 and 2 chases.
Batstone found a new gear in the second set, playing strokes with purpose and drawing plenty of errors from Mackenzie. An incidental lead turned into a decisive one, with Batstone playing Mackenzie to all corners of the court. By the end of the set, Mackenzie had seemingly given up, with his shots lacking any venom as Batstone closed out 6/0. The final set couldn’t be more different. Mackenzie broke his drought in the first game and carried on from there with confidence. He raced through the set, playing with renewed purpose and his shots were more decisive. Batstone looked to tire as the set went on, with Mackenzie finishing off the set 6/1.
The final match of the day between Zak Eadle and Benedict Yorston was all one way traffic in the favour of Eadle. He played with devastating pace and power, with Yorston’s retrieving style unable to cope with the extra velocity of Eadle’s shots. Through much of the match Yorston was feeding the ball back into Eadle’s hitting zone. The luck was running Eadle’s way as well, with a winning gallery coming off the high tambour. Nevertheless, Eadle hit some classy shots as well, most notable being his thin boasts which on several times ran flush down the battery wall. Eadle won the match conceding just one game.
Play continues on Friday with the doubles qualifying matches. Adam Dolman and James Acheson-Gray have withdrawn, with Zak Eadle and Craig Greenhalgh receiving a bye to the second round.
Match results:
James Medlow def Craig Greenhalgh 6/4 6/1
Will Flynn lost to Henry Henman 5/6 3/6
Neil Mackenzie def Ned Batstone 6/4 0/6 6/1
Zak Eadle def Benedict Yorston 6/1 6/0
Order of play for Friday:
1:30 pm Will Flynn & James Medlow vs Paul Bollerman & Will Burns
3:00 pm Nick James & Bertie Vallat vs Ned Batstone & Benedict Yorston
5:00 pm Zak Eadle & Craig Greenhalgh vs Winners of 1:30 pm match
6:30 pm Claire Fahey & Henry Henman vs Winners of 3:00 pm match
Tickets are still available for the main draw matches here: https://tennis-rackets.eventize.co.uk/calendars/tennis
For full match listings see the Tennis and Rackets Association: https://www.tennisandrackets.com/real-tennis/tournaments-fixtures/british-open-singles-and-doubles-championships-2024#overview