Neptune British Open Singles Championship 2011
Jan 18, 2011 - Jan 30, 2011 The Queen's Club H Foster
Open Singles Championship
Sponsored by Neptune Investment Management
British No.1 defends British Open Title in straight games
Alex Titchener-Barrett wins 2011 Neptune Investment Management Singles Championship. Top seed and defending Champion Alex Titchener-Barrett defeated number 3 seed Will Hopton in straight games to take the match 15-1, 15-5, 15-5, 15-4.
Both finalists had progressed smoothly in their semi-finals without losing a game. Will beat former World Champion Harry Foster in a tightly contested match (17/14, 15/13, 18/17, 18/15). Alex avenged his US Open semi-final defeat by overcoming James Coyne.
The 2011 Tournament was a case of the old order being re-established. The final similarly followed the form book with Alex dominating large period of play and preventing Will€from gaining a foothold the game.
Alex was fast out of the blocks, swiftly winning the first game and setting the tone for the rest of the match. This was a performance of power, pace, precision with controlled hitting of the highest quality and although Will battled extremely hard and put up strong resistance, Alex was relentless on the attack combined with a virtually error free performance.€Will fought hard throughout, and rallied furiously in the third and fourth€games€- but inevitably Alex prevailed as his devastating finishing came into play.
There was much for the packed gallery to admire with the sheer consistency and pace of Alex€s ground strokes allowing Will to demonstrate his remarkable retrieval skills. It was a fantastic display of Singles play with some fine hitting down the lines and some brilliant cross court shots. Will tirelessly chased down many virtually impossible shots but Alex was always ready for the next counter.
Both players should be applauded for the good natured spirit in which they played the match which made the jobs of marker Andrew Lyons and referee Alistair Gourlay straight forward. In particular; Will, a true sportsman, often called his own returns down.
Will as rightly earned his place as number 3 in World Rackets and much credit should be given to his determination and commitment to the sport. He continues to develop his coaching skills at Haileybury College and has organised a number of highly successful tournaments with record number of entrants.
This concludes a remarkable year for Alex Titchener-Barrett - since losing in the World Singles Championship Play-off in November to James Stout, he has come back very strongly and has now won back to back British Open Singles Titles, the British Amateur Singles Championship three years running and holds the British Open Doubles Title with Tim Cockcroft. Alex and Tim now challenge for the right to be crowned World Doubles Champions in March 2011 in Montreal and London.
Special thanks and appreciation are extended to Robin Geffen whose generous sponsorship through Neptune Investment Management is invaluable to the future of Rackets.
Semi-Finals
Will Hopton (3) bt Harry Foster (2) 4-0
Alex Titchener-Barrett (1) bt James Coyne (5) 4-0
Quarter-Finals
J Coyne (5) bt M Hubbard (4) 3-0
W Hopton (3)€bt C Portz (6) 3-1
H Foster (2) bt B Bomford (7) 3-0
A Titchener-Barrett (1)€bt B Snell 3-0