N/national Under 25s Championships
Oundle, 8/9th February 2014
Chris Burrows writes: Over the weekend of Feb 8-9th, the best of the youth in the fives world, travelled to Oundle for the N/national U25s. 31* came for the singles and 34 (17 pairs) for the doubles. Both the draws were very strong and the quality of fives was exceptional throughout, even at the end of both days.
*Note there were 32 entries for the singles however one competitor could not make it till the afternoon and therefore ruined the perfect draw for an organiser.
Singles
There were not many easy games this year, noted by many, despite this none of the matches went to 3 games. Most of the first round went with seeding but there were 2 very close games. Firstly in the pick of the first round, the longest game in the round as well as the last to start, as Adam managed to successfully navigate Inigo Ackland to the courts, Adam George was taken down by Oliver Quarry in game with huge rallies and lots of rotation of the serve. Oli however managed to find the right shots at the right time in each of the games to win, 15-13, 15-7. In close second was the game between Chris Waller and Sam Russell, which equally had lengthy rallies. Chris Waller storming into a lead, 13-5, in the first only to let Sam back in, with Sam having several game points, before closing it out 16-15. The second followed suit with Chris again having a substantial lead before Sam started creeping back. This time Chris did not make the same mistake closing the second out 15-7. Other notable wins in the first round: Jack Malde had a good win over Jay Gravatt 15-5, 9-1 Ret. and Wilson Lau pushed 3rd seed Inigo Ackland 15-3, 15-13, Wilson having had a substantial lead in the second.
The second round had the tastiest match ups with many of the spectators and competitors licking their lips in anticipation. In the top half of the draw, the matchups were Theo Parker vs Dave Butler, Sam Rolls vs Oli Quarry, James Tilston vs Jacob Brubert. Theo against Dave, the 8th seed, was a clash of two contrasting games, Dave hitting line and length against the power and back nick game of Theo. Dave edged the first game, Theo making too many mistakes, and triumphed 15-12, 15-5 as he was just too consistent for Theo. Oli Quarry continued his good form upsetting 5th seed Sam Rolls,15-10, 15-7, outpacing Sam with a good number of nicks and powerful round the angle shots. That left the most anticipated game in the half, James Tilston, a power hitter in good form, against Jacob Brubert (4th Seed), another form player with a good retrieval and line and length game. James started well hitting some fantastic corner and side nicks but Jacob then Jacob started to put the ball deeper and won the first game fairly comfortably, 15-8. The second game was a closer affair, with James determined to play more sensibly, waiting for the right time to power his shots, however eventually mistakes crept in as Jacob kept retrieving shots and Jacob sneaked the second 15-13.
In the lower half most of the games went against seeding. Matt Shaw, 6th Seed, the only other seed to survive alongside Ed with a hard fought win over Julian Aquilina, with some exceptional retrieving. In the biggest upset of the round, Chris Waller defeated Inigo Ackland, 3rd seed. Chris grinding away till Inigo made enough mistakes to give him a well earned 15-12, 15-13 victory. Henry Jefferies, then upset 7th Seed Chris Burrows using good pace and width to wrong foot his opponent, 15-4, 15-12. DanTristão and Ed Kay, the number 1 and 2 seeds, had fairly straightforward games against J Malde, 15-4, 15-1, and Francis Thomas, 15-3, 15-3, respectively.
The quarter finals were a fairly straightforward affair compared to other rounds. Oli Quarry, determined to try and upset another seed pushed Jacob Brubert hard in the first game but eventually ran out of steam losing 16-14, 15-9. Dave Butler tried to find a weakness in the Tristão fortress but came up short being outplayed in his own line and length game, 15-2, 15-6. Matt Shaw then dispatched the shattered Chris Waller, 15-3, 15-0 and Ed Kay then set a marker for the upcoming varsity match by beating his Oxford rival, Henry Jefferies, 15-3, 15-9.
The semifinals saw Matt Shaw against Ed Kay and Jacob Brubert against Dan Tristão. Jacob struggled against the varied pace and angles that Dan produced succumbing 15-5,15-4. The second semi final pitted the young Matt Shaw against the also young but slightly older Ed Kay. Matt as always showing his excellent retrieval skills was always in the lengthy rallies but never quite had enough to kill off the rallies, with Ed winning 15-6, 15-9.
Also happening at a similar time to the semis was the plate final between Adam George and Sam Russell. Having triumphed through some tough plate groups and plate semis both still managed to produce their best fives in a tight final. Adam having several match points before Sam levelled on 14 all. Sam then went on to lead 15-14 which brought about several changes of serve that were nerve racking to watch, there were many oohs and ahhs from the gallery. Adam then drew level at 15-15 and it looked like his experience would take him over the line. Sam then produced two wonderful shots to clinch it, 16-14, and break the tension. Also special mention to Sam for his entertaining betting odds on several scenarios and games throughout the weekend. A possible avenue for fives for fives to expand into in the future?
This set up of a repeat of the last two finals, the two top seeds, n/national champion Dan Tristão vs the current Cambridge No. 1 Ed Kay. Despite being played early on Sunday morning the match was of a very high quality. Dan showed exactly why he is the man to beat in the fives world at the moment producing incredible shots that brought an attentive and large crowd. A variety of drop shots, deft angles, volleys and incredible court speed saw Dan take comfortable leads in both games. Ed earned his points with equally high quality fives but could not sustain it for any substantial period to threaten Dan. Dan won 15-3,15-6 to win his sixth sequential n/national U25s singles title. A record that is likely to stand for some time and deservedly so of a man with that much talent.
Doubles
After a showcase final with a large crowd to watch the doubles began the traditional way, late. In previous years, this has not been so much of a problem as generally there have only been a few strong pairs so early rounds happen quickly. However fortunately this year just like the singles the doubles was packed with strong pairs throughout the 17 that entered the draw, extending the day substantially more than any other year.
Firstly in the preliminary round, Vicky Westwood paired up with Sam Rolls (many a bread pun to be found on twitter) to take on the Oxford and ex-Oxford pairing of Sasha (Alexander) Esin and Cameron Mckelvie. A good tussle with lengthy rallies being ended with good winners by all players. Sasha and Cameron eventually winning, 15-7,15-8.
This then gave Sasha and Cameron the pleasure of playing the two singles finalists Ed Kay and Dan Tristão, reigning champions and teaming up for the third year in a row; Sasha and Cameron looking to take advantage of the fatigue from the Singles final. Unfortunately it is turned out that Dan and Ed were still fresh from their Singles final, taking the match 15-4,15-2. Elsewhere in the first round, the derby moor and siblings pairing of Anthony \"I have a big left hand\" and Jimmy \"I have a bigger left hand\" Goodwin took on the old Pauline pair of Matt Shaw and Theo Parker. The Paulines playing steady against the barrage of power hitting winning 15-6, 15-6. The scratch “cambridgish” pairing of Cook and Meek played the Oxford top pair of Henry Jefferies and Francis Thomas, with Oxford in dominating form winning 15-0, 15-2. Other lopsided games in the first round included Aquilina and Tilston (Durham and Ex Durham) vs Law and Lau (of Cambridge), 15-1, 15-1 to A & T; Butler and Gravatt (also Durham) vs Lidgitt and Waller (Ex Clifton), 15-4, 15-0 to B & G; Oliver Arnold and Ben Beltrami (St. Paul’s School, more on them later) vs Russell and Quarry (Durham again), 15-3, 15-2 to A & B, Burrows and Burbert (scratch pairing) vs Even and Whitney (Oxford), 15-2, 15-3. In the pick of the first round games, George and Ackland (Ex Alleyns), the 4th seeds, took on the all Cambridge pair Malde and Ader, the latter being familiar with the courts having had to travel to Oundle to train whilst their wonderful new courts were being built. This somewhat home court showed early on as Ackland and George continued their erratic form of the weekend, losing a series of early points in both games from some bizarre mistakes. However the seeds eventually showed their experience, steading their games forcing the cambridge pair to go for too much eventually grinding out the lengthy match 15-13, 15-11.
The quarter finals contained fantastic matchups across the board. The top seeds had the tricky encounter with the much fancied pair Beltrami & Arnold. It became even trickier when the school boys showed some ‘experienced’ tactics, picking the ball for the match. The ‘rocket’ ball combined with arguably the fastest courts in the country and their hard hitting game made for the most enthralling match of the doubles. Watched by a large crowd, the schoolboys pushed their ‘seniors’, with terrific pace, angle and nicks. However Dan and Ed showed their experience, nicking key points and stringing runs of points to win two hard fought games 15-12, 15-10. (As a side note, I wish I could write more on this game by all accounts a fantastic match, but unfortunately I was on court at the time.) In contrast to this game, the battle between George & Ackland (2) Vs Butler & Gravatt became surprisingly a grinding affair. With both pairs struggling to find the nick, the rallies became extreme in length eventually being finished when the ball strayed into a nick or a rare mistake was forced. George & Ackland eventually managing to force the game a bit more to win 15-12, 15-12.
In the bottom half of the draw both of the seeds fell to shock results. Firstly Shaw & Parker got the better of the number 2 seeds Burrows & Brubert. Matt producing some incredible serving throughout the match and this proved to be the deciding factor. With Burrows and Brubert only having 50% of the points to score on Shaw & Parker took early leads in both games. Mini comebacks in both games from the seeds made for some tense ending rallies but the young pair held on to win 15-13, 15-11. In the other quarter final game of the bottom half, the well established pair of Tilston & Aquilina took on the Oxford giants Jefferies & Thomas. In one of the only two 3 game matches of the tournament, there were some extraordinary momentum changes. Oxford blasted into a massive lead in the first game with Aquilina & Tilston seemingly struggling to find each other and their games, 15-5 Oxford. In the second game Tilston & Aquilina readjusted their compasses, fighting back taking a tight second 15-12. However once again the fog descended and Oxford stepped up securing a 15-5, 12-15, 15-3 victory.
In the first semifinal, Ackland & George tired from their previous round, sucummed to the number one seeds, Kay & Tristão winning comfortably 15-9, 15-6. The second semi-final was a rather different affair. Another 3 game match with long lengthy rallies as clear winners were difficult to come by. Oxford nicked the tight first game 15-12. However in the next two games it became apparent that they were starting to feel the effects of their previous round. Shaw and Parker eventually breaking their opponents 12-15, 15-7, 15-10.
At the same time as the semi-finals, the plate competition was drawing to a climactic close. Malde and Ader who had pushed the 3rd seeds in the first round eventually victorious over the Durham pair of Russell and Quarry (both of whom had had a good weekend), 15-12, preventing Sam from doing the plate double.
It was rather late in the day by the time the final commenced, with many tired faces around the courts from spectators and players. Despite this the final remained a high quality encounter. The assumption at the time between the spectators was that Shaw & Parker would fall away due to their tougher route through the draw. Initially this looked to be the case with Kay & Tristão racing into a commanding lead in the first game. Shaw & Parker dug deep but could only get back to 15-8. In the contrast to the first though, Shaw & Parker then produced some cracking fives to lead 12-3 in the second. Everything was set for a third game which could have made logistics difficult (the sports hall manager was breathing down my neck at this point), (un)fortunately Ed & Dan showed their experience to reel in Matt and Theo to take the match 15-8, 15-12 and their third title.
Finally thank you to Oundle School for hosting again this year and providing great facilities as well as Mike Case for making everything that much easier. Also thank you to everyone that attended for making it a great weekend of fives.
.
RESULTS
Singles
1st round: J Malde bt J Gravatt 15-9, 9-1 retd; T Parker bt N Whitney 15-1, 15-1; D Butler bt A Esin 15-5, 15-3; S Rolls bt R Law 15-8, 15-1; O Quarry bt A George 15-13, 15-7; J Tilston bt J Ader 15-7, 15-3; J Brubert bt O Even 15-1, 15-1; I Ackland bt W Lau 15-3, 15-13; C Waller bt S Russell 16-15, 15-7; J Aquilina bt L Cook 15-0, 15-1; M Shaw bt O Layton 15-0, 15-0; C Burrows bt A Meek 15-1, 15-6; H Jefferies bt J Goodwin 15-1, 15-1; F Thomas bt A Goodwin 15-2, 15-1; E Kay bt M Lidgitt 15-0, 15-1
2nd round: D Tristao bt Malde 15-4, 15-1; Butler bt Parker 15-12, 15-5; Quarry bt Rolls 15-10, 15-7; Brubert bt Tilston 15-8, 15-13; Waller bt Ackland 15-13, 15-12; Shaw bt Aquilina 15-7, 15-6; Jefferies bt Burrows 15-4, 15-12; Kay bt Thomas 15-3, 15-3
Quarter-finals: Tristao bt Butler 15-2, 15-6; Brubert bt Quarry 16-14, 15-9; Shaw bt Waller 15-3, 15-0; Kay bt Jefferies 15-3, 15-4
Semi-finals: Tristao bt Brubert 15-5, 15-4; Kay bt Shaw 15-6, 15-9
Final: Tristao bt Kay 15-3, 15-6
Plate: Russell
Doubles
Preliminary round: C Mckelvie & A Esin bt V Westwood & S Rolls 15-7, 15-8
1st round: D Trisato & E Kay bt Mckelvie & Esin 15-4, 15-3; B Beltrami & O Arnold bt S Russell & O Quarry 15-3, 15-2; D Butler & J Gravatt M Lidgitt & C Waller 15-4, 15-0; A George & I Ackland bt J Malde & J Ader 15-13, 15-11; J Aqulina & J Tilston bt R Law & W Lau 15-1, 15-1; H Jefferies & F Thomas bt L Cook & A Meek 15-0, 15-2; M Shaw & T Parker bt A& J Goodwin 15-6, 15-6; C Burrows & J Brubert bt O Even & N Whitney 15-2, 15-3
Quarter-finals: Tristao & Kay bt Beltrami & Arnold 15-12, 15-10; Ackland & George bt Butler & Gravatt 15-12, 15-12; Jefferies & Thomasbt Aquilina & Tilston 15-5, 12-15, 15-3; Shaw & Parker bt Burrows & Brubert 15-13, 15-11
Semi-finals: Tristao & Kay bt Ackland & George 15-9, 15-6; Shaw & Parker bt Jefferies & Thomas 12-15, 15-7, 15-10
Final: Tristao & Kay bt Shaw & Parker 15-8, 15-12
Plate: Malde & Ader