Taylor-Matthews and Weaver into Seacourt Silver Racquet quarters in deciding game thrillers
Flynn, Hamilton, Yorston & Williams through in straight sets
The Seacourt Silver Racquet Round of 16 concluded on Friday with four of the six matches containing 5-all sets, with two of those matches ending in an exciting deciding game.
The first match of the day was between the qualifiers Luke Danby and Benedict Yorston, played off level. Yorston had the edge through much of the first set, despite for large periods being pinned at the hazard end. As such his lead was never very large, with Danby benefiting from local Seacourt knowledge to restrict Yorston’s strokeplay. A long chaseless run brought Danby back to 5-all, until Yorston finally found a gallery and marched up the service end to finish the set. Going into the second set, Yorston resigned himself to playing out long rallies from the hazard end. While it did leak a few games due to the disadvantage of the hazard end, Yorston’s retrival play was sufficient to see him through.
The next match saw battle between the current and former Prested Tennis Club professionals Vaughan Hamilton and Claire Fahey, also off level. Both players leaned into the heavy cut the Seacourt back wall had to offer, firing bullets on the return of serve into each other’s forehand corners. Hamilton impressed with his flat, powerful double-handed shots at the grille and dedans, but Fahey was often able to match with a double-handed backhand volley of her own, controlling the ball below the height of the bandeau. Hamilton broke through first, reaching a 5-3 lead in the set. Fahey then leant on her match experience to build back to 5-all. Some loose demi-pique serves gave Hamilton the opportuity to lay two short chases and take control of the deciding game. Fahey won one of the chases, but the second gave Hamilton his first set point. He won the set after a long rally with both players being pulled all over the court, depositing the final ball into the winning gallery.
Hamilton’s target hitting proved the difference in the second set, raking in opening of all three varieties. The two couldn’t be separated in their floor play, with Hamilton diving all over the court to match Fahey’s precision. A few key dedans on game points gave Hamilton the lead in the set which he carried home to victory.
Next, Leamington’s Lewis Williams owed 15 points every other game to Oxford’s Craig Greenhalgh. Although Greenhalgh struck a few early targets, the play was all favouring Williams’s through the match. The severe bounce and heavy cut favoured his late and heavy swing. The handicap marginally helped Greenhalgh stay competitive by allowing him to tee off at Williams but it was ultimately to no avail as Williams was always happy to boast out of trouble. Williams was accurate too, hitting four of each winning opening on the court over the course of the match.
Ben Taylor-Matthews returned to the Silver Racquet, giving a handicap of Owe ½ 15, Rec ½ 15 to Darren Long. There, he found an opponent willing to slap a dedans at any opportunity. Combined with the handicap, Long was able to build an advantage relatively quickly in each of the games, making Taylor-Matthews have to work to keep in the set. He responded with a forcing strategy of his own, a risk against the handicap but he had the skills to execute it. However, he couldn’t serve tight enough to restrict Long’s forces at the tail end of the set, the Moreton Morrell professional taking the set with consecutive dedans.
The second set was completely different in character. Taylor-Matthews had a lot more control of his shots, keeping the ball off the penthouses and back wall, especially on the volley. His serve was tighter too, varying the style to keep Long on his toes, and he was efficient in finding the hazard galleries when paying chases. Taylor-Matthews continued his form into the third set, building a 4-1, 40-15 lead. Long then starting to find the dedans again, going on a big run hitting targets from both ends. He built a 5-4 lead before boasting a ball into the hazards on a hazard chase to concede 5-all. Taylor-Matthews brought up match point first with a nagging rally into Long’s backhand. On a hazard chase, Long lauched a high back wall which Taylor-Matthews sprinted down to dink over the net for a chase off. It would come to naught for Long as Taylor-Matthews slided the next point under the winning gallery to win the match.
Nino Merola gave an Owe 15 handicap to Tom Weaver in the penultimate match of the day. Weaver proved a tricky opponent for Merola, as the Radleian professional struggled to adapt to his former home court. Unusually for his play style, Merola found it difficult at times to find a good first or second serve. Weaver was like a rabbit, running everything down and keeping the ball in play. He won four of the last five games of the set, looking increasingly assured each step of the way.
Merola was all at sea until he beat a worse than a yard chase by hitting the bottom inches of the dedans to win the second game of the second set, kickstarting his game and lifting his intensity. He ran through the next six games largely unchallenged, levelling up the match at 1-all.
The third set was much more closely fought, with Merola struggling to find the main wall dedans. His straight forcing was much more successful, while Weaver was ready to mop up any missed shots. Merola brought back a 0-2 deficit, a 2-4 deficit and a 4-5 deficit, but never led the set until the final game. Weaver brought up three match points in the final game, nailing the second into the top corner of the dedans.
The last match of the day saw Robert Fahey playing Will Flynn off Owe ½ 15, Rec 15. Flynn launched himself at the return of serve, knowing that the hanidcap afforded him a few missed shots, although he wasn’t afraid to tip it into the galleries if the force wasn’t on. From the service end, Flynn proved he had the shots to match Fahey, sending the former World Champion lunging into the corners repeatedly. Fahey, meanwhile, showed his three and a half decades of experience, reading Flynn’s play and getting into position to hit his shot before Flynn had hit his. Nevertheless, Flynn took an early lead and held on throughout the first set. The second set told a similar story, with Flynn leading early, taking advantage of the 15-Owe 15 games to keep his chance of defending his title alive.
Play continues with the quarter finals on Saturday.
Match Results:
9:00 am: Luke Danby (Love) lost to Benedict Yorston (Love) 5/6 2/6
10:30 am: Claire Fahey (Love) lost to Vaughan Hamilton (Love) 5/6 2/6
12:00 noon: Lewis Williams (Owe ½ 15) def Craig Greenhalgh (Love) 6/3 6/2
1:30 pm: Ben Taylor-Matthews (Owe ½ 15) def Darren Long (Rec ½ 15) 4/6 6/2 6/5
3:00 pm: Nino Merola (Owe 15) lost to Tom Weaver (Love) 4/6 6/1 5/6
4:00 pm: Robert Fahey (Owe ½ 15) vs Will Flynn (Rec 15) 3/6 2/6
Order of play for Saturday (Quarter Finals):
10:00 am: Vaughan Hamiton (Love) vs Bertie Vallat (Owe ¼ 15)
12:00 noon: Robert Shenkman (Love) vs Will Flynn (Rec 15)
2:00 pm: Ben Taylor-Matthews (Owe ½ 15) vs Lewis Williams (Rec ½ 15)
4:00 pm: Tom Weaver (Love) vs Benedict Yorston (Love)