rackets Fixture

Invitation Singles Qualifying Tournament 2011

INVITATION SINGLES QUALIFIER 2011

Nick James and James Beaumont qualify for the Invitation Main Draw

Thirteen entrants arrived in Marlborough over the weekend to contest for 2 qualification places in the Invitational Singles, to be held at Queens Club between the 13^th and 20^th November 2011. Play started at 3pm on Friday, where Alastair Gourlay took on the number 1 seed Nick James. Despite taking an early lead, Gourlay was unable to cause an early upset. Whilst showing some of the better players how best to serve on a very true Marlborough court, Harris ensured that the schedule was not to be delayed following his matches against both Spender and Snell. Richard Offord played exceptionally well in an attractive match with Beaumont, showing tremendous improvement since his school days. The first upset came when Beaumont beat Danby in a scrappy “just-out-of-the-car” match. With Danby being short of practice, Beaumont was able to capitalise on his home court advantage. Patrick Maxwell played extremely well to cause another upset, taking down Ryan Tulley in straight games. Ryan then came up against a gritty Alastair Orchard, who managed to save game points to win a very hard fought match. From 6pm, drinks were served in packed gallery, which made for a robust atmosphere. Congratulations to those players who managed to continue to concentrate and put on a great show to many people who were seeing the game for the first time.

Following a very lively Friday evening in Marlborough, play started at 9am on Saturday morning, when Richard Offord again impressed, this time beating Charlie Danby in a terrific match, where all games went to a set. James and Colidcott also had a long game…Thank goodness for the second court! Gourlay put up a good fight against Coldicott, but went down in very amusing fashion, berating himself as only he can. Patrick Maxwell then took the first game from Orchard, but failed to complete what would have been a tremendous upset. James Rowland-Clark managed to beat Richard Spender having been a long way down, hitting some tremendous shots and showing a fine “Cripps” technique. He could be a very fine player. Ben Snell was too strong for an out-of-practice-based-in-Switzerland Spender. Once Rowland Clark had sneaked past Harris, Snell and Rowland Clark battled it out for the final semi-final spot. Rowland Clark could not reproduce his form against Spender, which meant that the semi-final line up was Orchard against Beaumont and James against Snell. Doubles pairs were made up pairing the strongest non-qualifiers with the weakest, as per the pre-tournament rankings. This has proven to be a very good system in the past, with very even pairs and a healthy element of mystery (who will I play with?). This year did not disappoint, with every game bar the finals going the full distance (much to our marker’s angst!).

The first singles semi-final was a little one-sided. Beaumont clearly very comfortable on his home court was able to dominate the match and gain his revenge over Orchard, who had recently dispatched Beaumont in similar style at 2010 Amateur. Although Beaumont ran out a comfortable winner 15/8, 15/5, 15/5, there were many very fine rallies. The second semi-final was a much closer affair. In the first game, Ben Snell led 2-0 in the set to three, but was unable to close out the game. Having won the serve, James hit three fine winners to show he has the steel to win in tight situations. James won the second game relatively comfortably 15/8. Snell came back strongly in third to win a well contested game 15/11. In the fourth game, James led going into the latter stages, but when Snell came back to 12/13, momentum seemed to have shifted in Snell’s direction. However, Snell missed a low volley in the centre of the court to hand the serve back to James, who then clinically closed out the match to win 17/16, 15/8, 11/15, 15/12.

Almost all the contestants came together for dinner at Godot’s on Saturday night. It was a fantastic evening; where we quite literally laughed ourselves horse. Despite desperate pleas from Robert Wakely for the finalist to show a little restraint, the evening continued well into the small hours…much fun was had by all.

Happily, the late night shenanigans seemed to inspire the players rather than hinder. According to Wakely, Beaumont played at the peak of his ability to give James a severe test. James led the match 2-0, taking the first game in a set 18/15 and won the second game 15/12. There were very few service winners, many long rallies, almost all of which were ended with winners rather than errors. James showed a combination of tremendous hitting and graceful movement, whilst Beaumont hit a good length, straightening the ball effectively…an old dog, but still with a few tricks. James took a 10-3 lead in the third game, but Beaumont managed to claw back, finally levelling at 13-13. James led early in the set to 5, first 3-0, then 4-2, but Beaumont managed to answer a very good forehand serve from the right service box to save match-point. Three winners later and suddenly the match was on. Beaumont took an early lead and managed to win the fourth game 15/7, continuing to hit a good length and seeming to start to dominate. In the fifth game, Beaumont took the lead for the first and last time when he led 1-0. James started playing more aggressively, hitting several winners in quick succession to take 9-1 lead. Beaumont managed to get it back to 7-9, but some very good serving by James quickly took him to 14-7. This time, Beaumont was unable to answer the serve and James was rightly the champion – 18/15, 15/12, 17/18, 7/15, 15/7.

Special thanks must go to Robert Wakely, who did a fantastic job marking throughout the weekend. He is a tremendous enthusiast and contributes hugely to the tournament’s atmosphere. It was a great shame that he couldn’t play, as he is recovering from a knee injury, but we look forward to his return next year. Thank you also to Marlborough College, who allowed us to host the competition. Theirs is one of the finest courts in the world and it is a privilege to be able to use the venue.

Results