T&RA Newsletter – Easter 2014

hief Executive Update The Association has marked the retirement of

Howard Angus, with a splendid retirement dinner

jointly hosted by MCC. An even sadder occasion was

the passing of Sir Mervyn Dunnington-Jefferson Bt,

whose contribution to Rackets could fill the entire

newsletter – over 600 turned out in his honour at his

Memorial Service at St Luke’s.

The period has also seen the Eliminator Process, with

Camden Riviere emerging as the Challenger to face

Rob Fahey for the World Championship in Melbourne.

A fantastic encounter is expected with Cam dominant

in the last 12 months but evergreen Rob always times

his form to perfection. The Amateur Singles also saw

Matthieu Sarlangue become the first Frenchman to win

the event, whilst Jamie Douglas and Peter Wright

reclaimed the Doubles title, after a two year fallow

period.

Will Hopton has continued to dominate the UK Rackets

Singles, securing his second British Open and leaping

so high as to worry near-earth orbital satellites. In the

Public School Doubles, praise to the professionals to

produce such talent at all age groups, with Eton taking

the honours overall – and the Mark Faber Cup. Tony

Morales and Charlie Braham secured the top prize

after a couple of scares in earlier rounds. St Paul’s

came through to win the Junior Colts and prevent an

Etonian whitewash, although Harrow pushed them all

the way. The Westgate affair cast an unfortunate

shadow over the week; but something which can be

overcome. An increased entry to the Schoolgirls’

Championships was only surpassed by the standard

continuing to improve –congratulations to Lea van der

Zwalman (Clifton) and Eve Shenkman (Altrincham);

worthy winners. Finally, a thrilling end to the Open

Doubles which saw victory for ATB & Christian Portz.

Full reports on the following are available on the

T&RA website

ritish Junior Under 18 Handicap Georgie Willis & James Bargent won their way through to the final which turned out to be a

great match. James raced ahead early on but then Georgie came back and almost managed to square the match at 5-5. However it was to be James’s victory coming out on top 6/4 to take the title and the trophy.

Our grateful thanks as always go out to John Higney of

Purrunna who has generously sponsored this event for

the past 18 years and who also provided every junior

that entered with a T-shirt.

Also congratulations to Oscar Fountain who overcame

10 year old Max Jones in the ‘B’ final.

attermull Cup The winners of the first stand-alone Cattermull

cup were Rugby 3 (Hugh Pemberton & Rupert

Derham) won this excellent competition beating

Bryanston (Stephen Panke & Peter Brunner).

eacourt Silver Racquet

Congratulations to Adrian Kemp from Essex, via Paris,

who travelled to Hayling Island as a qualifier, won the

qualifiers and the main event without dropping a set.

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mateur Open This year’s Amateur Open Singles top four seeds

had two distinct styles on show.

The semis started with a marathon between Matthieu

Sarlangue (2) and Peter Wright (3) - Matthieu came

out the winner in 5, but it could have gone either way.

Jamie Douglas (1) and Luke Danby (4) met in the

second semi to do battle, and as expected there was

some heavy hitting going on. Luke had his chances

and took a set, but Jamie prevailed.

On to the final, and on paper Jamie had the edge, but

he would have been very aware of Matthieu (then only

19) taking Julian Snow to 6/5 in the fifth after over 3

hours in the 2012 final.

The first two sets were nail-biting and went to Matthieu

6/5, with both players having minor leads along the

way. In the third set it was even up to 2 all, and then

Matthieu managed to move away enough to close out

the third 6/3 to become the first Frenchman in its 126

year history to win the Championship.

The three sets had taken 2½ hours, and as always

Jamie was very generous in defeat. Tournament

Director, Alistair Lumsden, presented the trophy and

the Pol Roger to Matthieu and thanked all concerned,

including Queen’s and of course Neptune. We should

also mention the exceptional marking from Andrew

Fowler, who showed exceptional skill during this match

(including the ability to shrink from 6’4” to under 5’ in

very short order).

ield Trophy Final The tone was set by the doubles pair of

Holyport’s Robert Peel & Penny Lumley and

Manchester’s Jamie Bebb & Mark Seymour Mead in a

close match. The first set was nip and tuck; 2-2, 4-4

and 5-5 but Penny Lumley’s match temperament

proved crucial as Holyport took the final game of the

set. They coasted to go 5-1 up in the second set. Bebb

and Seymour Mead hauled themselves back to 4-5 but

were unable to maintain their momentum.

In the first singles tie, Horatio Carey and Simon

Shenkman displayed skill and determination but Carey

was able to up the tempo at crucial times to win in two

sets. The second singles was a high octane affair with

two young players showing their huge talent. The

world’s number six Rackets player, Richard Owen,

who has only just taken up Tennis, was too strong for

Charlie Braham in the first set cruising to 6/1; his

forcing and volleying were particularly eye-catching.

Braham found his feet in the second set and with

greater consistency and rhythm pressurised Owen but

at 4-4 the Manchester student went up a gear to take

the match in relative comfort.

17 year old Robert Shenkman can rarely have faced

such pressure with the outcome of the match riding on

his young shoulders. Holyport’s Tom Freeman was in

total command of the first set which he took 6/2.

Manchester’s hopes were in the balance but Robert

played confident mature and nerveless Tennis to win

the next two sets 6/3 6/2 to set up a grand finale.

So often the Field Trophy finals have been wrapped up

before the first doubles have had a chance to make a

worthwhile contribution. The match was marked by

some fine rests and extraordinary trading of volleys by

Ed Popplewell and Adam Holloway at the net. Mark

Openshaw-Blower’s many years of experience came

to the fore in his battle from the back of the court with

Holyport captain John Evans. Manchester rarely

looked in trouble winning 6/4 6/3 to take the tie for

Manchester, their first major win in a national trophy.

It was a great day of Tennis and bonhomie and a fine

advert for the 2nd

Division competition.

ol Roger Final

Queen’s Club beat Cambridge. Team Captain, Chris

Herbert, has the cup; his team enjoy the champagne!

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enry Leaf Cup This year's Henry Leaf saw a change of format,

opening the tournament up to both amateurs

and professionals, whilst removing any handicap limit.

It was decided that those who chose to play would be

representing their school and hence amateur or

professional status was redundant, The tournament is

now also open to all schools and we welcome entries

from all over the UK.

It was also decided to change the format to a best of 3

set knockout tournament and with ten solid entries and

a wonderful host court in MURTC, the stage was set

for an exciting weekend of top doubles. The top four

seeds managed to proceed to the semi-finals, although

the Wellington pair of William Maltby and Nick Harris

were unlucky to lose to Charterhouse in the quarter

finals. The Charterhouse pairing of Adam Dolman and

James Acheson-Gray went on to lose in three sets to

Harry Eddis and Horatio Carey of Eton, in the other

semi-final, the home court knowledge of David Sloane

and Matty Ronaldson of Canford proved just too much

for the Oratory pairing of Paul Knox and Chris Herbert

as they succumbed 5/6 5/6 in an entertaining semi.

The final was a tumultuous affair. Eton raced to a 6-1,

4-0 lead, with Eddis and Carey on impeccable form. It

wasn’t until game 12 that Canford eventually found

their feet. With Sloane defiant in the galleries,

Ronaldson started to find his range and an hour later

Canford led 5-4 in the deciding set. After a tense final

game Canford managed to hold on to win 1/6 6/5 6/4.

It was a tremendous final played in great spirit and our

thanks goes out to all those who took part over the

weekend.

If you are interested in playing in the Henry Leaf next

year, please contact the T&RA or Adam Dolman on

adamdolman@yahoo.co.uk

pen Singles Final Was this the greatest Open Singles Final ever? World Number 3, Will Hopton, clawed his way

back from virtual defeat, saving a championship point, and then defeated World Number 2, Alex Titchener-Barrett. Alex Titchener-Barrett (ATB) started strongly establishing a 8-6 lead and then 11-6. Will Hopton responded with a powerful winner to close to 9-12 but ATB’s lead was too convincing and he took the first game 15/9. He carried this momentum into the second game, leading 7-2 and then 13-5, before closing out 15/5, to lead two games to love. Hopton responded in the third taking an early 8-3 lead before ATB pegged him back to 9-all. ATB continued to drive reaching game-ball, 14-9; Hopton responded, closing to 14-12 before ATB closed out the game 15/12 – and establish a three games to love lead.

The fourth started tightly, with Hopton on the ropes and needing to win the game. Despite this pressure, he pulled out a 6-2 lead before ATB levelled and then nudged ahead to 8-6. This inspired Hopton who surged back to 13-8, and then the game 15/8, and reduce the overall lead. ATB now needed to close out the match and led 4-1 and then 6-2 in the fifth. Hopton rallied but it was ATB in the ascendency to lead 11-4. Hopton needed to dig deep and fought back to 10-11 – and then carried the momentum to 14-11. ATB clawed back two points and then made 14-all – Hopton called a set to three. ATB had championship point but it was Hopton who remained calm, holding his nerve and the game 17/16, reducing the deficit to two games to three. The sixth game was tense but it was Hopton who had the momentum, leading 8-6 and then 10-6. ATB fought hard, just needing one more game; the packed gallery was animated and noisy. However it was Hopton who kept driving forward taking the game 15/12 and levelling the match at three-all. ATB started well in the final game holding a 10-7 lead, but Hopton wasn’t finished, levelling to 10-all. After three and a half hours either player could win, and they inched closer 11-all, and then 12-all. But it was Hopton who reached 14-12 and his own championship point which he didn’t waste; winning the final game 15/12 – and recovered the Open Championship he had won in 2012.

Hoppy takes off

A fantastic match with top class Rackets and a packed gallery on a Sunday afternoon. Former World Champion, James Male, presented the prizes and Will Hopton will return to Chicago very content with the richest prize in Rackets outside the World Championship, having showed he can recover from what seemed an impossible deficit. Thanks as ever to generous sponsor, Robin Geffen of Neptune Investment Management.

adies British Open Singles Claire Vigrass impressively retained her title for a

fourth consecutive win. In the final she beat Alex

Brodie (formerly Kurkjian) by three games to love,

though the first game was tight. This final immediately

followed the plate final in which one of the youngest

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competitors, Shinan Zhang, from Malvern College,

beat the most experienced competitor, Sally Jones, by

2 games to 0.

In the morning group matches, Claire,(in group A), and

Alex, (in Group B), each won all their 3 matches, the

crucial tie being Alex’s win 17/14 15/7 over Karen Hird

in Group B, which effectively decided who would have

to play the holder and strong favourite, Claire, in the

semi-final. Claire and Alex, as group winners, went

top and bottom respectively in the knock-out draw, so

the semi-final line-up was Claire vs Karen, and Alex vs

Sarah Vigrass, who was runner-up to her sister Claire

in Group A.

The 3rd and 4th players in each group went into a

Plate knock-out. In this Sally Jones beat Charlotte

Bawden, from Marlborough College (and grand-

daughter of the great John Thompson) 2 games to 1,

and Shinan Zhang beat Chey West, a P.E. teacher

from Malvern College, 2-0. In the plate final, Sally led

13-6 and 14-9 and twice more served for the first

game, but Shinan fought back courageously to win the

game 17/14 and served steadily in the second, which

she won 15/5. It is good news that schoolgirls were

allowed to enter this event.

Claire beat Karen 15/7 15/2 in the first semi-final,

serving a very effective length on her service, which

earned her 8 points in both games. In the second

semi-final, both Sarah and Alex served much better

than were able to take serve, but Alex scraped by in

the first game 18/14, Alex getting 15 of her points on

serve to Sarah’s 13! Again in the second game Alex

won 10 points on serve to Sarah’s 7, Alex winning the

game 15/10 to earn once again a go at Claire in the

final, as she did last year.

The final was the best of 5 games, and Alex did well in

the first game, catching up from 6-12 to 12-12 in 3

hands, but Claire got back in, and served out for the

game. The second and third games contained many

excellent rallies, but the holder was always in control,

served really well, and put away some glorious classic

Rackets winners. Alex’s game continues to improve

and she should in no way be discouraged by the score

line of 15/12 15/5 15/5.

The overall standard of play in the Ladies Open

continues to rise year by year, and the top 3 or 4

players are producing exciting rallies of real quality.

xford vs Cambridge

1st string Jamie Giddins (Cambridge) bt Max

Seely (Oxford) 15/13 15/3 15/1 2nd string Edmund Kay (Cambridge) bt Henry Faber

(Oxford) 15/8 15/6 15/10

3rd string Tom Elliott (Cambridge) bt Ben Graves

(Oxford) 15/4 4/15 15/8 15/10

4th string Freddie Kalfayan (Cambridge) bt Johnny

Beale (Oxford) 5/15 15/9 15/11 15/6

1st string Giddins/Kay (Cambridge) bt Seely/Faber

(Oxford) 15/4 15/5 15/3

2nd string Elliott/Kalfayan (Cambridge) bt

Graves/Beale (Oxford) 15/7 9/15 15/10 15/8

choolgirls’ Championship

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der Zwalman in

action before

collecting the

Under 18 award

Under 16 Girls

Winner Eve

Shenkman

presented with

the Judy Angus

Cup by Judy

Angus

ublic School Doubles

This season’s Championships were once again

as exciting and hard fought as ever.

Eton dominated the finals of three of the four

tournaments, winning the 1st pair, 2nd pair and Colts

titles. Their one loss coming at the hands of a brilliant

and exceptionally talented St Paul’s pair in the Junior

Colts Final.

The Eton 1st pair, Tony Morales and Charlie Braham

had come into the tournament undefeated all season

and it was therefore a surprise for many that they

stuttered in reaching the final. Two games to love

down in the first round to Winchester and victory after

a seven game thriller in the quarter-final against

Cheltenham meant they had their share of scary

moments. The Final was surprisingly much easier, and

a convincing four games to one victory over a spirited

Harrow pair gave them the Championship. This also

meant that Eton won the Mark Faber Cup for the best

all round school during the Singles and Doubles

Championships this season.

What a wonderful week of Rackets particularly for

players and supporters of Eton.

Junior Colts Winners A Engstrom and N Hughes with runners up T Loup and B Brooks

Colts Doubles U16’s winners G Nixon and R Giddins

Second Pairs Winners G Loup and E Rowell

First Pairs Winners Charlie Braham and Tony Morales

ocial media We are active on Twitter and Facebook. For all

news, events and photos please like ‘facebook.com/tennisandrackets’ or follow @TRA_Ltd !

Twitter will especially be used for game by game

updates in the Major events.

pen Doubles Championship Sunday the 13th April 2014 was a marathon of sporting events, the Masters Golf tournament,

the London Marathon and a FA cup semi-final all taking place on one day. But most importantly at the Queen’s Club, the climax of the Rackets season was coming to an end as they hosted the final of British Open Rackets Doubles Championships. At two o’clock, four players graced the court to battle it out in a best-of-seven format to become the champions. On one side, Mike Bailey was partnered by one half of the current World Doubles champions, James Coyne and on the other side the ex-World Doubles champion, Alex Titchener-Barrett had paired with Christian Portz. This was to be potentially a tantalising match - two of the biggest hitters in the game on opposite sides, each partnering with one player who has exceptional hands whilst the other, is one of the up and coming rising players of the game. What made this more fascinating was the fact that Coyne and Bailey seeded four, had knocked out the current holders, Snell and James in a seven game thriller on Friday night whilst Titchener-Barrett and Portz, a new partnership and whom were not even seeded, had disposed of Foster and Hue Williams (the current British Amateur Champions) with ease in the quarter finals and then went on to beat the number two seeds, Stout and Gooding convincingly in the other semi.

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The match started with ATB/Portz winning the toss and electing to serve. Having served the opening serve as an ace they were duly put out with Coyne coming in to serve the first hand. He served three rollers, so common on the Queen’s Club court, however at 3-1 lost his serve and Bailey only managed to add one more point to the tally. ATB/Portz capitalised on this and with the serve which is so important in doubles, closed the game out with a run of thirteen points in a row to take the game 15/4. Game two started and ATB/Portz only managed 2 points before losing the side and Coyne and Bailey came in for a run of five points with Bailey achieving most of the points on his serve. With some hard hitting and extremely steady play from Portz, ATB/Portz regained the advantage and moved to 7-5 lead. After both sides were put out twice and they both exchanged points to level at 10-10, Coyne came into to serve and moved to a 14-10 advantage. Serving for the game, ATB/Portz dug deep and a mistake from Coyne in hitting the tin, they lost the first hand. Curiously ATB/Portz called for a new ball and Bailey stepped up from the right hand side of the box and served a roller to Portz; second game 15/10 to Coyne/Bailey.

L-R Finalists James Coyne, Mike Bailey, with Tim Cockcroft, & Winners Christian Portz, Alex Titchener-Barrett The third game started and it was clear which side wanted this Championship. ATB/Portz immediately returned to the box and raced to an 8-1 advantage. However, once again, Coyne/Bailey couldn’t accumulate the points needed to apply pressure only adding two to their tally. At 11-6 to ATB/Portz this game was looking to end quite quickly, however Bailey and Coyne held in there and recovered to serve at 6-13 but once again couldn’t capitalise on the server’s advantage and added just 2 more points before TB/Portz closed out the game 15/8. The fourth game was won with strong variation and power serving by Portz. This accompanied by the power of Titchener-Barrett and also utilising a lot of mistakes by Coyne, most notably in hitting the tin this was the quickest game and they took it with ease 15/3. In the final game, the ATB/Portz were put out immediately but Coyne/Bailey couldn’t put a run of points together and lost the side. ATB/Portz pulled

together six points for 6-0 lead. But again Coyne/Bailey couldn’t string a point together and before they knew it were 8-0 down. Again poor serving and strong combined team play by ATB/Portz allowed them to come in again and steal points and at 12-7 they closed out the game 15/7 to become the new British Open Doubles Champions.

Christian Portz and Alex Titchener-Barrett Winners of the Open Doubles Championship 13 April 2014

liminators for the 2014 World Championship Challenge

Despite the best attempts of the weather, Camden Riviere beat Tim Chisholm. Meanwhile Steve Virgona and Bryn Sayers needed three matches to split them, although it was Steve who came through. In the Final Eliminators at Chicago, it was Cam who battled through, seemingly having an answer to every question posed by Steve on his home court.

The ultimate prize is the opportunity to take on World

Champion, Rob Fahey, in Melbourne on May 6, 8 and

10 – the stage is set!

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