Taylor-Matthews retains Jesmond Dene Cup
Shenkman battles hard in final after gruelling semi-final against Sayers
Ben Taylor-Matthews has defended his Jesmond Dene Cup title, becoming the first player in 13 years to do so and the first since the tournament went professional in 2022. He overcame amateur champion Robert Shenkman in a close final, with set points going either way, following the semi-finals in the morning in Newcastle.
The first semi-final was a rematch of the 2024 final between Ben Taylor-Matthews and Vaughan Hamilton. Taylor-Matthews started stronger than the last edition, playing with a calm demeanour as he worked the ball to Hamilton’s corners. Hamilton kicked himself into gear a few games in with a between-the-legs shot that cleared the net by millimetres before dying in the grille corner — a shot that was legitimately his best option to play, given how the ball had kicked out of the forehand corner. From then on, the match was closely fought, with both players contesting hard for every point. Taylor-Matthews’s early lead proved the difference in the first set, holding on for a 6/2 scoreline.
By the second set, Hamilton increased the pace of his shots, partially out of necessity given that Taylor-Matthews was hitting consistently short chases. Taylor-Matthews again stretched out an early lead on the back of his precise shot-making, but appeared to relax towards the second half of the set, conserving some energy for the afternoon’s final. This gave Hamilton the chance to fight back, reaching 4-all before one last push from Taylor-Matthews took the defending champion through to the final.
The second semi-final was a much anticipated affair between Robert Shenkman and Bryn Sayers, both former winners of the competition. Shenkman was keen to prove he could continue to challenge the best in the world, while Sayers was looking to test himself on his road to recovery. Throughout the set, Shenkman was looking to be positive and attacking, but seemingly every one of his kill shots saw an even better kill shot in response from Sayers. Although the first half of the set was evenly contested, Sayers had a knack of finding crucial shots on key points to run away with the first set.
Going into the second set, Shenkman dialled back his attack, opting for a more conservative play style. Instead, he waited more for his opportunity to put the ball away rather than trying to force a good shot to happen. The service end was proving invaluable, and chases were at a premium, with Shenkman looking for the galleries when available. Shenkman found a run of 5 consecutive games to move from 1-all to winning the set.
Sayers broke Shenkman’s run at the start of the third set, with his high serve finally cooperating with Jesmond’s high ceiling. Sayers was covering Shenkman’s shots, keeping hold of the service end for longer periods. Both players won plenty of points into or under the grille. Sayers extended a narrow advantage in the set, until Shenkman dug deep to try and prevent Sayers from getting too close to the finish line. The crucial game was the eighth of the set, with Sayers holding a 4-3 lead. The two battled through six deuces, with Shenkman benefiting from a let ball having watched Sayers’s cut-volley dipping into the corner only for both players and the marker to notice a stray ball sitting in the corner — Sayers was unable to get a hold of the second attempt. By the time Shenkman won the game, the last two games seemed inevitable as he secured his spot in the final.
For the third time in just over a month, Shenkman and Taylor-Matthews took to the singles court together, and for the second time it was in a final. The Jesmond faithful packed out the dedans to see the two podcast hosts do battle. Taylor-Matthews took advantage of some loose early serving from Shenkman to pepper the dedans and take an early lead. After Shenkman tightened up his serve, the match devolved into a series of long backhand rallies, punctuated either by a second gallery chase, a grille, or an unexpected bounce. Shenkman won three straight games before Taylor-Matthews countered as he started looking for more decisive shots.
Taylor-Matthews brought up three set points in the 5-all game on the back of a brace of grilles. However, Shenkman was able to recover the serve and fend off all three. From there, the set teetered each way, destined to be decided by the smallest of margins. Shenkman defended a set point with the help of a penthouse nail that made his railroad serve rear into the air, while Taylor-Matthews benefited from a ball that caught the faintest edge of the service side penthouse to roll out of Shenkman’s reach. Shenkman had but lost two set points of his own, with Taylor-Matthews eventually producing the finish on his fifth set point.
The start of the second set was very tight, especially the third game which saw six more deuces go by. However, Taylor-Matthews proved to have the fresher legs, slowly getting on top of Shenkman’s play. The amateur champion was on the back foot as Taylor-Matthews was pressing for home, hitting targets aplenty. Shenkman fended off a couple of match points in the 5-3 but after dropped the first three points of the 5-4 game, Taylor-Matthews was able to finish with a victory, defending his title.
Match results:
10:00 AM (Semi Final): Ben Taylor-Matthews def Vaughan Hamilton 6/2 6/4
11:30 AM (Semi Final): Robert Shenkman def Bryn Sayers 3/6 6/1 6/4
3:00 PM (Final): Ben Taylor-Matthews def Robert Shenkman 6/5 6/4