US pros see success over British pros in first round of IRTPA Satellite
Hollins, Smith and Dickinson into IRTPA Player's Championships main draw
The IRTPA Satellite has returned to the calendar for the first time in six years, with the first round of matches being played at the Aiken Tennis Club on Saturday — the first time the event has been held in the USA. The Americans immediately had success, with each of the three matches seeing an American-based professional defeating a travelling British professional.
The event kicked off with a first round match between Tony Hollins and Jack Josephs, competing for the dual prize of a spot in the main draw and a Satellite quarter-final. Josephs, making his US debut, got off to a promising start, winning the first two games as Hollins looked a little rusty. But the Newport professional quickly reached his stride, holding the edge through the next couple of deuce games before pushing through the next couple relatively quickly. Josephs got drawn into backhand battles, unable to find an exit shot before Hollins could put an awkward ball around the tambour.
In the second set, Josephs’s weaknesses with and against the fast ball were apparent, either sending his own forces high onto the penthouse or putting up a meagre defense against Hollins’s forces. Hollins was patient, content with sending ball after ball into good areas and awaiting an error, rather than by trying to manufacture a winner when there wasn’t a good option. A small resurgence came from Josephs at 0/3 down, winning back-to-back games for the second time in the match, but after Hollins cut down to beat a better than 2 chase in the next game, it was game over for Josephs.
The Newport interest carried over into the next match, with their senior professional Josh Smith playing newly-minted Oratory professional Henry Henman. Henman, appearing in his second tournament as a professional, had the better of the early exchanges, with Smith making an uncharacteristic number of errors. Not to be outdone, Henman’s errors — especially on the backhand — kept Smith in the hunt. His 4/1 lead masked how close the set had been. Smith then settled in to his rhythm, paring back game after game as he took control of the match, just not the scoreboard. Smith saved set point in the 5/3 game, instead sending the set to a decider on the back of a pair of short chases. Henman took the deciding game as Smith sent one too many balls into the net.
Nevertheless, Smith was well and truly in his zone through the second set. His serving variation never let Henman settle, and his cut-volley earned him plenty of short chases. Smith kept the rallies short, punishing Henman’s inaccuracies by hitting devastating winners to his forehand. Henman mustered a spirited defense towards the end of the second set, and threatened to carry it on into the third, but Smith was strong enough to quickly put the match to bed.
The final match of the day was between New York’s Pete Dickinson and Wellington’s Adam Player. From the start, Dickinson was better able to control the rallies, pushing the ball into the corners and moving Player from side to side. Player did pick up a few points with forces into the forehand corner of the dedans, but never with enough regularity to trouble Dickinson. Each time Player made an error, he smacked his racket on his shoe, as Dickinson took the first set without dropping a game. However, in the second set, Dickinson dropped his intensity, putting more balls on the penthouse and letting Player back into the game. The pair exchanged games throughout the set, until Player stalled at 3-all. He had game points in each of the next 3 games, but lost them all to Dickinson who won through to the main draw.
All three winners move into the main draw of the IRTPA Player’s Championships to start on Wednesday. They also each move into the IRTPA Satellite quarter-finals, to take place on Sunday.
Match results:
12:30 PM: Jack Josephs lost to Tony Hollins 3/6 2/6
2:00 PM: Josh Smith def Henry Henman 5/6 6/3 6/2
3:30 PM: Adam Player lost to Pete Dickinson 0/6 3/6
Order of play for Sunday (all times EDT):
10:30 AM: Bryn Sayers (1) vs Tony Hollins
12:00 PM: Josh Smith vs Vaughan Hamilton (4)
4:30 PM: Josh Dodgson (3) vs Pete Dickinson
6:00 PM: Max Trueman vs Lewis Williams (2)