£18.00

Collapse AllBath Singles - Round 8 | Thursday 23 January 2020 to Wednesday 18 March 2020 (Midpoint: Wednesday 19 February 2020)

One very busy and one not-so-busy group this round but overall 63% of all possible matches were played which is not at all bad. Here's to getting back on court when we can!

Group Summary:

We are very impressed with the tennis here: Oliver volleying like John McEnroe in the 1970s, Giles backand ('a potent weapon') Alastair's 'sublime' running volleys; David's 'high tempo match' v Giles; Joe's 'clever and well executed shots'; and Nick's 'all round accomplished' play. Great group/; great results. David and Oliver tied on points, but as David beat Oliver, he successfully defends his title to be champ once again.

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 David Ash 4 4 0 0 8 WWWW
2 Oliver Millett 5 4 1 0 8 WWLW
3 Nick Miles 4 2 2 0 5 LWLW
4 Joseph Gillings 3 0 3 2 3 LLL
5 Alastair Matthews 2 1 1 0 3 WL
6 Giles Pocock 4 0 4 0 1 LLLL

Match Results:

Alastair Matthews bt Giles Pocock (Mar 16) Walkover
Alastair Matthews v Nick Miles (Mar 15) 6-7 (2-7), 4-2 TBC
Alastair Matthews v Joseph Gillings (Mar 15) 1-6, 6-4, 2-0 TBC
Reveal CommentDavid Ash bt Giles Pocock (Mar 15) 6-4, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "As ever, a really combative and high tempo match. Lots of great forehand rallies, net play and winners from all angles. The first set was one of dropped service games but I managed to make a crucial hold in a game of many deuces that enabled me to take the first set, The second set swayed one way then the other and after a period of really high quality play from Giles, I steeled myself to take the final four games of the match to take the set 7-5 and the match. Thanks for a great match Giles! "  -- David
Reveal CommentOliver Millett bt Giles Pocock (Mar 14) 7-5, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "It is difficult times with the world and sport but when your doppelgänger comes knocking, you grab the opportunity with both hands on he racket. We have become good buddies and know each other’s games inside out. The direct cause and affect produces a casual, confident open match. Giles has somehow, even without consistent practice, developed his backhand to become a potent weapon in many of the rallies. A tight as well as nervy double fault gifted the first set at 5-6 in games. Holding serve or breaking back when loosing your serve was the key element in the second set. Heavy deuce games strung out the set to past closing time. At 5-4 in games, I rallied back from love 40, to close out the game, set and match. "  -- Oliver
Reveal CommentDavid Ash bt Nick Miles (Mar 14) 6-4, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "I certainly benefited from circumstances today. Conditions weren't great with the balls becoming very heavy, very quickly on the wet courts. Nick was also impeded by a cut finger just before we started and not feeling 100%, but wanted to continue and get the match played. There was some good play in there at times from the both of us but I just managed to keep my nose in front in the first and enjoyed a solid start to the second to take the match in two. Thanks fo the game Nick."  -- David
Reveal CommentOliver Millett bt Alastair Matthews (Mar 13) 6-1, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Straight out of a scene from Avengers Assembled, out of nowhere, Alastair accompanied with his revised Thor racket came calling! He was keen, refreshed from injuries and thrashed hastily at opportunities that came his way. His ground work and ability to hit the occasional running volley was sublime but not consisted. The first set was a straight forward 6-1 but a more unexcited approach from Alastair, produced a more entertaining second set. Great rallies caused me to hit the ground heavy after scampering to retrieve his diverse shots. I had to revert back in time to the 1970’s volleying game to get the job done. The great John McEnroe would have been proud!"  -- Oliver

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentDavid Ash bt Oliver Millett (Mar 8) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "As ever, another tough scrap with Ollie today. The first set was a see-saw affair with dropped service games a plenty and it went to the breaker, and with some solid points at the start I took a decisive lead that saw me over the line to take the set. A similar pattern at the start of the second before I was able to take advantage of a bit of fatigue on the other side of the net. A very welcome victory! Thanks Olie."  -- David
Reveal CommentNick Miles bt Giles Pocock (Mar 8) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "I hope I’ve got the scores correct there. We both started the match well and after trading some strong rallies in the first few games realised this was going to be a close battle, however Giles won the points that mattered and closed out the set relatively comfortably. By this point my tail was down and my timing had gone to pot, I didn’t think I’d get back into this one. I somehow refocused and signs of fatigue on the other side of the net gave me some encouragement. I’m not really sure what happened next but I won the set by which point both of us were on wobbly legs in the humid heat of the Excel bubble under the early spring sun. The third set hinged on a titanic game with Giles 3-1 up, after c.10 deuces I prevailed and finished him off"  -- Nick
Reveal CommentOliver Millett bt Nick Miles (Feb 22) 6-2, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "Be aware of a player so laid back in the warm up, you could swear blind they were uninterested. Nick was just that! Masking an all round accomplished player. By the time I blinked, I was 2 love in games down, wondering what the hell just happened. As the sun warmed inside the bubble, I too warmed to the challenge. I had to get serious quick & had to play more aggressively to match to his competitive game. The wake up call allowed me to reel off 7 straight games. Games came & went with serve in the 2nd set, locking horns with intense rallies tied us both at 5 games all. Fatigue set in, causing levels to drop. I just held a nervous service game. The lure of a unwelcome tiebreaker, caused an away advantage for Nick to an untimely double fault."  -- Oliver
Reveal CommentOliver Millett bt Joseph Gillings (Feb 15) 6-1, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Well organised Joe, tapped me up for a game on his home patch at the Uni. Hurricane Dennis made things a little tricky as I arrived wet through and cold. The open games were nervy but soon open up to unleash a barrage of powerful baseline rallies. I luckily broke Joe early and warmed up to chasing down everything he drove hard moving me around. Winning the first set to one was not the way in the second as Joe opened his shoulders to unleash superb power with a touch of an angel, to execute delicate drop shots. Games went with serve until an unfortunate double fault from Joe allowed me to close out the match to 3. Huge array of power made this an open entertaining match and a dual I will be apprehensive about on our next collision. "  -- Oliver
Reveal CommentDavid Ash bt Joseph Gillings (Feb 9) 6-1, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "Thanks Joe for an enjoyable match today. I got into my stride pretty quickly, serving well and backing that up with some solid volleys and ground strokes. Towards the end of the first set it became a lot more even as Joe started to play some really clever and well executed shots. The second set was really tight and could have gone either way but I managed to break at 6-5 to gladly avoid the breaker! "  -- David
Reveal CommentNick Miles bt Joseph Gillings (Feb 3) 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Nick got off to a fast start in the first set racing to a 5-1 lead before the first of several momentum swings as Joe’s forehand and serve began to click and he reeled off three straight games giving Nick a scare before he finally clinched the set. Joe’s strong form continued at the start of the second set and Nick’s serve began to malfunction badly with a couple of games with multiple double faults but he clawed it back to 3-3. It was nip and tuck from there and either player could have taken the set but in the end Nick prevailed 6-4."  -- Nick

Group Summary:

A much quieter group than group one, and no bonus points won here but all credit to group champ Nicholas who played and won three matches including a close 3 setter against Richard. Thomas was just two points behind.

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Nicholas Bryan 3 3 0 0 6 WWW
2 Thomas Williams 2 2 0 0 4 WW
3 Richard Morris 3 1 2 0 4 LLW
4 Ali Clark 3 0 3 0 0 LLL
5 Megan Close 1 0 1 0 0 L
6 Jesús Sánchez 0 0 0 0 0 0

Match Results:

Nicholas Bryan bt Megan Close (Mar 18) 6-2, 6-3
Thomas Williams bt Richard Morris (Mar 8) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
Reveal CommentThomas Williams bt Ali Clark (Mar 5) 6-2, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "An enjoyable game. Thanks Tom and we’ll played. "  -- Ali
Nicholas Bryan bt Ali Clark (Mar 1) 6-1, 6-1

Match of the Group:

Nicholas Bryan bt Richard Morris (Feb 23) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
Richard Morris bt Ali Clark (Feb 16) 6-0, 6-2