LONDON OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Whitgift School, Croydon, 14/15th September 2013
The London Open kicked off the main part of the Fives season in fine style – which is more than can be said for the weather. As the players arrived on the Saturday morning, they were greeted by dark skies, incessant rain and an organiser frantically applying sawdust to the court floors to mop up the drips.
Still, once play was under way, the competition soon lifted the spirits; and, by the time the last winner was struck on Sunday afternoon, a couple of significant wins had been achieved. By taking the singles title, Dan Tristao completed his full house of singles titles: he has now won every regional singles title, although the big one – the N/national Singles title – still eludes him. Will Ellison also scored a notable win by teaming up with Dan to secure the doubles title. This means he has now won every doubles title since he lost in the final of this tournament in 2012 – including the N/national Doubles title, as well as the President’s Cup and the N/national Winchester Fives Doubles title for good measure.
Mind you, neither of these wins was achieved easily, and right from the first round of the singles, there were close games: Adam George and Richard Dyke had a topsy-turvy three-gamer, for instance, before Adam clinched a place in the second round.
In the end, though, it was the top eight seeds, who reached the quarter-finals, and the top four seeds made it through to the semis, although the second and fourth were made to fight hard. Fourth seed Matt Cavanagh needed three games to oust John Minta, while the second-seeded Will Ellison had a titanic battle with the lower-ranked Ed Kay, losing the first game. Sadly, the competition was denied a fitting climax to the game when a nasty hand injury forced Ed to retire.
The semis again went to form, with defending champion James Toop scoring an emphatic win over Matt, while Dan Tristao and Will Ellison delighted the crowd with another mammoth three-game encounter. This time, it was Dan who emerged the winner, with a strong run of points from 2-2 in the final game giving him a lead he would never lose.
The final was another yo-yo battle, with the first two games shared between Dan and James. However, it was Dan who won the day, using novel tactics (such as the lob) to disrupt James’ rhythm that allowed him to find the crucial winners and force errors.
The doubles tournament was equally close, and a three-game encounter in the first round between Tilston/Jefferies and Hanton/George had the organiser looking worriedly at his watch as the event threatened to run way over time. In the end, seventh seeds Hanton/George were consigned to the plate – but only after losing the third game 11-12!
Mind you, they weren’t the only seeds to lose in the first round. Eighth seeds Burrows/Maconie were also knocked out, losing in three games to the impressive young Pauline pairing of Beltrami and Arnold. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these two seeded pairs won through to the plate final, where Tom Maconie and Chris Burrows eventually won.
In the main competition, after these ‘upsets’, it was the top four seeds who won through to the semis. Dan Tristao and Will Ellison were playing together for the first time, and although that lack of experience showed – there were occasional moments of confusion between the pair, with both running for the same shot, leaving much of the court unguarded – their individual skills were too much for former champions Hamish Buchanan and Robin Perry, who had recovered from surprisingly being taken to three games in the first round to score a fine win over James Toop and Marcus Bate in the quarter-finals.
The second semi was a thoroughly brutal affair, with the untried partnership of John Minta and Gareth Price taking on defending champions Charlie Brooks and Tom Dean. It was an orgy of powerful hitting interspersed with clever angles and amazing retrieval, but in the end Tom and Charlie came through in three tough games.
They carried on in the same vein in the final, but weren’t able to force the same number of mistakes from Will and Dan. As the match went on, they struggled with their opponents’ willingness to volley and hurry them, while Will and Dan’s sublime delicate shots around the front corners and great pace around the court were simply too much. Will and Dan did occasionally look human, with a few errors and occasional breakdown in communication, but in the end they deservedly took the title, and secured their place in the record books.
RESULTS
Singles
1st round: J Tilston bt J Malde 11-7, 11-4; T Maconie bt C Davey 11-2, 11-2; E Hatton bt J Walsh 11-2,11-8; A Pringle bt A Hamilton 11-6, 11-5; A George bt R Dyke 11-5,1-11,11-2; C Burrows bt S Russell 11-1,11-2; T Dean bt J Sinton 11-1,11-1; M Shaw bt H Jefferies 11-5,11-8
2nd round: J Toop by J Tilston 11-3,11-3; Maconie bt Hatton 11-4,11-8; J Minta bt A Pringle 11-8, 11-4; M Cavanagh bt A George 11-4,11-2; D Tristao bt J Brubert 11-2, 11-4; C Brooks bt Burrows 11-5,11-7; E Kay bt T Dean 11-7,11-3; W Ellison bt Shaw 11-3, 11-1
Quarter-finals: Toop bt Maconie 11-2, 11-1; Cavanagh bt Minta 11-3, 5-11, 11-4; Tristao bt Brooks 12-10, 11-9; Ellison bt Kay 6-11,5-1 retd
Semi-finals: Toop bt Cavanagh 11-2,11-2; Tristao bt Ellison 11-8,8-11,11-2
Final: Tristao bt Toop 11-3,2-11,11-6
Plate: Brubert
Doubles
1st round: W Ellison & D Tristao bt S Russell & R Law 11-2,11-0; B Beltrami & O Arnold bt C Burrows & T Maconie 11-7, 8-11, 11-7; J Toop & M Bate bt R Sutcliffe & J Walter 11-4,11-4; H Buchanan & R Perry bt J Malde & N Edmonds 11-7, 10-12, 11-4; J Minta & G Price bt T Hamilton & N Woolfenden 11-9, 11-5; E Hatton & A Pringle bt J Sinton & R Dyke 11-2,11-1; J Tilston & H Jefferies bt P Hanton & A George 9-11,11-7,12-11; T Dean & C Brooks w/o T Watkinson & B Chua
Quarter-finals: Ellison & Tristao bt Beltrami & Arnold 11-5, 11-1; Buchanan &Perry bt Toop & Bate 11-7,11-7; Minta & Price bt Hatton & Pringle 11-3, 11-8; Dean & Brooks bt Tilston & Jefferies 11-0,11-3
Semi-finals: Ellison & Tristao bt Buchanan &Perry 11-4,11-5; Dean & Brooks bt Minta & Price 11-4, 7-11, 11-2
Final: Ellison & Tristao bt Dean & Brooks 11-2, 11-6
Plate: Maconie & Burrows