£18.00

Collapse AllBedford Singles - Round 20 | Thursday 27 July 2017 to Wednesday 20 September 2017 (Midpoint: Wednesday 23 August 2017)

What a great round for Bedford! Almost all players scored bonus points, which is a wonderful example to set for the rest of our leagues – keen match organisation is so important! The scorelines show that everyone got some really exciting play, with plenty of tiebreaks, three-setters, long rallies, deuce points and tight games. Most importantly, the commentaries show that matches were played with a lovely spirit of sportsmanship. Well played everyone – here’s to the next round!

Group Summary:

It’s wonderful to see that almost every possible match was played in Group 1 this round! Tony and David had plenty of close games during their marathon match, David showcased his strong groundstrokes in his match against John, Ricardas and John played a dramatic three sets with a tiebreak, and John and Tony had lengthy base line rallies across their three-setter. Well done to Ricardas who comes out on top, and to runner-up Pasquale!

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Ricardas Lisovskis 6 6 0 2 14 WWWW
2 Pasquale D'amelio 6 5 1 0 11 WLWW
3 John Harrison 6 2 4 2 9 WLLL
4 James Rimmer 5 3 2 2 8 WWLL
5 Tom Prothero 5 3 2 2 8 LWWL
6 David Smith 6 1 5 2 4 WLLL
7 Tony Fowkes 6 0 6 2 4 LLLL

Match Results:

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentDavid Smith bt Tony Fowkes (Sep 20) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "A fun match played over two days due to rain. Lots of long rallies and very close games which could have gone either way. -David "  -- David
Ricardas Lisovskis bt David Smith (Sep 19) 6-4, 6-2
Pasquale D'amelio bt Tony Fowkes (Sep 17) 6-3, 6-3
Reveal CommentJohn Harrison bt David Smith (Sep 17) 6-1, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "The match was played on a damp morning at Allen Park with David starting on the front foot, dominating at the net in the first game with some strong ground strokes; to take an immediate lead. For the remainder of the first set most of games were close but I just managed to get the upper hand to take the first set. In the second set again David started strongly deploying a range of hard hit ground strokes to push me to the back of the court and required some consistency on my part to hold onto the second set 6-4. Overall an enjoyable and competitive game, with some dampness on the court due to rain sweeping in, but this did not impact the game too much. Best of luck David for your remaining games! "  -- John
Ricardas Lisovskis bt Pasquale D'amelio (Sep 10) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Pasquale D'amelio bt Tom Prothero (Sep 2) 6-3, 6-3
Pasquale D'amelio bt John Harrison (Aug 27) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Tom Prothero bt Tony Fowkes (Aug 25) 6-2, 6-0
Tom Prothero bt David Smith (Aug 20) 6-2, 6-0
Ricardas Lisovskis bt Tony Fowkes (Aug 18) 2-0 Tony Fowkes Retired
James Rimmer bt Tony Fowkes (Aug 15) 6-2, 6-0
Pasquale D'amelio bt David Smith (Aug 13) 6-4, 6-1
Ricardas Lisovskis bt John Harrison (Aug 7) 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1
Reveal CommentJames Rimmer bt John Harrison (Aug 6) 6-4, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Very good day for tennis and a nice court to play on. Both enjoyed the match. "  -- James
Ricardas Lisovskis bt Tom Prothero (Aug 4) 6-4, 6-1
Reveal CommentJohn Harrison bt Tony Fowkes (Aug 4) 4-6, 6-0, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "A great game of tennis on a still summers evening. Tony started strongly with a range of penetrating shots, racing to a 5-1 lead. I managed to compete more with a change of tactics to reduce the errors and managed to fight back in set 2 and 3. Throughout, all games were hard fought with a number of long base line rallies. Overall, A very enjoyable game."  -- John
Pasquale D'amelio bt James Rimmer (Jul 30) 6-4, 6-4
Tom Prothero bt John Harrison (Jul 30) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
Ricardas Lisovskis bt James Rimmer (Jul 29) 6-4, 6-1
James Rimmer bt David Smith (Jul 29) 6-1, 7-6

Group Summary:

Congratulations to Sohail who tops the group with five match wins and two bonus points, and well done to Ben who was close runner-up! Sohail and Martin battled on through the wind, David and Martin played a tight three sets, Ben and David had plenty of deuces, Thomas and Ben played an epic three sets with two tiebreaks, and Sohail and Calogero played an exhausting match with a dramatic tiebreak!

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Sohail Butt 6 5 1 2 12 WLWW
2 Ben Friman 5 4 1 2 10 LWWW
3 Kevin Jones 4 4 0 0 8 WWWW
4 Thomas Watt 3 1 2 2 5 WLL
5 David Bown 6 1 5 2 5 LWLL
6 Richard Lake 3 1 2 2 4 WLL
7 Martin Copland 4 0 4 0 1 LLLL
8 Calogero Catania 1 0 1 0 0 L

Match Results:

Kevin Jones bt Martin Copland (Sep 18) 6-2, 6-1
Reveal CommentSohail Butt bt Martin Copland (Sep 12) 6-3, 7-5

Player Comments:

  • "Really enjoyable game in windy conditions. "  -- Sol
Kevin Jones bt David Bown (Sep 11) 6-0, 6-0
Kevin Jones bt Ben Friman (Aug 31) 6-0, 6-2
Reveal CommentDavid Bown bt Martin Copland (Aug 23) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6

Player Comments:

  • "3rd set was actually 8.6 as we opted not to play a tiebreak, making it a win for David Bown. A good even match and could have gone either way. Humidity made it sticky and airless but both players gave it their all which made it a thoroughly enjoyable tussle."  -- David
Kevin Jones bt Sohail Butt (Aug 22) 6-2, 6-1
Reveal CommentBen Friman bt David Bown (Aug 21) 6-2, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "A very enjoyable match with long games and many deuces"  -- Ben
Richard Lake bt David Bown (Aug 19) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Reveal CommentThomas Watt bt David Bown (Aug 16) 6-3, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "A well spirited game. David had some issues with his hip and I hope that he recovers to complete the rest of the league. Hope to play the fully fit version some point soon."  -- Thomas

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentBen Friman bt Thomas Watt (Aug 15) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Very tight match. Could go either way but we ran out of daylight."  -- Ben
Sohail Butt bt Richard Lake (Aug 15) 7-5, 6-0
Reveal CommentBen Friman bt Richard Lake (Aug 12) 6-2, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Another great match with Richard who had a disadvantage of the position of the sun when serving facing the sun as he is left-handed. "  -- Ben
Sohail Butt bt David Bown (Aug 12) 6-0, 6-2
Sohail Butt bt Thomas Watt (Aug 11) 6-2, 6-2
Reveal CommentBen Friman bt Martin Copland (Aug 11) 6-4, 6-4

Player Comments:

  • "Excellent tight match, uncharacteristically mostly going with serve. It all hinged on a few points and a few lucky shots!"  -- Ben
Reveal CommentSohail Butt bt Calogero Catania (Aug 1) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)

Player Comments:

  • "Really close match that could have gone either way!! Shattering but really competitive and enjoyable. "  -- Sohail

Group Summary:

John and Adriano played a tense tiebreak, Benn demonstrated his impressive backhand shots, Ivo used his powerful topspin, Ian and Adriano had some great rallies, and Deborah and Stephen had some long games. An impressive clean sweep of five match wins secured the top spot for Ian this round – congratulations! Well done to Stephen who was just one point behind.

Final Rankings:

Pos. Name Played P Won W Lost L Bonus BNS Total PTS Form
1 Ian Holoweckyj 5 5 0 2 12 WWWW
2 Stephen Stewart 5 4 1 2 11 LWWW
3 Ivaylo Zahariev 4 2 2 2 7 LLWW
4 John Finn 2 2 0 0 4 WW
5 Adriano Di Carlo 5 1 4 2 4 LLWL
6 Benn Kirkham 5 0 5 2 3 LLLL
7 Deborah Moore 2 0 2 0 0 LL

Match Results:

Reveal CommentJohn Finn bt Adriano Di Carlo (Sep 10) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)

Player Comments:

  • "Another epic with Adriano. We always have a great game. Not sure how I won it, but Adriano was very sporting and will probably get his revenge next time."  -- John
John Finn v Deborah Moore (Sep 9) 2-1 TBC
Reveal CommentJohn Finn bt Benn Kirkham (Sep 6) 6-1, 6-1

Player Comments:

  • "Great match and closer than the score line suggested. Benn's got some wicked shots especially backhand. I think I was lucky I got him on a bad day. On a good day I think he would be a very different prospect."  -- John

Match of the Group:

Reveal CommentIan Holoweckyj bt Stephen Stewart (Sep 3) 7-6, 6-7, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "Wow what a match! Stephen's a really nice guy - this game was a pleasure for both of us. Two sets settled by tie-breaks and credit to Stephen as at 4-1 down in the 2nd, he fought hard and comfortably took the tie-break. I feel like I need a week in a spa to get over this one - everything aches, great match! "  -- Ian
Reveal CommentIan Holoweckyj bt Ivaylo Zahariev (Aug 19) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "A really good game made all the better for the spirit it was played in. Ivo has a good shot selection and topspin. This was tight and could have gone either way. Wish you well in your remaining games Ivo"  -- Ian
Reveal CommentIan Holoweckyj bt Adriano Di Carlo (Aug 13) 6-0, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "Great to meet and play Adriano - we had an entertaining game with some good rallies on a lovely summer afternoon. Wish you well with your remaining games Adriano."  -- Ian
Reveal CommentAdriano Di Carlo bt Benn Kirkham (Aug 10) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "This was an close match throughout played across two days due to the bad weather on the 1st day, could have gone either way, really enjoyed it, good luck for your other games Ben"  -- Adriano
Reveal CommentStephen Stewart bt Deborah Moore (Aug 10) 6-1, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "Deborah was kind enough to allow me to play at Riverside tennis club on the hard courts. Tough match with long rallies and lengthy games. Court and standard of play was thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you Deborah I wish you all the best for the rest of the competition. "  -- Stephen
Reveal CommentStephen Stewart bt Ivaylo Zahariev (Aug 6) 6-4, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "Great match , nail biting at times and hard fought. Ivaylo was great with line calls and was a very unpredictable opponent that kept me guessing throughout the match. "  -- Stephen
Stephen Stewart bt Adriano Di Carlo (Aug 5) 6-0, 6-2
Reveal CommentIan Holoweckyj bt Deborah Moore (Aug 3) 6-0, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Conditions were pretty good down on the carpet courts of the Riverside. Deborah 's lovely, pleasure to play with - the score not really a fair representation as we had a number of good rallies. Best of luck with your upcoming games Deborah...."  -- Ian
Reveal CommentIvaylo Zahariev bt Adriano Di Carlo (Jul 31) 6-2, 6-3

Player Comments:

  • "There was some really good rallies in both sets. Near the end of the match both of our nerves crept in as it was a game for one player to get back into the match and for the other to complete a straight sets win. There were a few times where the ball was close to being in/out and I am thankful that both Adriano and I showed good sportsmanship and fair play throughout the whole match. "  -- Ivaylo
Stephen Stewart bt Benn Kirkham (Jul 30) 6-1, 6-0
Reveal CommentIan Holoweckyj bt Benn Kirkham (Jul 30) 6-2, 6-0

Player Comments:

  • "Pleasure meeting and playing against Benn. One of those days when things went well for one, whilst the net was huge and court small for the other - blustery conditions didn't help. Wish you well for the rest of the league Benn - Ian"  -- Ian
Reveal CommentIvaylo Zahariev bt Benn Kirkham (Jul 29) 6-1, 6-2

Player Comments:

  • "The weather was a it windy which meant a few of the balls were flying around during a point, but other than that it was good. Also the net of the courts were a bit lower than expected. The first set was close at the beginning which was copied over onto the second set. Both of us were a bit rusty as this was our first match of the round. Benn is a really nice guy and it felt more like two friends playing with a competitive spin on the match. Very enjoyable match, thanks Benn. "  -- Ivaylo