MASTERS FINALS
MO75:
Pat Kirton took on Vince Taylor in the 75’s where Kirton was hoping to retain his title. After yesterdays mammoth match you would be forgiven for thinking Kirton might start quicker out of the blocks but it was Taylor who stormed in front 9-1.
Kirton soon got back into the game and took the next two 9-5, 9-1, the fourth saw both players trade point for point until 8-8 but it was Taylor who took it to take it into the 5th. Taylor has shown an incredible fighting spirit this week and went ahead but couldn’t stop Kirton from retaining his title, 9-6 after 53 minutes.
MO70:
Another brutal game that almost lasted the hour in the O70’s which was a rematch of last years final. Wright started well taking the first 9-3 before Clemson got stuck in and took two well contested games 9-6 9-7, Wright then took complete control in the fourth and won it 9-1.
From there it looked like Wright would retain his title but it was sweet revenge for Clemson in the end as he got back into the game and at 6-6 pulled away to win the game 9-6 and the O70 title.
MO65:
Aubrey Waddy started the game brightly taking a 5-0 lead but Featherstone found his feet and at 3-6 down took the next 6 points without reply to take the first 9-6. A similar pattern followed throughout the whole match, Waddy starting strongly only for Featherstone to come into the game and push on.
Waddy did manage to take the third but only just, having gone 8-2 up he couldn’t quite close it out as quickly as he would’ve liked as Featherstone clawed it back to 8-8 but couldn’t capitalise on the momentum. The fourth was eerily similar to the first with Waddy going 6-3 up only for Featherstone to battle back again, another 6 points on the trot to seal the victory in 45 minutes.
MO60:
A real battle between Alexander and Hardy in this final which lasted just short of the hour and went the distance. Hardy started well and took the first, only for Alexander to come out fighting in the second where he took 8 points on the bounce to claim the game and level the score.
The third and fourth were much more evenly contested with both each taking a game to send it into the fifth. With the score at 6-6 it was hard to know who would push on to take it, this time it was Alexander who managed to break away, winning the next 3 rallies to win the title.
MO55:
Ross Norman has been a class above this week and today was no different as he took on Jon Evans. Evans not only had to contend with playing a great he also took a racket to the face in the first game which wouldn’t have helped! After a 15 minute blood injury break they were both back on court but the time away didn’t dent Normans focus as he shown no mercy to his opponent taking the games 9-5 9-3 9-0 to win the O55 title.
MO50:
Colin Payne has been the man in form in the 55’s this year as he has moved through the rounds without dropping a game. Today was no different as he flew out of the blocks, going 7-0 up against Fredrik Johnson in the first before taking it 9-4. The second was more evenly contested but at 5-4 Payne put the pressure on to take the next 5 points to close it out and took that momentum into the third where he pushed on to take it 9-3 and with it the O50 title.
MO45:
A very evenly matched final in the 45’s with the top 2 seeds contesting it well. Andrew Cross took the first game 11-8 with Rick Weatherall then taking the next two 11-6 and 12-10. Weatherall couldn’t keep the momentum going as Cross came back slowly but surely to take the fourth and at 6-6 in the fifth he pushed on to take the next 5 points without reply to win the title.
MO40:
A fast paced final this one with Clive Ewins and Nick Wall fighting for the honours. Ewins started well and took the first game 11-5, the second saw each other take points early on but at 6-3 up Ewins powered through to win 11-3.
Ewins looked favourite to wrap it up in 3 but Wall had other ideas and went 8-0 up and finally 11-2 to take it into the fourth, Wall couldn’t keep the momentum going and Ewins took the early lead, 4-1, 6-3, 8-4 and he kept the pressure on until he won 11-6 in 44 minutes.
MO35:
Omar Elborolossy was finally tested today by a spirited Mick Biggs in the O35 Final. Elborolossystarted the final very well and he soon took an advantage 11-3 in the first, Biggs faired better in the second but at 8-8 couldn’t find that little bit extra and Elborolossy took it 11-8.
The third was better contested as they matched each other point for point but Elborolossy found himself with 2 match balls but couldn’t convert, leaving Biggs to take the game 13-11. The fourth was again well contested but at 8-7 up Elborolossy found what he needed to close it out, taking the game 11-7 and his 2nd British Open Masters title to add to his first he claimed in 2012.
WO60:
Pauline Douglas won the WO60 in style as she cruised to a 3-0 win in 14 minutes against Patricia Appleton. Douglas was too strong from the get go and never gave Appleton a chance to influence the outcome. Douglas now collects her first WO60 title to add to the O55 title she won last year.
WO55:
Helen Gould claimed the WO55 title with a 3-0 victory, she battled with Lynne Davies for 31 minutes. Whilst the result looks convincing it doesn’t paint the whole story as Davies fought hard and matched Gould point for point in the first two games but Gould was strong where she needed to be to close the games out.
In the third, despite a good start from Davies she couldn’t stop Gould from putting a run of points together as she went from 2-3 to 5-3, then 8-3 and eventually won the match to take the title.
WO50
Mandy Akin retained her Open title with a hard fought battle against Fiona McLean. Akin took the first relatively quickly but the second was contested far better once McLean got herself into the match, taking it 10-8.
The second and third were similar and very evenly matched as each took it in turns to have good spells and score points but Akin closed them out when it mattered to take them both and keep her O50 title for another year.
WO45
Simone Korell and Andrea Santa Maria had a good old battle for this title which Korell won 3-1 in 43 minutes, although she will be wondering how she didn’t win 3-0 as she was 8-3 up in the third and lost it to a tremendous comeback from Santa Maria who took it 10-8.
Korell quickly regained control in the fourth going 6-3 up and despite a spirited effort from Santa Maria to get back to 5-7 she couldn’t quite catch Korell to take it into the fifth with Korell winning 9-6.
WO40:
Shayne Baillie took the early advantage as she caught Rachel Pullan cold in the first game and raced into a 9-3 lead. Pullan found her feet in the second which was better contested and she took that 9-3 and continued that form into the third which she won 9-5.
The fourth saw Pullan dominate as she saw the finish line in sight and she soon found herself 8-0 up and then 9-1 winner to win the title 3-1 in 27 minutes.
WO35:
As tradition, the last match on has to be the longest and this was by far the longest final of the day. 75 minutes and 5 games, it was a battle.
At 2-1 up and 8-8 in the fourth Sam Mueller had a chance to seize glory but Katie Lawrence fought to take it 10-8 and pushed on in the 5th to claim the title.
MASTERS SEMI FINALS
MO35
Mick Biggs took a respectable 26 minutes to beat his Hull room-mate Tim Burrell 3-0. Mick hadgood control of the match, but Tim made a good effort to gain points. Hopefully they will still be on talking terms, but have said that they will be taking separate trains back home tomorrow.
The opposing match sadly did not take place due to the withdrawal of Liam Nolan who sustained a back injury in yesterdays match, giving number 1 seed Omar Elborolossy a walkover straight into the final.
MO40
Another 3-0 win in 40 minutes for Clive Ewins against Micheal McLaughlin, giving him a straight run into the final without dropping a game throughout the tournament.
Clive will meet Nick Wall who overcame Jamie Goodrich in a hard fought 38 minutes, also resulting in a 3-0 score for Nick.
MO45
Rick Weatherall beat John Musto in a straight 3 games in 25 minutes. John had a good run of matches on this, his first trip to the Masters British Open, but the number 2 seed Rick put a stop to that.
Andrew Cross had a tougher job on his hands, dropping the 2nd game to Steve McLaughlin in a 51 minute tussle.
MO50
Colin Payne was another player with a straight run through to the final without dropping any games on the way. He took 37 minutes to beat Steven Calvert.
Fredrik Johnson sustained a blood injury in his match but still managed to beat fellow countryman Jonas Ulvsback 3-1 in an epic 66 minutes.
MO55
3/4 seed Jon Evans had an unexpected 3-0 win over number 2 seed Jeremy Goulding in just 33 minutes. Jon will now meet Antipodean Ross Norman in the final tomorrow, which should make for a very entertaining match.
MO60
It must have been his restful sunbathing in the Hull University grounds that gave Peter Alexander the impetus to beat Ian Holmes 3-0 in just 24 minutes, with Ian only managing to take 3 points.
Peter will meet Stuart Hardy who pulled out all the stops to beat number 2 seed David Lumsden 3-0 in 28 minutes.
MO65
The top seeds have looked in control through the tournament in this event and today was no different. Barry Featherstone will take on Aubrey Waddy in the final after both players recorded comprehensive 3-0 victories in under 30 minutes.
MO70
The top two seeds will contest this final but it almost wasn’t to be, number 1 seed Adrian Wright found himself 2-0 down and 7-8 in the third. He managed to take that 10-8 and from then on started to take control, 9-2, 9-1 in the next 2 games to book his final to take on Mike Clemson who had a close game against Anthony Clifford which he took 3-1 in 36 minutes.
MO75
Two absolute monster battles which delighted the players and everyone else who saw the semi finals in this category today. Pat Kirton was pushed all the way by Lance Kinder, Kinder took the first 10-9 only for Kirton to take the next two, the third each player matched each other point for point until 8-8. Kirton was the victor, 3-1 after 40 minutes. The second semi final saw an upset from Canadian Vince Taylor as he knocked out the 2nd seed John Woodliffe.
Woodliffe looked like he had it under control as he took the first two games 9-2, 9-4 but Taylor fought hard to stay in it taking the third 9-4. Woodliffe will look back on the fourth and wonder how Taylor came back as he raced into a 7-3 lead only for Taylor to slowly claw each point back and win the game 9-7, 2-2 and into the fifth and again Woodliffe took an early 5-0 lead only for Taylor once again to claw it back, 10-8 to Taylor eventually after a mammoth 53 minutes.
WO35
Katie Lawrence will be pleased with her performance today as she defeated the number 2 seed Sarah Parr 3-0 in 26 minutes, especially after yesterdays 70 minute marathon to reach the semi’s. She now faces Sam Mueller who wont be as fresh after taking 62 minutes to get past a tough Judith Allgrove. Allgrove had a great start taking the first 9-1 but Mueller fought back and managed to take the next 3 games although it was a close and tight affair.
WO40
2nd seed Rachel Pullan took little time in sealing her final place as she took on Isabelle Tweedle. Pullan started fast and was 6-0 up in no time and then 9-1, the second and third games were no different, Pullan too quick and not letting Tweedle get into the game. 3-0 to Pullan in 17 minutes. She now faces Shayne Baillie who knocked out the number 1 seed Claire Walker in 3 games.
Baillie much like Pullan racked up the points with fast play and took early leads which Walker just couldn’t get back.
WO45
Simone Korell is the woman on fire in this category as she took just 19 minutes to book her place in the final, defeating Amanda Warren 9-1, 9-3, 9-3. She will come up against 2nd seed Andrea Santa Maria who beat Di Parums 3-1 in 31 minutes.
Parums contested each game well but Santa Maria was able to close them out at the business end.
WO50
There was no stopping Mandy Akin today in her semi final against Fran Wallis as she romped to a 3-0 win in 25 minutes. Akin started fast out of the blocks and took the first game 9-0, the second and third games saw Wallis compete early on but Akin soon pulled away in each to seal her place in the final. She will now face Fiona McLean who had a tricky match against Hilary Kenyon but managed to take the points when it mattered, winning 3-0 in 30 minutes.
WO55
Two top seeds will face off in the final here as Helen Gould got past Jill Campion 3-1 in half an hour, she will now face Lynne Davies who beat Karen Hume 3-1 in her semi final although she took a game to find her feet, Hume stormed into a 8-2 lead before taking the game 9-7 but she couldn’t keep the momentum going and once Davies got stuck in it become a lot closer, she took the next 3 games 9-5, 9-4, 9-4.
WO60
This round robin saw Maureen Carroll play twice today which might explain why the first match against Patricia Appleton was a lot closer than the second, the first game was 10-9 to Patricia with Maureen taking the 2nd 9-7 the third and fourth were well contested but it was Appleton who took them.
Carrolls second game was against Pauline Douglas who just snook the first 10-8 and then the second 9-5, the third Douglas took complete control and finished the match with a 9-0 win. Douglas will now meet Appleton to contest the final tomorrow.
WO65
The match between BettDryhurst and Averil Murphy turned out to be the final in this age group. Averilgot the better start and although Bett contested well she couldn’t get the points on the board as Averil went 9-2 then 9-0 up.
Bett got the third 9-2 and the third was level all the way until 7-7 when Averil pulled away to take the title.
Quarter-Finals:
MO35
Omar Elborolossy continues to impress in the MO35 as he defeated David Gouldby 3-0 in 21 minutes and now faces Liam Nolan who got past Barry Talbot after losing a tight first game 10-12. In the bottom half of the draw Mick Biggs booked his place in the semi finals with a win over Rich Green 3-1 while Tim Burrell had a slightly easier match with a 3-0 win against Marcus Hayes.
MO40
The top 4 seeds also progressed into the semi finals in the MO40’s, all with solid 3-0 victories. Clive Ewins will face Michael McLaughlin while Jamie Goodrich will battle it out with a fresh Nick Wall who received a walkover from JagoNardelli who unfortunately got struck down with a stomach problem much like Shabana!
MO45
Each QF was hotly contested in the Over 45’s today. Andrew Cross the top seed went a game down, 10-12 to Jonathan Lilley before finding his feet and coming back to win 3-1. He will now meet 5/8 Steve McLaughlin who came back from 2-1 down against the 3/4 PrediFritsche claiming the 4th and 5th games 11-9 each to end the Germans run.
John Musto who has travelled from the states continues his great run as he beat 3/4 David Youngs 3-2, he now takes on the 2nd seed Rick Weatherall who beat John Hanson 3-0 although the match result doesn’t show the effort Hanson put in as the game scores read 11-7 11-7 14-12.
MO50
The top 4 in the 50’s also progressed, Colin Payne continued to play with complete control as he moves into the semi’s with a very comprehensive 3-0, 9-1 9-1 9-0 in just 23 minutes. His opponent tomorrow will be Steven Calvert who couldn’t have had a tougher match as he was fully tested by John Parkes.
Calvert took the win with a 3-1 victory, but took 81 minutes to get there. In the other half, Swedens Freddie Johnson got past Darren Withey 3-1 to come up against compatriot and 3/4 seed Jonas Ulvsback who beat David Gray 3-1.
MO55
Another draw with the top 4 making the semi finals, Ross Norman continued to show his class as he took little time in recording a 3-0 victory against David Stones, he will now face Mark Cowley in the semis after he beat Tom Burton 3-1 in 40 minutes.
Jon Evans went a game down against Gawain Briars but managed to recover to seal a 3-1 victory and will go up against the 2nd seed Jeremy Goulding who battled with Allen Barwise for 47 minutes with it going into the 5th,Goulding took it 9-6.
MO60
Top seeds Alexander, Hardy and Lumsden all recorded comprehensive 3-0 victories to move into the semi finals. 3/4 Ian Holmes was tested by New Zealander Lawrence Skurr. Holmes went 2-0 up but Skurr fought back to take it to the 5th, he may have used all his energy up to get there as Holmes took the 5th 9-1.
MO65
Ian Ross continued his fantastic run and knocked out another seed today, he fought well to win 3-1 against Chris Goodbourn, taking the first game 10-8 and the 4th 10-8 in 48 minutes. Larry Grover was tested by Chris Ansell but got through 3-1 while Featherstone and Waddy were comfortable in their 3-0 victories.
MO70
Relatively straight forward in the 70’s as all top 4 progressed through, with Wright moving through with a walkover. Fisher, Clifford and Clemson all 3-0.
MO75
Another category with the top 4 being too strong in the first round, all with comprehensive 3-0 victories. Pat Kirton will now take on Lance Kinder with Vincent Taylor going up against John Woodliffe.
WO35
Just the one match, and what a match it was. Katie Lawrence started well by taking the first game but Krissy Burkin fought back to take the next 2 and the advantage going into the 4th but she couldn’t see it out and Lawrence pushed on to take the 4th 9-6 and the 5th 9-3 to take the victory in an astonishing 70 minutes.
WO40
Isabelle Tweedle provided the only upset of the day here as she knocked out Sam Mueller 3-0 in 42 minutes. Tweedle was in control in the first, then they battled in the 2nd which Tweedlesnook 10-9 before regaining her control and taking the third 9-0. The top 2 seeds came through 3-0 although Parr gave Pullan something to think about in the third but she managed to come through it 10-8 in the third.
WO45
No trouble in the 45’s with the top seeds all going into the semi finals again with 3-0 wins in under 20 minutes.
WO50
Hilary Kenyon continued to play well and knocked out 3/4 Sarah Howlett in a 5 game thriller. 9-7 in the 5th for Kenyon after 36 minutes. Fiona Mclean also needed 5 games to see off Pippa Green, 52 minutes that battle lasted for with McLean taking the 5th 9-3.
WO55
All seeds safely through again although 2nd Seed Lynne Davies was pushed to the end by Sue Pynegar. Pynegar will be kicking herself she didn’t finish the job in the third after being 2-0 up and going into a tie break in the third. Davies took that one 10-8 and didn’t look back from there claiming the 4th and 5th 9-3, 9-2 in just over 40 minutes.
Day TWO Report
MO35
All the seeds made it through today as expected. 5/8 Liam Nolan was fortunate to receive a walkover and will now meet 5/8 Barry Talbot who had beaten Matthew Lloyd-Lewis 3-1. The remaining seeded players all won 3-0 with the exception of David Gouldby who took 34 minutes to beat Eduardo Razkin of Spain.
MO40
Some of the seeded players had to fall by the wayside today in this group. Most of them made short work of it with straight 3-0 wins. But Jago Nardelli came across some resistance from Andreas Seerig of Germany who took a game from him. And Nick Wall took 42 minutes to beat Masambo Selisho 3-1.
MO45
All of the top seeds made it through to the last 8 in the O45’s today, Jonathan Lilley had the toughest match of this category as he battled with 9/16 Steve Dodridge. Lilley took the first game but then Dodridge came back to take the next two and the third went to a tie break which Lilley claimed 14-12, the fifth was just as close but it was Lilley who edged it 11-8 in 42 minutes. He will now face the top seed Andrew Cross in the quarters who won 3-0 against Mark Hurd.
MO50
The top 8 all made it through to the Quarters in the O50’s category with the majority of them in superb form. Johnson, Withey, Ulvsback, Gray and Calvert all recorded 3-0 victories in around 20 minutes with very few points dropped. Gary Raw was tested most as 9/16 Greg Loach kept him on court for an hour, Raw will be happy he won the fourth 10-9 to seal a 3-1 victory as he now takes on 2nd seed Colin Payne.
MO55
9/16 David Stones caused an upset as defeated the Spanish 5/8 Jose Oriazaola 3-0 in 21 minutes, Stones will be hoping his good form rolls into tomorrow as he now faces Ross Norman who breezed past Jack Shtein in 15 minutes. 3/4 Mark Cowley was tested by 9/16 Gary Marshall, Cowley went two love up but lost the third and went into a tie break in the fourth which he eventually won 10-8 to win 3-1 in 36 minutes, he now faces Tom Burton who will be fresh after only being on court for 8 minutes with his opponent Simon Evenden being forced to retire due to injury. The rest of the top 8 all safely progressed with 3-0 wins.
MO60
Only one 5/8 seed managed to make it into the last 8 in the 60’s. Lawrence Skurr joined the top 4 seeds after a 3-1 victory over Colin McNestrie, the other quarter finalists are all 9/16 seeds. Alasdair Niven got past Mark Thompson in 3, Paul Reader defeated Neil Nightingale 3-0 and John Limb recovered from going a game down to come back and beat Geoff Walton 3-1.
MO65
A few upsets in the 65’s today with a 3/4 and 5/8 seed falling. Ian Ross, a 9/16 from Scotland took on 3/4 Rodney Boswell. Boswell started well and took the first 9-1, Ross found his feet in the second but Boswell still took it 9-7 and looked favourite to progress but Ross had other ideas and came storming back to win 3-2 in 42 minutes. 9/16 Harvey Kember also claimed a scalp as he defeated 5/8 Martin Pearse, 3-1 in 40 minutes. Kember’s reward is to take on the 2nd seed Aubrey Waddy who beat Alex Sinclair 3-0 in 23 minutes.
MO70
Only one match in the MO70’s today, a Scottish-Irish clash with Ken Reid (Scotland) taking on Myron Evans (Ireland) and it was Scotland who prevailed. Reid in control taking a 3-0 victory in 18 minutes.
WO50
The Ladies got off to a start this morning with Hilary Kenyon of Cheshire beating Maxine Goodhead from Worcestershire 3-0 in 16 minutes. Hilary returns tomorrow to meet 3/4 Sarah Howlett, as the remainder of the age group join them in the quarter finals.
WO55
Just 3 matches in this group today.
5/8 seed Lesley Sturgess took just 16 minutes to overcome Annette Davies from Wales. The remaining 5/8 seeds both played to form with Eunice Bond beating Rebecca Moore 3-0 in 24 minutes and Susan Pynegar beating Jane Hill, also 3-0 in just 20 minutes.
All 3 ladies return tomorrow to hopefully continue working their way through the draw.
Day ONE Report
MO40
No big upsets for the seeds in this group, with the majority of them completing the job in 3 expedient games. The exceptions here were 9/16 Andreas Seerig, who took 40 minutes to overcome Mark Webster 3-2; the withdrawal of 9/16 Nick Staunton, giving Peter Foley a leg up to the next round, where he faces 5/8 Jonathan Gliddon. The last match of the day saw Lee Scott take 25 minutes to eliminate 9/16 Ashley Foster. He now faces 3/4 Jamie Goodrich.
MO45
No real drama in the MO45 today as only one seed didn’t make it through, 9/16 Andrew Murray fell to Mick Smith, 3-1 in 25 minutes. Smith now faces 5/8seed Stephen McLoughlin in the next round who beat Riz Sheikh 3-0. Michael Wardle gave 9/16 Peter Lonsdale a test to overcome, each game was well contested and Wardle did take a game but couldn’t take it to 5 with Lonsdale running out a 3-1 victor. The rest of the seeds came through unscathed with 3-0 wins.
MO50
The MO50 category looks a strong field this year and the seeds took no time in stamping their authority down today. 2nd seed Colin Payne took 13 minutes to take a 3-0 victory dropping just 1 point in his match against Mike Rooney, likewise 3/4 seeds Steven Calvert and Jonas Ulvsback both moved into the second round with 3-0 victories only dropping 2 points. Felix Paal from Germany also looks to be in a no nonsense mood as he took just 11 minutes to beat Peter Slaughter. The only non seed to make it into the second round as Alan Borrill who defeated 9/16 seed Nick Peel in 37 minutes. He now faces 5/8 David Gray who recorded a 3-0 victory against Steve Smith.
MO55
All seeds progressed safely into the second round with the majority recording 3-0 victories. There were a couple that had some real challenges though, 5/8 Tom Burton took 55 minutes tocome from 2-1 down to beat Ripley Oyler3-2. Burton had taken the first game 9-4 but Oyler took the next two 9-6. Burton responded perfectly by taking the 4th game 9-1. The fifth was a lot tighter but Burton took it 9-7 to set up a 2nd round match with Simon Evenden.
Allen Barwise also had to battle back from being 2-1 down as he took on Raul Rodriguez from Uruguay. Rodriguez looked to be in control as he recovered from losing the first to take the next two 9-3, 9-5 but Barwise had other ideas and took the last two 9-6, 9-7 to complete a 3-2 victory in 42 minutes. The standout performance from the first round was Gary Marshall who took just 15 minutes to record a 9-0 9-0 9-4 victory over Paul Matthewman. Marshall will now go up against 3/4 Mark Cowley who had a bye today as did other top seeds Goulding and Norman.
MO60
Terry Norman provided the only upset in the MO60 first round as he defeated 9/16* Edward Winter. Norman started the match very well and took the first game quite quickly 9-1. Winter matched him in the 2nd but was unable to take the game, Norman took it 9-7 then carried that momentum into the 3rd which he won 9-4. 3-0 in 23 minutes which sends Norman into the 2nd round to face the number 2 seed David Lumsdon. Other standout performances came from Jim Dougal, Bert Cotter. John Limb and John Rae who all recorded 3-0 victories in under 20 minutes.
MO65
Not many first round matches were played today in the O65 with the majority coming in tomorrow. Two casualties from the first round included the two players that had travelled furthest to be a part of the Open, Kevin Elborall will be disappointed to lose as he was seeded to win and came from South Africa whilst Jaime Velarde arrived from Spain this morning but came unstuck against local player Rod Tate.
