Manchester Gold Racquet 2008
Oct 24, 2008 - Oct 26, 2008 Manchester T B Hegarty
Manchester Gold Racquet
24-26 October 2008
Report and Results as follows
Singles -
Alex Titchener-Barrett bt James Coyne 15/6, 12/15, 15/4 15/3
Doubles -
Alex & Dominic Titchener-Barrett bt James Coyne & Will Hopton 15/6, 15/3, 14/16, 16/17, 15/1
Singles Plate -
Christian Portz bt James Fuller 11/15, 15/3, 18/17
Doubles Plate -
Will Morse & Mike Bailey bt Alex & Christian Portz
Report : by T B Hegarty
The Manchester Gold Racquet tournament was held over the long week-end of Friday 24th October to Sunday 26th October 2008. This reversion to its former customary date was brought about by problems of fixture congestion in a season of World Championship challenges in both singles and doubles. But at least it meant that everyone could enjoy an extra hour in bed on Sunday morning, courtesy of the change back to Greenwich Mean Time!
There was a strong field of eighteen players all of whom entered both the singles and the doubles. Some of the players were old friends from previous years but there were a good number of new faces. It was particularly satisfying to be able to welcome back the Titchener-Barrett brothers. As many will recall, Alex suffered a cruel injury in the Gold Racquet Singles Final in 2006 and was out of the game for many months. This year, however, as will be seen, the story had a happier ending. Another welcome visitor was Tom Pugh, winner of the very first Gold Racquet of the modern era in 1966 though on this occasion, he had decided, no doubt wisely, to hold court off-court rather than on it! Other old friends were Chris Worlidge and Simon Kverndal, returning after a gap of several years, both of whom played with their usual style and enthusiasm; and our very own Simon Shenkman, no doubt hoping to repeat his triumph of 2007. Amongst the younger generation were such stalwart supporters of the game as James Coyne, Richard Spender and Will Hopton, enthusiasts such as Dominic Wright and James Clements, Mancunian representatives Nick James and Jamie Bebb, the inimitable and pavonine Mark Agate, newcomers Mike Bailey, Will Morse and James Fuller and last but not least, though certainly the youngest, the Wykehamist brothers Alex and Christian Portz. Derek Barrett once again carried the burden of marking most of the matches with the genial assurance we have come to know and expect.
In keeping with the formula adopted in previous years, there was no formal seeding, though the draw reflected the standing of the players under the new ranking system and the interim recommendations issued to tournament organisers. Once again, to ensure plenty of play for all competitors, the first round losers were entered into a Plate competition, both singles and doubles. So there was a lot to pack into the time available.
For the most part, the first round matches in both the singles and the doubles resulted in fairly easy victories for the higher ranking players. But Christian Portz pushed Nick James hard, losing the first game by the narrowest of margins and taking the second by a similar margin before eventually losing the match 15/14, 16/17, 15/7; and Christian and his brother Alex were by no means overawed in the doubles, despite being pitched against the formidable power of the Titchener-Barrett brothers. Perhaps the most entertaining first round match saw Kverndal and Worlidge go down to the much younger pair, Nick James and James Fuller, but not without the most spirited resistance, pushing their opponents to the wire in the second game before losing 15/4, 18/17.
In the second round of the singles, Nick James was once again involved in the tightest match, securing a memorable victory over Richard Spender 10/15, 15/3, 15/7. Spender was perhaps not at his best; but James played particularly well on what is, at present, his home court, with the added advantage of having been played into form in his hard first-round match against Christian Portz. Simon Shenkman was unable to emulate his 2007 victory over Will Hopton, whom he met at a similar stage last year. Shenkman was somewhat out of practice and not at his best; whereas Hopton was much improved and had tightened up his back-hand which Shenkman had been able to exploit when last they met. After a fairly tight first game which he could and perhaps should have won, the holder faded somewhat and the match ended in a fairly easy win for Hopton 16/13, 15/4.
In the semi-finals, Alex Titchener-Barrett met Will Hopton; and James Coyne was pitted against Nick James. In the first game of his match against Hopton, Titchener-Barrett served with both power and cut, scoring a number of service aces and forcing his opponent on to the defensive when he was able to make a return. A wonderful rally at 9/5 ended in a let after Titchener-Barrett had shown great athleticism to reach a hard-hit shot to his back-hand which had looked a winner all the way. But in the end, Titchener-Barrett took the game by the fairly comfortable margin of 15/5. In the second game, however, the roles were reversed. Hopton began to get the measure of his opponent's serve, volleying it off the side wall when the opportunity presented itself, varying his own service and showing deceptive speed in the rallies, taking the game 15/6. Titchener-Barrett had seemed a little uncertain as to how best to play on the lively Manchester court and had tried slowing the ball down after some earlier over-hitting. But he soon found his touch again in the final game which saw some wonderful rackets from both players. Two shots stand out in the memory: Titchener-Barrett turning on a ball in front of the short line and hitting it ferociously on to the right hand side wall back across the front of the court; and Hopton playing a perfect drop volley on the forehand. But Titchener-Barrett marched remorselessly on to victory 15/5, 6/15, 15/6 in a match which lasted nearly an hour in total. The other semi-final, however, took only about half as long and resulted in a fairly easy victory for James Coyne over Nick James. Whilst James played some admirable rackets, particularly in the middle of the second game, Coyne was too strong and consistent to allow him to get ahead at any stage and ended up winning 15/6, 15/10.
So this set up the eagerly anticipated final between Alex-Titchener-Barrett and James Coyne. The match started at 11.30 a.m. on the Sunday before a good gallery and lasted for about one and a half hours. It was the pick of the matches in this year's Gold Racquet. Titchener-Barrett raced to a lead of 9/0 in the first game with the assistance of some severe serving. Coyne then clawed his way back to 9/6 with some tight serving and hard, low kills before letting Titchener-Barrett back in when trying to straighten a ball on to his opponent's back-hand. Titchener-Barrett then took the game 15/6 and seemed in control of the match until a little way into the second game. After making a number of errors in the initial exchanges, however, Coyne began to find his form whilst his opponent began once again to evince some tactical uncertainty. He hit a series of winners hard and deep down both side walls whilst Titchener-Barrett made a number of errors and on occasions gave his opponent the initiative by putting the ball on to the back wall. He did so at 11/11, allowing Coyne to put the ball away and take the lead for only the second time in the match. Titchener-Barrett was unable to regain the initiative; and the game ended in Coyne's favour 12/15 when he was able to kill another ball which his opponent had put too high on the back wall. But Titchener-Barrett was able to retrench and quickly ran to a substantial lead in the third game, hitting the ball with great power and showing remarkable athleticism. Thus, at 12/3 down, Coyne manoeuvred his opponent out of position and played a slower wristed stroke down the right-hand wall which seemed a certain winner. But Titchener-Barrett somehow reached it and played a firm shot round the walls which found his opponent in his turn surprised, out of position, and unable to make a return. The game ended 15/4 in Titchener-Barrett's favour; and the fourth and final game followed a similar pattern with Titchener-Barrett occasionally over-hitting but generally harnessing his power of shot to better tactical purpose. Despite some hard-fought rallies, he slowly exerted control and went on to win the match 15/6, 12/15, 15/4, 15/3.
In the semi-finals of the doubles, Alex and Dominic Titchener-Barrett had a fairly easy victory over James Fuller and Nick James; as did James Coyne and Will Hopton over Simon Shenkman and Richard Spender. Hopton had played particularly well throughout both his semi-finals. But he did not show the same form in the final of the doubles, which was won by the Titchener-Barrett brothers 15/6, 15/3, 14/16, 16/17, 15/1. After taking an early 6/3 lead in the first game Coyne and Hopton failed to take another point, losing 15/6. Similarly in the second game, they stalled at 6/3 in favour of their opponents and lost 15/3. But the match warmed up in the third game with Coyne and Hopton playing more on Dominic Titchener-Barrett and moving quickly to a 10/3 lead. At 13/7, they seemed to be poised to win the game; but their opponents dug in and slowly edged their way back to 13 all, whereupon the game was set to three. At 2/0 against them in set three, the Titchener-Barrett brothers got back in hand and took it to 1/2 only for Dominic to put one down and for Coyne then to make a fine whipped return to take back service and steer his side home 16/14. In the fourth game, neither side could establish a clear lead with Alex Titchener-Barrett and Coyne dominating the play. But eventually Coyne and Hopton seemed to have broken away to lead 10/14 only to see it whittled away once again. With the scores level at 14 all the game was set to three and the Titchener-Barrett brothers went within a point of victory. But an error let in their opponents; and Coyne soon finished the game off with a service ace. At two games all, the match seemed set up for a grand-stand finish. But it ended in something of an anticlimax. Alex Titchener-Barrett re-asserted his dominance, both on service and in the rallies, whilst Coyne and Hopton made too many errors. The game was soon over 15/1; and for the first time ever the title had been won by two brothers.
So Alex Titchener-Barrett won both the singles and the doubles with an outstanding display of rackets and was presented with the splendid trophy originally designed for the annual rackets match between the Manchester and Liverpool clubs. As was said at the presentation, Alex's play brings to mind the philosophy of the American professional, as quoted by Edward Ulmann of the Racquet and Tennis Club of New York: When I get a sight of the ball, I hit it; and when I hit it, I hit it damned hard. A worthy champion.
But one must not overlook the Plate competition in which the Portz brothers, playing in their first senior tournament, greatly distinguished themselves and showed immense promise for the future. In the first round of the singles, James Fuller was taken by surprise by Alex Portz, who won the first game 1/15. Fuller needed to work hard to win the match 1/15, 15/10, 15/8. His reward, after beating Will Morse in the semi-final was to meet Christian Portz, the younger of the two brothers, in the final. Fuller, whose play had improved throughout the tournament, seemed reasonably well in control in the first game, which he won 15/11. But Portz came back with a vengeance, taking the second game 15/3. It looked as if he was going to repeat this feat in the third and final game, moving rapidly to 11/3. But Fuller fought back and eventually levelled the scores at 13 all. Fuller's dominance continued into set five; and he reached match point without any further score from Portz. But Portz then got back in hand and after losing and regaining serve, he levelled the scores at 17 all and went on to win the match 11/15, 15/3, 18/17.
In the Plate doubles, Alex and Christian Portz comfortably disposed of Simon Kverndal and Chris Worlidge; but Mike Bailey and Will Morse encountered greater resistance from Jamie Bebb, an experienced campaigner who knows every nook and cranny of the Manchester court, and Mark Agate, who had woken up after a somnolent start in the main competition. Morse, who had seemed out of sorts with his game in earlier matches, played much better in the final, as he needed to do if he and Bailey were to see off the challenge of the Wykehamist pair. In the event, they managed to do so, despite losing the second game fairly heavily, taking the match 15/12, 2/15, 15/9. So Christian Portz was unable to emulate the feat of Alex Titchener-Barrett and add a doubles title with his brother to his singles victory.
Nor must one forget the social side of the week-end. On the Friday evening most of the players went off to the Yang Sing for an excellent Chinese banquet; and on the Saturday night, the Gold Racquet Ball was held on the tennis court for the first time in recent history. A splendid venue - though the acoustics were a little unusual. But it will not be too often that one will have the opportunity of being served fillet of beef in such surroundings. It was convenient for the players as well, since most of them had chosen cheap and cheerful lodgings near the Club; and few of them could resist an expedition to survey the night life of our great northern metropolis. It is said that two of our intrepid voyagers had to be extricated from a somewhat delicate social situation. But a veil must, of course, be drawn across matters of that kind. The venue for the Ball meant, unhappily, that the tennis court was unavailable for play from early Saturday afternoon; though it was miraculously cleared in time for a family tennis tournament which had been arranged for the Sunday. This tournament was itself a great success and ensured a good gallery for the rackets finals and a large turn-out for Sunday lunch at the Club.
We look forward to next year and hope to retain the same slot in the fixture list, namely the last week-end in October, without any clashes with other competitions or undue fixture congestion. But it is likely that there will be one major change since serious consideration is being given to moving the Ball to a date in the summer. So it may be replaced by a formal dinner or stag, or both, or some other event or entertainment, depending on the number of entries and people's preferences. Any suggestions will be welcome.
All that remains necessary is to thank our manageress, Stella Heap, and all her staff, our marker, Derek Barrett, but most of all the competitors without whom, of course, the tournament could never have happened.
T.B. Hegarty
14.xii.2008
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