Vallat throws down gauntlet at Champions Trophy Qualifying after defeating Williams
Gale, Long and Hamilton also undefeated on first day at Hampton Court Palace
Bertie Vallat has dealt a blow to Lewis Williams’s hopes of progressing through the qualifying round of the 2025 Champions Trophy, defeating the world number 10 in their group stage match at Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday.
The Champions Trophy qualifying kicked off with the Group A match between Lewis Williams and Bertie Vallat. Vallat had never won a match in any competition at Hampton Court, but was keen to show the development of his game over the last few years in putting that statistic to right. The early games were exchanged evenly as both players struggled from the receiving end, but Vallat’s cut-volley was able to hit an excellent width into the wide corners of the Royal Tennis Court. Williams was struggling to read the severe angle of the newly painted court, and couldn’t find a serve to pin Vallat down. From 3-all, Vallat went on a blistering run, winning 15 consecutive points to run rampant through his opposition. Williams’s resistance came too late, with Vallat taking the match on his fourth match point.
Group B then began with Darren Long doing battle with Louis Gordon. Despite their respective reputations, targets were not a major component of the match. Instead, it was a cagey fight with railroads sticking very tight and preventing much forcing. When Gordon did get the force away, Long was able to fend most of them away with some increasingly contorted volleys. The flow of the match oscillated between the players, with each having long runs of games. Long edged a narrow victory as he honed in his railroad and a series of increasingly wide boasts.
Back in Group A, Levi Gale got his Champions Trophy campaign off to a flying start with a straightforward victory over Thomas Durack. Gale’s speed around the court and ability to react late and take the ball low served him well on the Royal Tennis Court helped him make the service end his own. He too made good use of the tight railroads on offer, winning his match without dropping a game.
The galleries at Hampton Court packed out to see their home professional Jack Josephs make his ranking points debut in his group B match against Vaughan Hamilton. Josephs took the game on early, showing off his ability to read the difficult bounces of the court. But as the match developed, Hamilton let his growing experience show, able to play attacking tennis that exploited the deficiencies in Josephs’s game. Though he lost the match, Josephs walked away with plenty of positives from his experience going toe-to-toe with a more established professional.
The last two matches of the day saw the top and bottom seeds of each group playing off. Williams struggled early to find the length of his railroad against Durack, but quickly established an unassailable lead. Long’s unrelenting attacking accuracy was too much for Josephs, who couldn’t find any effective counter-play.
The qualifying will conclude on Wednesday with the second half of the group matches, leading into the main draw starting on Thursday. Tickets are still available for the main draw matches but numbers are limited. See the Royal Tennis Court website for more information.
Match Results:
2:00 PM (Group A): Lewis Williams lost to Bertie Vallat 4/9
3:00 PM (Group B): Darren Long def Louis Gordon 9/6
4:00 PM (Group A): Levi Gale def Thomas Durack 9/0
5:00 PM (Group B): Vaughan Hamilton def Jack Josephs 9/1
6:00 PM (Group A): Lewis Williams def Thomas Durack 9/2
7:00 PM (Group B): Darren Long def Jack Josephs 9/1
Standings after Tuesday:
Group A:
Levi Gale (Played: 1, Won: 1)
Bertie Vallat (Played: 1, Won: 1)
Lewis Williams (Played: 2, Won: 1)
Thomas Durack (Played: 2, Won: 0)
Group B:
Darren Long (Played: 2, Won: 2)
Vaughan Hamilton (Played: 1, Won: 1)
Louis Gordon (Played: 1, Won: 0)
Jack Josephs (Played: 2, Won: 0)
Order of play for Wednesday (all times BST):
2:00 PM (Group A): Levi Gale vs Bertie Vallat
3:00 PM (Group B): Vaughan Hamilton vs Louis Gordon
4:00 PM (Group A): Bertie Vallat vs Thomas Durack
5:00 PM (Group B): Louis Gordon vs Jack Josephs
6:00 PM (Group A): Lewis Williams vs Levi Gale
7:00 PM (Group B): Darren Long vs Vaughan Hamilton