£18.00
Collapse AllCardiff Singles - Round 31 | Thursday 26 January 2023 to Wednesday 22 March 2023 (Midpoint: Wednesday 22 February 2023)
Final Rankings:
| Pos. | Name | Played | P | Won | W | Lost | L | Bonus | BNS | Total | PTS | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owen Morris | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 18 | WWWW | ||||||
| 2 | Yinzuo Tao | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | LWWW | ||||||
| 3 | Barnaby ROSS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | LLLW | ||||||
| 4 | Kevin Birt | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | WWWL | ||||||
| 5 | Darren Bellamy | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 | WLLL | ||||||
| 6 | Mark Howell-Jones | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | WLLW | ||||||
| 7 | Michael Pickerill | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | WWLL | ||||||
| 8 | Gergo Szudar | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | LLWL | ||||||
| 9 | Rhodri Price | 8 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | LLLL |
Match Results:
Reveal CommentMichael Pickerill bt Gergo Szudar (Mar 18) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Reveal CommentDarren Bellamy bt Rhodri Price (Mar 18) 6-4, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "My favourite tennis player of all time is Maria Sharapova. The intense will to win, immense mental strength and focus, strong work ethic, never say die attitude. Great legs. Forget all that stuff about the drugs. I've read her book - it was accidental (medicinal purposes) - not her fault. She describes winning at the top level as 20% ability, 80% mentality. I feel the same way about my battles with Rhodri. No denying he has some great shots, just not always played in the correct order. Once Rhodri started trying to ace his second serves and strike winners from the baseline, I knew his focus was more on the Six Nations matches later that afternoon and I was 80% along the road to victory. Thanks Rhodri and look forward to our next match." -- Darren
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Yinzuo Tao (Mar 14) 6-3, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Windy conditions for my last match against Yinzuo, who defeated me in a 3-set thriller in the last round. He is a complete player with no weaknesses you can target. He is so quick and hits the ball with great pace with both his forehand and backhand. I fought very hard to be 5-1 (I think) up, but against him you can’t relax no matter the score. He won the next 2 games and after a tight 9th game I was able to take the set. I was lucky to win the opening game of the 2nd set when 0-40 down on his serve. I eventually won the 2nd set, but again it was not easy at all. He had some difficulty with the wind, which prevented him to play at the level of our last meeting. Thank you for the game. I look forward to playing you away in the next round." -- Owen
Mark Howell-Jones bt Darren Bellamy (Mar 10) 6-2, 6-1
Reveal CommentMichael Pickerill bt Rhodri Price (Mar 5) 6-1, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Great points and great rallies played. It was definitely closer than the score line suggested. Some great tennis played by Rhodri. Well played and good luck for the rest of your matches" -- Michael
Reveal CommentKevin Birt bt Gergo Szudar (Mar 5) 6-3, 7-5
Player Comments:
- "You can often tell in the warm up if it's going to be a good match & this certainly seemed like that. Gergo had a great serve which aced me more than once or at least had me at full stretch. The 1st set was close with some great rallies, Gergo could really hit a forehand if you let him & the same if you let him come to the net & volley or smash. Gergo got frustrated by his errors in set 1 but set 2 relaxed & we both enjoyed a really close second set . After leading the 2nd set all the way through I got nervous at 6-5 & was glad to see it out. Luckily today I was playing to better than my normal standard & pleased to hit some winners & able to remain consistent which I think was the difference on this occasion. Good Game & good luck " -- Kevin
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Michael Pickerill (Mar 4) 6-3, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "Perfect conditions for tennis with no wind or rain. Michael is a very tricky player to play against. He is fast, hits the ball with great pace and really good at the net. For 3 games in a row, Michael had game points but was unable to convert and these crucial points made the difference in the 1st set. In the 2nd set Michael was playing better and like in the 1st set he wrong-footed me plenty of times! I was a double break down and I was just trying to hang on in there and hope for the best. I fought very hard to get it back to 3-3 saving some more game points. Courtesy of some unforced errors from Michael and couple of luck net cords by myself I won the next 3 games to get the win. My toughest match so far. Only Yinzuo left to play… Gulp!" -- Owen
Reveal CommentYinzuo Tao bt Mark Howell-Jones (Feb 26) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Player Comments:
- "Thank Mark for hosting the match in Penarth LTC and drive me from cardiff to there. Very kind person. First time play artificial grass in UK, suffered a lot during the first set and Mark make many powerful serves and great slices which is very low bounce on the grass. very enjoyable match. hope.to meet him again next round. " -- Yinzuo
Reveal CommentKevin Birt bt Barnaby ROSS (Feb 26) 6-4, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Unlike most good sports players I turned up expecting defeat! but hoping for a good enjoyable game. Barnaby is young, fit, has great awareness & an absolute weapon of a forehand along with a consistent serve. So, it was a real surprise to take the set 1 after a real nip n tuck hour of tennis. Barnaby kept me deep with big shots that peppered the baseline & away from my favourite place at the net, I think the difference today was just the few shots that landed the wrong side of that baseline perhaps. The 2nd set was a blur as I found myself 4-1 then 5-1 up. I was pleased with some of the winners I hit & some relentless running to barnabys big.shots which was generally futile. Really enjoyable friendly game with some great rallies." -- Kevin
Yinzuo Tao bt Michael Pickerill (Feb 26) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Rhodri Price (Feb 25) 6-2, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "A tough match against Rhodri which I had to work very hard for. Rhodri has a lovely technique and can hit many winners from both the forehand and backhand which he definitely did against me. Due to his impressive speed around the court it was very hard to get the ball pass him and he won some unbelievable points! Rhodri is not afraid to go for his shots and he showed his bravery by executing some brilliant drive volleys which I could not do anything against. Rhodri also has great variation to his game making it difficult to know what to expect. There were many close games which I was fortunate to win. Thank you for the game Rhodri and all the best in your remaining matches." -- Owen
Reveal CommentKevin Birt bt Darren Bellamy (Feb 18) 5-7, 7-6 (12-10), 6-3
Player Comments:
- "The Wind and The Wall ! On a day clearly not suitable for tennis, two stubborn men played anyway in the race to the bottom of league one. Anyone who had played the man known as the Human Wall knows you have to beat him, he won't let you win, he won't make mistakes and that ball is always coming back! After 2hrs of play and at one set all and after a fairly dramatic drawn out tie-break, we had to press pause and come back to slog it out on hopefully a nicer day....." -- Kevin
- "It started snowing, so of course me and Darren immediately put on our tennis gear and headed to the courts. The standard game with The Wall desperately trying to find angles and opportunities to beat him and at 4-1 up and 40 - 0, it was looking promising, only to lose that game and the next one, which could have turned the whole thing around. Luckily I played well enough to win, with match point being an epic rally and a great way to finish the game. Good fair and friendly game. Good luck. Kev" -- Kevin
Yinzuo Tao bt Darren Bellamy (Feb 14) 6-0, 6-1
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Kevin Birt (Feb 12) 6-0, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "My serving during our warmup was rubbish, so it was of no surprise that Kevin elected me to serve first. He has improved a lot since our last encounter. He hits the ball with more pace which are difficult to get to and he moves a lot quicker. I definitely had to work harder for my points. My dropshot serves were not effective against him as he was able to chase them down and then hit a winner frequently. There were plenty of deuce games, particularly in the 2nd set where I saved game points when I was up 3-2 and 4-2, so instead of Kevin being a break up at 4-3, I was leading 5-2 and that makes a big difference. After another deuce game, I was able to close out the match.Thank you for an enjoyable match. I look forward to our next encounter." -- Owen
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Mark Howell-Jones (Feb 11) 6-2, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "The morning after Barnaby and myself were being attacked by our shoes (Don’t ask!), my next challenge was Mark. Mark had a cold, and this was a big factor in the match as I cruelly took advantage of this by making him run side to side to tire him out. Sorry Mark! Towards the end of the 2nd set, Mark was making more unforced errors due to tiredness, but he fought until the very end. The last game of the match lasted quite a while as Mark just would not go away, but after quite a few deuces I was finally able to cross the finishing line. The match was played in great spirit and we had some great laughs. Even tough I dread playing Mark, it is always a pleasure playing him. He’s a true gentleman." -- Owen
Gergo Szudar bt Rhodri Price (Feb 11) 7-5, 6-1
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Barnaby ROSS (Feb 10) 6-1, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "One of those matches where the score does not depict the quality of a fantastic match. Barnaby is a player that I always have great difficulty playing against. He hits the ball with great pace which he makes looks easy and he is VERY fast around the court! I thought I was hitting the ball very well, but he still manages to get to the shots! It came down to the many crucial points we had, which I was able to win the majority of. One game in the 1st set lasted about 15 minutes, which I won. This should give you an idea of how hard you have to work to win games off him. Many long epic rallies and superb defense from Barnaby. A game that definitely deserves to be a 3 setter instead of 2 sets. A match that I am very relieved to get through!" -- Owen
Reveal CommentRhodri Price bt Kevin Birt (Feb 9) 6-4, 6-4
Player Comments:
- "We played at Cardiff Castle Club, weather good - no wind or rain, and we played on asphalt under floodlight. I play doubles with Kevin regularly so we both knew each other's styles. Kevin serves his first well and he has a nice forehand which spins and takes the opponent off court. We had some nice rallies and I enjoyed Kevin's attitude on court, his sportsmanship and his chat. Thanks Kevin. " -- Rhodri
Yinzuo Tao bt Rhodri Price (Feb 8) 6-2, 6-1
Yinzuo Tao bt Barnaby ROSS (Feb 7) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Darren Bellamy (Feb 6) 6-1, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "After my match with Darren the Wall, I was so glad that one of my matches got postponed last night, as it was a draining match. As we all know, Darren gets everything back, and with his improved fitness the task of getting the ball past him was made even tougher, which is a scary thought. 5 or 6 games went to deuce in the 1st set, but I was able to win the big points to win the set 6-1 which could have easily gone the other way! The 2nd set was similar, a lot of deuce games. I struggled to deal with Darren’s forehand down the line and he punished any weak 2nd serves, and there were plenty of long rallies, too many! I was relieved to win it in 2 sets as I was exhausted from the long rallies and Darren’s drop shots! Thanks for a great match." -- Owen
Barnaby ROSS bt Gergo Szudar (Feb 5) 6-3, 7-5
Reveal CommentMark Howell-Jones bt Rhodri Price (Feb 2) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Thank you Rhodri for a really enjoyable match. I apologize for the numerous mishits at key points. 3 hours of pain on the clay at Cardiff lawn tennis club! Rhodri has a lovely all round game and hit winners from both sides regularly. Very quick around the court and hit solid volleys and numerous amazing drop shots which really suited the clay surface. I had a set point in the first set but failed to take it and he took the tie break with ease. It was only the fact that he was double faulting alot that kept me in the 2nd set along with my many mishit winners. A really good friendly match which I feel very lucky to win as his all round game was better than mine. Thanks again for the match and good luck in remaining games. ??" -- Mark
Yinzuo Tao bt Gergo Szudar (Feb 1) 6-1, 6-3
Reveal CommentBarnaby ROSS bt Rhodri Price (Feb 1) 6-1, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "It's a cliche I know but the score line does not represent the intensity of the game. We had great rallies and Rodris technique is one of the best I've seen. He Just fell short on some important points." -- Barnaby
Reveal CommentBarnaby ROSS bt Darren Bellamy (Jan 31) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Some fantastic defence shots from Darren. No matter how hard I hit it would come right back to me deep into the baseline. Really enjoyable game! " -- Barnaby
Yinzuo Tao bt Kevin Birt (Jan 30) 6-1, 6-2
Reveal CommentOwen Morris bt Gergo Szudar (Jan 29) 6-0, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "A match on a gloomy day that I had to remain absolutely focused throughout as I know how much of a tricky player Gergo is, particularly with his powerful forehand, which I envy! I was made to work hard for my points and having to do a lot of running as he was varying his shots, so no time to relax! There was some heartbreak for me, which there usually is, when I was 40-0 up on my serve in the middle of the second set, only for Gergo to win the next 5 points to take that game. I had a bit of a slip in the 2nd set when I got wrong footed, but nothing serious and I was able to close out the match. Thank you for the game Gergo and for your lovely complements. I look forward to our next encounter. All the best." -- Owen
Final Rankings:
| Pos. | Name | Played | P | Won | W | Lost | L | Bonus | BNS | Total | PTS | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Owen | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | LWWL | ||||||
| 2 | Paul Langham | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | LWWW | ||||||
| 3 | Stuart McLeod | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | WWWW | ||||||
| 4 | Davide Respini | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | WWLW | ||||||
| 5 | Carmen Silvestre | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | WLLL | ||||||
| 6 | George Beck | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | LLLW | ||||||
| 7 | Jeffrey Dong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | WLLL | ||||||
| 8 | Zhiliang Xiang | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | LLLL | ||||||
| 9 | Marcus Jory-Phelps | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | LLLL | ||||||
| 10 | Panagiotis Ioannou | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | LL |
Match Results:
Carmen Silvestre bt Paul Langham (Mar 19) 6-2, 4-6, [10-7]
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt Zhiliang Xiang (Mar 18) 6-2, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Zhiliang for the game today. Good luck with your other matches . " -- Paul
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Mar 12) 6-1, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Marcus for the game. Hope your shoulder gets better soon enough" -- Paul
Reveal CommentDavide Respini bt Jeff Owen (Mar 11) 6-2, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Luckily the weather has helped us during the game! It’s the second time that I have played Jeff and it’s always a pleasure! Good way to spend a Saturday morning. Thanks Jeff and see you in the next round." -- Davide
Reveal CommentDavide Respini bt George Beck (Mar 5) 6-2, 7-5
Player Comments:
- "Thanks George for the good game! The game started a bit slow to raise up on the second set with some really good rallies. Many thanks and looking forward to play again! " -- Davide
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Panagiotis Ioannou (Mar 4) 6-1, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "I realised quickly my ‘hit to backhand’ plan wasn’t quite going to work as Otis has a lovely double handed backhand. After he aced me in his first service game and we had some tense rallies I knew it was going to be competitive and it was with the score line being too flattering to me. Nice to meet you Otis, I enjoyed the game. " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentJeffrey Dong bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Mar 4) 7-5, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "Lovely to meet you Marcus and a close first set. Both of us suffered from serving issues all day! " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentStuart McLeod bt Davide Respini (Mar 3) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "Another cold night under the Heath floodlights. Davide has only been playing for a year, but is a very good player and a real battler, running for everything, getting most. In the end we were targeting each other's backhand as recognising that was where our main weakness lay. A good game, could have gone either way, happy to scrape it. Thanks for the game Davide" -- Stuart
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Feb 28) 6-0, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "First off, fair play to Marcus for playing left handed even though he’s right handed after a shoulder injury. Nevertheless, some cracking slice drop shots with his left and we just about finished before it got too dark. Thanks Marcus for an enjoyable game " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentStuart McLeod bt Jeff Owen (Feb 28) 6-2, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Cold night under the lights at the Heath. Jeff had just played Marcus, but still looked fit as a fiddle. I managed to play my best tennis for a long time and I needed to, as there was no way my legs could have chased down Jeff's devilishly angled shots for three sets. The score flattered me, however it was a really competitive and tiring match, and I look forward to playing you again Jeff." -- Stuart
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Carmen Silvestre (Feb 26) 6-0, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "A lovely day for tennis, sun was out, we had george and Paul playing next to us, lots of baseline rallies and an enjoyable competitive match ??" -- Jeff
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt George Beck (Feb 26) 6-3, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "Hey George, Great to play our match today with some very close games. Weather was perfect. Thanks for hosting. Good luck with the rest of your games. " -- Paul
Reveal CommentDavide Respini bt Carmen Silvestre (Feb 25) 6-2, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Carmen for good game! Really enjoyed it. Good luck for the rest of the league!" -- Davide
Reveal CommentDavide Respini bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Feb 23) 6-2, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Marcus for the great game! I really enjoyed it! Good luck for the rest of the league! Cheers Dav" -- Davide
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt George Beck (Feb 22) 6-2, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "The score really doesn’t reflect how competitive this game was. Even until the last point it felt george was still in it. Thanks george for another great match and for being a good host - best of luck in your remaining matches!" -- Jeff
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Jeffrey Dong (Feb 21) 6-1, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "Nice to meet you jeff and great idea that we should relaunch the name Jeff to get it trendy again (if it ever was) ?. Nice game with some lovely baseline rallies and Jeff putting pressure at the net. Look forwards to playing in the south wales summer league " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Zhiliang Xiang (Feb 19) 6-0, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Zhiliang for hosting at Castle, loved playing on the hard courts, was lots of fun. Enjoyable rallies and he caught me out with a couple of excellent drop shots. Good luck with the rest of your matches and your studies " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentGeorge Beck bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Feb 19) 7-5, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "Very enjoyable match on a very sunny winter morning, note to self: must pack hat or sunglasses Thanks Marcus " -- George
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt Jeffrey Dong (Feb 19) 6-1, 6-2
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Jeff for the game and making the trip over. Great to meet you and nice to play in the sun . Score doesn’t reflect the game as some lovely shots played by us both . Good luck in the rest of your matches and keep an eye out when we’re up to Bridgend. Paul" -- Paul
Reveal CommentStuart McLeod bt Carmen Silvestre (Feb 19) 6-3, 6-0
Player Comments:
- "Good competitive match in difficult windy conditions. Carmen has a big serve, powerful backhand and mixes her shots imaginatively which kept me on my toes. Most games in the 2nd set went to multiple deuces and the score should have been much closer. Thanks for hosting me at the Mackintosh Carmen, good courts and a good game, good luck in your others." -- Stuart
Reveal CommentJeff Owen bt Paul Langham (Feb 14) 5-7, 7-5, [10-4]
Player Comments:
- "Paul and I know each other on and off the court and play together regularly which means we know all of each others strengths and weaknesses, good shots, bad shots and everything in between. No surprise then that the match was very tight. If we played again tomorrow he’d win, then I’d win, and so on…..cheers mate, always a pleasure " -- Jeff
Reveal CommentStuart McLeod bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Feb 13) 6-1, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "Pleasure playing Marcus on a sunny day down the Heath. Like Rafa Nadal, Marcus is right handed who plays left handed, although this is due to a shoulder injury. Impressed me all the same, as I can barely hit a ball left handed. Good game with plenty of deuces and rallies. Thanks for the game" -- Stuart
Carmen Silvestre bt Marcus Jory-Phelps (Feb 11) 6-2, 6-0
Reveal CommentGeorge Beck bt Zhiliang Xiang (Feb 11) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Player Comments:
- "Very enjoyable match. Some nice rallies, especially in the 2nd set. Looking forward to a rematch. " -- George
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt Davide Respini (Feb 11) 6-4, 6-4
Player Comments:
- "Hey Davide, really enjoyed our game with some really good rallies and nice points scored throughout. Was very tight all the way . Could have gone either way. God luck for the rest of your matches. " -- Paul
Reveal CommentStuart McLeod bt Paul Langham (Feb 10) 7-6 (7-1), 6-1
Player Comments:
- "I was lucky to even get to a tie break in the 1st set, with Paul bossing the game with his forehands hitting the lines. Having scraped through that, Paul's consistency dropped in the drizzle affected second set, but he has the game, and all the shots to beat me easily. Thanks for the game" -- Stuart
Carmen Silvestre bt George Beck (Feb 8) 6-4, 6-1
Carmen Silvestre bt Zhiliang Xiang (Feb 4) 6-1, 6-1
Reveal CommentPaul Langham bt Panagiotis Ioannou (Feb 4) 6-1, 6-1
Player Comments:
- "Enjoyable match. That serve will come good with practice and the score doesn’t reflect some tight games and a great rally for the last point. Good luck in your other matches. " -- Paul
Reveal CommentDavide Respini bt Zhiliang Xiang (Jan 31) 6-1, 6-4
Player Comments:
- "Thanks Zhiliang for the game! The game started started a bit slow to rise up in the second set. It was really good play against Zhiliang and was good to meet you. Good luck for the rest of the league." -- Sally
Reveal CommentGeorge Beck bt Jeffrey Dong (Jan 28) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Player Comments:
- "Very enjoyable match. Very tight. Many long deuce games. In the end I had a little more gas left in the tank which got me the win. Thanks Jeff. " -- George
Player Comments: