Amateur Rackets Singles Championship 2017
Ben Cawston cemented his recent meteoric rise in the world of senior Rackets by capturing the 2017 Amateur Singles Championship. His progress through the earlier rounds had been steady, until a tougher challenge in the semi-final against Alex Coldicott created a few challenges, but nothing he couldn’t overcome in three games. In contrast, his opponent, James Coyne, had faced a stern tussle in a five game semi-final against Mike Bailey, including a remarkable recovery from 0-11 in the fifth.
Coyne served first, hitting the cover off the balls to establish a 4-0 lead. Cawston couldn’t respond and took four hands to win his first point but then started to find his angles. Coyne slowly added the points on every other hand, but Cawston was slowly clawing back the earlier set-back, with Coyne narrowly leading 7-6. But here he stalled, four further hands without a point, while his young opponent slowly gained an advantage to establish a slender 8-7, then 10-7 lead. Coyne pulled back a point but then stalled again but at 8-12 he found his rhythm and reeled off 6 points in a single hand to lead 14-12. With a game at his mercy, he clipped to tin to let Cawston back into serve and level at 14-14, including an astonishing point when he slipped and then recovered to win the point. Coyne called a set to three but it was Cawston who had the momentum, winning the necessary three points to take an early advantage. A long and tense game with 18 hands apiece showed the two players were well matched.
The second game was a transformation and as different to the first as possible. Cawston served but couldn’t make any progress, whereas Coyne quickly amassed a good lead, 4-0 in the first hand, soon 7-0 before Cawston even got off the mark. 7-1 became 9-1 and then Coyne powered his way through six points to win 15/1 and level the match – scoring all his points in five hands. Coyne was very much the player in form and in the ascendency. Was this his year?
The third game started with an easy point for Coyne, but Cawston quickly recovered serve and started recovering even more than before. He was back in the match and led 4-1. Coyne responded with four points of his own, including an astonishing, deft backhand winner but again his opponent had the answers, notching up eight points in his next hand to lead 12-5. Coyne was not to score again as Cawston ground out the remaining points in two further hands, winning 15/5 and re-establishing a 2-1 lead. This game was even shorter at four hands apiece.
The fourth game saw Cawston retain his form, leading 2-0, then 8-0, after a pair of hands. Coyne needed to respond but could only muster a single point against two more from Cawston – 10-1. Coyne served firmly and managed to reduce the deficit to 5-10. But Cawston could now see the finishing line and was mixing his shots to perfection, and managed the daintiest drop shot to win the final (and probably the hardest) point – his first Championship Point – executed like a seasoned player. 15/5 to Cawston and the match – a new Amateur Champion.
Charles Hue Williams applauded both players, commenting that Coyne had given so much to Rackets and was one of the fairest players he had encountered. Cawston collected the famous Amateur Championship Bowl and thanked tournament organiser, Alaistair Gourlay, Queen’s Club, Ben Bomford in particular, and the Rackets Patrons, whose financial backing makes everything happen.
Results
Final
- B Cawston (8) beat J Coyne 17/14 1/15 15/5 15/5
Semi-finals
- B Cawston (8) bt A Coldicott (4) 15/2 15/2 15/1
- J Coyne (2) bt M Bailey (3) 10/15 15/10 15/8 12/15 15/12
Quarter-finals
- B Cawston (8) bt A Gourlay15/2 15/4 15/9
- A Coldicott (4) bt J Giddins (5) 15/2 15/13 15/11
- J Coyne (2) bt T Bomford (7) 16/13 16/13 15/8
- M Bailey (3) bt W Morse (6) 15/4 15/10 15/5
Round of 16
- M Bailey bt G Sandbach 15/5 15/4 15/5
- W Morse bt T Stevens 13/16 15/7 15/7 15/11
- A Gourlay bt T Buckley 15/3 15/2 15/7
- T Bomford (7) bt P Sutton 15/2 15/5 15/4
- B Cawston (8) bt Felix Clarke 15/0 15/4 15/1
- J Giddins (5) bt J Bailey 15/6 15/2 9/15 15/6
- A Coldicott (4) bt C Monbiot 15/6 15/9 15/1
- J Coyne (2) bt W Evans 15/11 15/9 15/2
Second Round
- F Clarke bt J Marshall w/o
- G Sandbach bt O Cooke 15/6 15/10 13/15 15/5
- C Monbiot bt E Hyde w/o
- W Morse bt T Shields 15/13 15/7 2/15 15/12
- A Coldicott bt A Rozier Pamplin 15/6 15/9 15/7
- J Bailey bt C Foreman 15/0 15/0 15/6
- T Stevens bt B Stevens 12/15 15/6 9/15 15/6 15/10
- J Giddins bt A Pitalis 15/9 15/3 15/6
- M Bailey v H Britton 15/2 15/1 15/6
- B Cawston bt D Dundas 15/0 15/2 15/1
- W Evans bt J Telling 15/9 15/5 15/1
- J Coyne bt E Monbiot 15/2 15/7 15/1
- T Bomford bt M Brooks 15/4 15/1 15/4
- P Sutton bt J Jamieson-Black 16/13 15/12 15/8
- T Buckley bt D Wright 15/7 15/8 15/13
First Round
- P Sutton bt E Gray 15/7 15/1 15/7
- C Monbiot bt L Symonds 15/4 15/4 15/2
- A Pitalis bt B Mason 10/15 8/15 15/2 15/4 15/1
- T Shields bt A Judd 15/13 15/3 15/3
- T Buckley bt L Winstanley 15/8 15/2 15/4