The first round of the IRTPA Players’ Championship was completed at Aiken on Thursday, with three of the rising stars of the next generation getting early starts but failing to capitalise against the established seeds.
The afternoon session began with Vaughan Hamilton taking on the homegrown champion Camden Riviere. Riviere took some time to get fully into his stride, as Hamilton benefited from a couple of backhand errors from the World Champion. Hamilton launched into the match, trying to beat the normally lightning-quick Riviere for pace. Hamilton took two early games as a result, but his wild swings soon started gifting Riviere easy points. Riviere raced from 3-all to 6/3 in a matter of minutes. Though Hamilton took the first game of the second set, Riviere’s forcing at the dedans was unstoppable. From the service end, he kept the pressure on under the grille, even if Hamilton was able to escape with a few dedans of his own. Riviere won the next five games, with Hamilton taking one further consolation game before the end. Riviere finished the match in under an hour, setting up his place in the quarter-finals.
Next followed a match between Robert Shenkman and Max Trueman. Trueman matched Shenkman in the long, manoeuvring rallies that characterised the first set, as each tried to work the other into a position to hit a target. They matched each other all the way to 3-all in the first set. Trueman was the first to break the tempo, looking to be a bit more explosive with his shots, helped by the fact that Shenkman was sending down railroads. He had points for a 5/3 lead, but Shenkman was able to lean on his experience to shut it down. The set hung in the balance before Shenkman won two games from deuce. Leading 5/4, Shenkman won the next game to love to take the set. Trueman could not maintain the intensity that Shenkman was applying in the second set, with more errors creeping into his play. Shenkman piled on the games, running away with the match to book his spot in the quarter-finals.
The evening session pitted Henry Henman against the home professional Nick Howell. Henman took the game to Howell immediately, jumping out to a 3/1 lead as he attacked at every opportunity. Howell didn’t panic, holding off on his cut-volley and instead trying to work Henman into awkward positions before striking. He established the initiative, turning Henman’s initially positive play into a more desperate attempt to stay in the contest. The pair went past 3-all and 4-all before Howell went ahead on the back of a costly forehand volley error from Henman. Howell took the set on his second set point. Howell brought out his cut-volley for the second set, quickly establishing a lead. He got the better of Henman in their aerial battles, though as the set drew towards its end, he started to put more on the penthouses. Henman had a chance to mount a late comeback, having points for 4/5, but Howell shut things down instead, taking the match as expected.
The first round concluded with a match between Steve Virgona and Josh Dodgson. Virgona was in no mood to hang around, using his pace and cut to win points quickly. Dodgson’s flair was no match for Virgona’s ruthlessness, with the Chicago professional winning the first four games of the match. Dodgson got on the board with a string of dedans, but Virgona didn’t let it grow further. He dominated play when he was at the service end, maintaining the pressure across every reste. Dodgson won a few late games after picking up a chase, but it wasn’t enough to challenge Virgona for the set. Virgona barely missed a ball across the second set, while Dodgson was unable to find any effective counter-play, failing to challenge for a single game.
Play continues on Thursday with the quarter-finals. The matches will have implications for the World Race, with Virgona needing both to beat Howell and for Ben Taylor-Matthews lose to Rob Fahey to maintain a realistic chance of qualifying for the Eliminators.
Match results:
12:15 PM: Camden Riviere (1) def Vaughan Hamilton 6/3 6/2
1:45 PM: Robert Shenkman (7) def Max Trueman 6/4 6/1
5:30 PM: Nick Howell (3) def Henry Henman 6/4 6/3
7:15 PM: Steve Virgona (5) def Josh Dodgson 6/3 6/0
Order of play for Friday (all times EDT):
12:15 PM: John Lumley (2) vs Bryn Sayers (8)
2:00 PM: Robert Shenkman (7) vs Camden Riviere (1)
4:15 PM: Nick Howell (3) vs Steve Virgona (6)
6:00 PM: Rob Fahey (6) vs Ben Taylor-Matthews (4)