T&RA Newsletter – Easter 2013
C
hief Executive Update
The World Doubles Challenge is on and will be played over two legs in April, details elsewhere in this Newsletter – but a very exciting time for the Rackets world. The Champions retained their Amateur crown in February but the Challengers look dangerous. The Open Doubles after Easter has a bumper entry as the new pairings jostle for supremacy for a future challenge. The Public School Doubles saw Eton and Harrow triumphant – but a great entry shows promise for the future – and to keep the boys playing when they leave school. Stay in touch via Facebook and Twitter. In the world of Tennis, there is change afoot at Holyport, with the T&RA, the Club and the current owner working hard to secure the future for the members. More to follow in the next few months, as this unravels. The new Markers’ Register will be online for the start of next season, adding a layer of professionalism to this important role – all a positive spin-off from the Club Professional Development programme. It is good to see new members joining the Association and the new membership card will be sent to clubs shortly after Easter for distribution. Finally volunteers are the heartbeat of the T&RA and my thanks goes out to the many unsung heroes at the clubs. Two worthy of special mention are Simon Talbot-Williams, who has put a huge number of hours into Holyport; and Ashley Lenihan, who has taken over the role of Child Protection Officer and is currently revitalising this important process.
U
21s/24s
Due to New Year's Day falling on a Tuesday, the tournament was held nearly a week later than usual so some of the younger players were back at school, which coupled with one or two high profile absentees made for a smaller draw at this year's championships. The early rounds belonged to Leon Smart who won through as far as was reasonably possible in both singles events and the doubles. Lewis dispatched those who sought a scalp despite nursing an injured knee, but fell short of both finals by 1 round. Michael reached the U21 final by beating Lewis, but he came up against an opponent just a little bit too experienced in John Lumley, who retained his title with a 6/0 6/3 win. Although John was the current U24 title holder, the top seed was Conor Medlow. Both players won their semis to set up the grandstand final. Extreme consistency in John, met a more expansive but error prone power game from Conor. Previous meetings had gone Conor's way but it was the consistency of John which saw him pull ahead in a
tight first set and eventually win 6/3. Frustration reigned in Conor's game and it might have made for a quick demise in the second, but with his back against the wall, Conor hit back from 5/2 to 5/4 inducing a few visible nerves setting in from John's game. True to form though, he showed his champion qualities and dug deep to win the second set 6/4 and retain the title. John and Conor paired up in the doubles and won a mismatched final against the Williams boys (not related) to win a comfortable 6/0 6/1.
P
ro Singles
The 2013 Rackets Professional singles competition was held this year on the highly regarded Haileybury school court. Considered by many to be one of the finest courts in the world, it was the perfect venue for one of the most prestigious tournaments in the Rackets sporting calendar. In the top half of the draw, Hopton made light work of his opponents and secured his place in the final without dropping a single game. The bottom half of the draw however was more fiercely contested. The rd semi-final between 3 seed Ben Snell (Queens Club) and six time winner, Mark Hubbard (Radley College) was a thrilling encounter. Both players were in sublime form and struck the ball magnificently. The quality of retrieving was astonishing and finally, after almost two hours of play, Snell secured victory and place in the final. Saturday afternoon also saw the Professional doubles competition. Defending champions and ex Gloucestershire County Cricket Club team mates Mike Cawdron (Haileybury) and Reggie Williams (Clifton College) played Ryan Tulley (Wellington School) and Andy Stout (Haileybury). In a high quality match, scores reached 11-11 in the final game. Despite some stubborn resistance from the Gloucestershire duo the challenging pair were able to overcome the defending champions. The full balcony on Sunday was treated to spectacular final. Both players were on supreme form, however the near pin-point accuracy of Hopton put Snell under constant pressure. Hopton managed to keep the upper hand and retain his title in straight games. W.Hopton bt B.Snell 15/3 15/6 15/6