Amateur Singles Championship 2011
Dec 09, 2011 - Dec 11, 2011 Manchester A Gourlay
To download the full details please click here
An entry form in docx format is available here
The updated draw with completed matches is available here
Paul Brown was in Manchester and the critical stages of the event were streamed on Real Tennis TV from Saturday morning through to the Sunday's final.
This year's Amateur singles was held in Manchester for the first time in over 70 years. It was refreshingto see a major tournament being played away from the Queen's Club. Manchester put on a whirlwind show as play was almost continuous from early on Friday morning right through until Sunday afternoon's final.
Friday's action saw all the first and second round matches completed. Richard Owen put out 7th seed Dan Shiner in a high standard affair although it could have been a different story if Shiner had converted an opportunity at game ball in 2nd. The other highlight of the opening day was Bertie Graham's marathon win over Ian Finlayson. Bertie finally coming through 15/11 in 5th game. The rest of the seeds progressed comfortably and the scene was set for some exciting quarter-finals on Saturday morning.
Saturday marked the start of RealTennis.TV coverage of the event. Paul Brown and his team did a superb job in streaming the matches live and a number of players enjoyed the chance to commentate on the action. Nick James and Tom Stevens proved to be a particularly entertaining duo! On the court there were easy quarter-final wins for James, Alex Coldicott and Alex Titchener-Barrett. However Richard Owen caused an upset by defeating number 2 seed James Coyne in 4 games. Coyne was a little under the weather but Owen's performance was still very impressive for someone who only left school this year.
Saturday afternoon saw some less serious action as plate doubles events were held on both the Rackets and Real Tennis court. His Honour Judge Brendan Hegarty QC kindly agreed to participate on the condition that his matches were not streamed live to a potential audience of billions! Alex Rozier-Pamplin/Ed Stoner were successful on the Rackets court and Jamie Bebb/Ian Finlayson swept aside all before them in the Tennis event.
The semi-finals of the main Amateur draw took place on Saturday evening before the tournament dinner and were watched by an enthusiastic and full gallery. In the first semi Alex Titchener-Barrett had too much power and precision for Alex Coldicott. Coldicott did have his moments but couldn't match the relentless hitting of the victor as he succumbed in straight games. The second match of the evening saw a titanic tussle between Richard Owen and Nick James. They had met at the same stage of the Manchester Gold Racquet back in October and served up a classic five game encounter. This match lived up to and even ultimately surpassed their previous meeting. Owen roared into a two game lead hitting a succession of winners off both wings. James was constantly on the defensive and had no answer to his young opponent's play. Owen led 12-7 in 3rd and perhaps with a little more experience would have closed the match out. However James refused to lie down and surged back into the match by winning the game 15/12 and then racing through 4th without dropping a point. The gallery was in raptures throughout 5th game as the advantage shifted from one player to the other. The match ultimately was decided in the set as Nick James' determination saw him through to his first Amateur Final. Richard Owen deserves huge credit for his performance and the Rackets world will certainly be hearing a lot more from him in the coming seasons.
The dinner following the semi-finals was well attended and Brendan Hegarty entertained the diners by recalling tales of past Amateur Championships. The tournament organiser, Ali Gourlay, thanked the Club and Rackets the professional, Will Hopton, for hosting the tournament and the players in such a splendid fashion.
Sunday's final was sadly a relatively quick affair. Alex Titchener-Barrett never looked back after storming into a 13-0 lead during the first hand of the match. Nick James competed well at times after that but he was always fighting a losing battle against a defending champion in top form. Alex was very complimentary to his opponent in his remarks after the match and Nick can certainly look back on a successful event. However ultimately the weekend belonged to ATB as he won his 4th successive Amateur championships.
Thank you to Manchester for being such wonderful hosts and in particular to Stella Heap, Will Hopton, Steve Brockenshaw and Brendan Hegarty. Rackets really has been revived at the club and hopefully the tournament will return again in 2012.
Results
Sunday 11th December
Final
A.Titchener-Barrett (1) bt N.James (3) 15/4, 15/8, 15/5
Saturday 10th December
Semi Finals
A.Titchener-Barrett (1) bt A.Coldicott (4) 15/8, 15/4, 15/6
N.James (3) bt R.Owen 4/15, 10/15, 15/12, 15/0, 16/13
Quarter Finals
N.James (3) bt T.Stevens (6) 15/5, 15/7, 15/8
A.Coldicott (4) bt S.Shenkman (5) 15/10, 15/3, 15/6
A.Titchener-Barrett (1) bt A.Gourlay (8) 15/2, 15/4, 15/2
R.Owen bt J.Coyne (2) 10/15, 15/5, 15/3, 15/3
Friday 9th December
H.Corcoran bt. E.Stoner 15/4, 15/0, 15/7
A.Gourlay (8) bt. J.Beale 15/3, 15/7, 15/7
S.Cox bt. A.Judd 15/0, 15/7, 15/1
D.Dundas bt. S.Carver 15/1, 15/3, 15/9
T.Stevens (6) bt. O.Howick 15/6, 15/6, 15/7
N.James (3) bt. S.Cox 15/3, 15/7, 15/4
S.Shenkman (5) bt. H.Corcoran 15/0, 15/6, 15/1
A. Coldicott (4) bt. D.Dundas 15/5, 15/6, 15/3
B.Graham bt. I.Finlayson 15/4, 4/15, 15/4, 7/15, 15/11
R.Owen bt. D.Shiner (7) 15/5, 16/15, 15/12
J.Coyne (2) bt. B.Graham 15/5, 15/8, 15/8
A.Rozier-Pamplin bt. S.Maltz 15/6, 15/6, 15/6
A.Titchener-Barrett (1) bt. A.Rozier-Pamplin 15/3, 15/4, 15/2