On a weekend of fine sport and fine weather in Devon, Will Ellison reversed the events of 12 months ago, winning both the singles and (with Dan Grant) doubles titles at Blundell’s.
In the singles, he beat his conqueror in last year’s final, Dan Tristao – although, as is now expected of this pair, their match went down to the wire – and he then teamed up with Grant to regain the title from the pair he had lost to in 2012.
It was a fitting end to a remarkable tournament – remarkable not least because the tournament was played in glorious sunshine for the first time in several years. Beyond that, there was plenty of local interest, with Blundell’s master-in-charge Chris Hedley-Dent taking part with pupil Toby Francis, while old Blundellian Alex Steel made history by becoming the first lady ever to take part in the championships.
Sadly, all three were unable to make it beyond their opening matches in the singles competition, and the top four seeds (Will Ellison, Dan Tristao, Dan Grant and Matt Cavanagh) made it comfortably through to the quarter-finals, where they were joined by Marcus Bate and Ed Hatton, as well as Jim Hughes and Tom Kiggell, who had come through tough matches against Andy Pringle and Gareth Price respectively.
Fittingly, these latter two win through to the Plate final, but an injury to Andy meant the game could not be played and the Dartington glassware went home with Gareth.
Back in the main competition, the top four seeds all won through to the semis fairly comfortably, and Will then made quick work of his match against Matt, conceding just four points on his way to victory. However, the match between the two Dans was much closer, full of excellent shot-making and superb retrieval. In the end, though, it was Dan T who closed out the second game 11-9 to seal the win and book his place in the final.
Dan T and Will have played out several titanic and closely fought matches in recent years, so the first game will have come as a shock to everyone: Will raced out of the blocks and took it without conceding a point. However, the inevitable happened, and Dan fought back to take the second game, sending the match into a deciding third game.
This was a fitting end to the match, with never more than a couple of points between the two players, and both displaying incredible reserves of energy on such a hot day, as well as the mixture of athleticism, power and resolute defence that has made them both worthy champions in the past. The match was tied at four-all for what seemed like an eternity, but gradually the scores rose and when Dan took a 9-8 lead, he had the momentum and seemed set to retain his title, but Ellison dug deep, fought back and took the title with an 11-9 win.
In the doubles championship, three of the top four seeds made it through to the semi-finals, but with some untried partnerships making it impossible to predict the result.
In the top half of the draw, Will Ellison and Dan Grant were partnering each other for the first time, but that didn’t show as they dispatched the Executioners pair of Richard Dyke and Jez Sinton. However, fellow club members Andy Pringle and Marcus Bate regained some pride, beating local stalwarts Lewis and Watson to reach the semis. Here they were joined by defending champs Price and Tristao, along with another untried partnership, Wayne Enstone and Jim Hughes, who had won through to the semis only after a tough match with Ed Hatton and Tom Kiggell.
Wayne and Jim went on to push Will and Dan hard in their semi, but in the end the younger pair won through. Meanwhile, the second semi was even tighter. Andy and Marcus were behind initially and saved several game points before winning the first game 12-10, only for Gareth and Dan to up their level, take the second game and force the match into a decider. Sadly, the game wasn’t finished, as a nasty hand injury to Marcus meant he had to withdraw.
That meant Gareth and Dan could defend the title they had won before, but come the final, they simply didn’t have an answer to the barrage they faced from Dan and Will – as Gareth would later describe it, they were ‘Ellison-ed’.
It’s true that Will did play superbly in the final, displaying a match-winning mixture of power and angles with superb anticipation, but Dan’s contribution must not be under-estimated. His side-wall boasts pulled his opponents out of position, while his willingness to take shots early on the volley hurried them. Make no mistake, Gareth and Dan played extremely well, and would have beaten almost any other pair, but on this form Ellison and Grant were simply untouchable.
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RESULTS
SINGLES
First round: J.Hughes bt R.Warner 11-1, 11-2; A.Pringle bt T.Francis 11-0, 11-2; A.Smith bt A.Steel 11-4, 11-0; N.Geere bt C.Hedley-Dent 11-1, 11-0
2nd round: D.Tristao bt D.Hill 11-2, 11-1; Hughes bt APringle 12-10, 11-7; M.Bate bt R.Dyke 11-2, 11-4; D.Grant bt S.Watson 11-7, 11-3; M.Cavanagh bt J.Sinton 11-9, 11-0; E.Hatton bt Smith 11-4, 11-0; T.Kiggell bt G.Price 12-10, 11-6; W.Ellison bt Geere 11-1, 11-2
Quarter-finals: Tristao bt Hughes 11-5, 11-4; Grant bt Bate 11-8, 11-3; Cavanagh bt Hatton 11-2, 11-2; Ellison bt Kiggell 11-0, 11-4
Semi-finals: Tristao bt Grant score unknown; Ellison bt Cavanagh 11-4, 11-0
Final: Ellison bt Tristao 11-0, 6-11, 11-9
Plate: Price
DOUBLES
1st round: Dyke/Sinton bt Hill/Kirk 11-6, 11-8; Enstone & Hughes bt Christie Jnr/Halligan 11-3, 11-4; Hatton & Kiggell bt Christie Snr/Kirby 11-7, 8-11, 11-8; Lewsi/Watson bt Warner/Steel 11-8, 11-4; Geere/Smith bt Francis/Hedley-Dent 11-0, 11-4
Quarter-finals: Ellison/Grant bt Dyke/Sinton 11-2, 11-2; Enstone/Hughes bt Hatton/Kiggell 11-5, 12-10; Bate/Pringle bt Lewis/Watson 11-3, 11-4; Price/Tristao bt Geere/Smith 11-4, 11-5
Semi-finals: Ellison/Grant bt Enstone/Hughes 11-7, 11-9; Price & Tristao bt Bate/Pringle 10-12, 11-6, 6-2 retd
Final: Ellison/Grant bt Price/Trisato 11-2, 11-4
Plate: Dyke/Sinton
American Doubles: Warner/Sinton