Neptune British Open Doubles Championship 2011
Apr 02, 2011 - Apr 10, 2011 The Queen's Club O Harris
Open Doubles Championship
Sponsored by Neptune Investment Management
Open Doubles Final
James Coyne & Will Hopton bt George Tysoe & Mike Bailey 15/9, 7/15, 15/7, 15/7, 15/3
Marker: Andrew Lyons. Referee: Alastair Gourlay
On a hot spring day with bright sunlight streaming in through the roof lights what better place to be than on the rackets courts at Queen's! And that is where 50 spectators assembled on Sunday 10 April 2011, rounded up by Tournament Organiser Oli Harris, to watch a great Corinthian final in the UK Open Doubles, once again kindly sponsored by Neptune. It was the last tournament of the UK 10-11 season and the last big event to be played in front of the temporary galleries which were installed after a fire in the 70s.
The match was the culmination of 8 days play in which arguably the best match leading up to the final was the pitting of new bloods Christian Portz and Nick Hopcroft, both still teenagers, against finalists George Tysoe and Mike Bailey, a match which saw the young guns blaze ahead by one game to love and 13 all before Tysoe and Bailey responded to the alarm clock. Apart from the first game which Portz and Hocroft won 15/8, every game in that Quarter Final went to set.
The final got off to a stuttering start with neither side getting clear away from the other for almost 20 minutes, and as often the case in doubles one player in each team played attacking shots whilst his partner provided essential ground cover. In this case, Mike Bailey for his team and James Coyne for his both hit some cracking killer shots, whilst George Tysoe and Will Hopton, respectively, bravely mopped up everything that was thrown at them, with many terrific rallies loudly applauded. The match was played in very good spirit throughout, with only a hint of a question of one or two calls from umpire Gourlay, and no-one was hit by the ball. It was a huge pleasure to watch and a fine example of how the game should be played at this level. By winning, Hopton and Coyne complete a hat-trick of titles this season - British Open, US Open and Amateur Doubles - perhaps a challenge for the world title will follow in a year's time??
Friday 8 April
Semi Final 17:00 G Tysoe & M Bailey (3) bt B Snell & M Hubbard (2) 4-1
Semi Final 19:00 J Coyne & W Hopton (1) bt B Bomford & A Gourlay (4)
Wednesday 6 April
Quarter Final 18:30 J Coyne & W Hopton (1) bt S Higson & N Hutton 15/6 15/3 17/14 15/7
Quarter Final 19:45 G Tysoe & M Bailey (3) bt N Hopcroft & C Portz 8/15 16/13 17/14 17/14 16/13
Tuesday 5 April Results
Second Round - S Higson & N Hutton bt O Harris & A Lyons 15/7 15/0 15/10 15/2
Quarter-Final - 18:30 B Snell & M Hubbard (2) bt P Sutton & A Portz 15/6 15/3 12/15 15/11 15/11
Quarter Final - 19:45 B Bomford & A Gourlay (4) bt W Nicholls & H Franks 15/12 15/5 15/5 3/15 15/1