Sid’s blog:

Coming from a victory in Scotland ITF, I felt really confident going into Newcastle and felt that I could possibly add another tournament  
win to my name. I knew that it would be tough though as lots of good players were in the tournament, including the other Teambath players: Toby Martin, Max England and Stephen ‘Claw’ Crawshaw.

The tournament got going and I came through a tough first round against Roy Brandys from Poland. He played a very good 1st set and i got an ass whooping 61! But I knew if I kept with him and fought hard I would finally break him and I did and went on to win the next two sets 62 64.

Day two came along and I was up against the Belgian number 1 seed. Usually I may have been intimidated by this but I was not letting this happen again and I played two good tough sets and ended up winning a comfortable 62 62. I was very happy with my focus as there was a lot of controversy and gamesmanship throughout the match from my opponent.

Quarterfinal day and it was incredibly windy. I was playing another Brit who had just had a very good win so I went into the match expecting a tough one. In about half an hour I went 62 52 up!!  But, a lapse of concentration and a little bit of tightness from myself and we were level at one set all. But I managed to regain the momentum and closed the match out in the 3rd set 62. I knew I made the match a lot tougher then need be, but I thought I did well to forget about the missed chances and knuckle down and eventually come through it.

Right, into the semis; I was playing a younger Brit who I knew was a good player and had, had some good results through the week. Despite not playing my best, I focused really well and handled the wind better than my opponent did and won 61 64.

Ahh… another final!! I'm starting to enjoy this I thought to myself.

Finals day came and again was a very blustery day. I was playing a Spanish guy who was a big unit and who knocked out Toby martin in the quarter finals and had cruised his way to the final. I expected a tough match, which is exactly what I got! The first set I started off slow but saved 5 set points from 52 down to take the set into a tie-break. I saved two set points at 6-5 and 7-6 in the breaker and now we were level pegging at 7 all. Big point: We rallied then I called a ball out which was definitely out, but the umpire disagrees. I show him a mark but he sticks to his decision and I went on to lose the set. Now at this point I was snapping! But, nevertheless I put my head down and kept fighting. I went 53 down in the 2nd but saved a match point and again another tie break was on our hands. I played a good breaker and I won it; 1 set all. 1 more set to win to win another ITF. The set started off badly from both our parts and we both struggled to hold serve. Then I made a breakthrough and went 53 up. I didn’t serve it out!!  So, 5 all, I had some break points but he played well on all of them and he held for a 65 lead. Bam!! Before I knew it the match was over. 76 67 75 and after 3 hours and 12 mins I had lost and I was gutted. Seriously gutted!!

But I knew I had a great two weeks and Life goes on and I went home had the washing done and Czech Republic here I come on the next day. No rest for the wicked hey...life of a pro and I love it!!

Sid




Macca’s blog:

Myself, Toby and Taz cruised up to Newcastle in the big 4x4 hire car. After a few hours of me and Toby sorting out English football we met up with Jimbo who was watching the guys battle it out in qualifying. It was very windy and tough conditions, which continued all week. However, it is a very nice club with good courts and good general facilities.

The main draw started on the Monday. Due to the draw being split only Toby and Max played; Toby won comfortably and put in a very good, professional performance. Max unfortunately lost a tight match to a young Italian; he battled hard but couldn’t quite pull through.

Sid, Taz and Steve ‘Claw’ Crawshaw all started on Tuesday. Sid was very confident having come off a great week in Edinburgh. However he didn’t have it all his own way and he had to fight back from a set down, but he did well to pull through. Taz lost in two close sets and struggled to really find her top gear. ‘Claw’ did not enjoy his two bagels and he lost comfortably!! They were all involved in doubles as well. Taz picked up her form and came through with her partner. The boys all lost theirs! However there was some good entertainment as claw and his partner (who became known as the big man!!) fought back from a set down, but eventually lost in the champions breaker. It was good to see ‘Claw’ put in a good performance.

Toby and Sid both won their second rounds comfortably and Taz won her doubles, so a successful day!

The quarter-finals were tough for the guys. Toby lost 6-3 in the third. It was a match that had more ups and downs than your average roller coaster!! Again, Toby fought hard (often against himself!!) but his Spanish opponent played very well at key times. Sid was winning his match comfortably, before switching off and letting his opponent back into, but then regained focus and closed the match out. Again, a very up and down match! Taz was in the semi-finals of the doubles, which unfortunately she lost. True to the day, it was close and could have gone either way. After a few controversial decisions, they narrowly lost in the 3rd set. By the end of the day, myself and Rox were ready for a stiff drink!

We stayed in the Carlton hotel all week, which was walking distance from the club. It is very handy to be able to stroll down to the club in the morning and it was very convenient for the players. As a group we took full advantage of the Pizza Express deals and between us I think we sampled most things on the menu!! Many interesting chats were had around the dinner table and the world was generally put to rights!!

Sid played a younger British guy in the semi finals and the conditions were very tough. He focused extremely well and played smart tennis considering the conditions. He came through 6-1 6-4 to make his second consecutive final!

In the final, Sid was playing the Spanish guy who beat Toby. The match turned into an epic!! After 3 hours of battling, both of them having their chances, the Spaniard eventually came out on top. It was a fantastic match and Sid really did himself proud.

Myself and Roxanne were really pleased with the players throughout the whole week. They were worked hard, competed well and were good fun to be around.

I hope the remainder of the summer can hold more successes for them all!

Macca

Well, it does not seem 5 minutes since I was blogging from Finland in March and yet here we are at the start of the summer tournament run!  I am sat writing this blog (with big brother in the background, ashamed to say I have been watching it!) on the penultimate night of what has been a very busy two weeks. We started with the Scottish Open where we had nine players competing. It was really good week of tennis with all the players competing well  showing  signs of their hard work in training paying off. Steve Crawshaw made finals of 18s and Toby Mitchell made final of 16s doubles. Bridge showed off some great clay court tennis, looking very at home with her favourite surface, scoring a good win in the 18s.  With the mini bus bouncing in time with Eminem (how is that music!) we set off each morning for practice and matches,  it was great to have all the age groups together watching , supporting and learning from each other, in true TeamBath/MCTA style.  Bridge was playing during the Germany v England match, so I made agreement that I would watch but was allowed to have the radio on too. So thanks to Craig’s iphone we had the match on live. Turns out there was no need for the radio due to the roaring cheer coming out of the pub (opposite the club) when GERMANY scored! Say no more!

Rich’s second round opponent was the gifted left hander Marcus Willis who had put out Daniel Cox the day before after being a set and 4-1 down. Rain meant that the tournament started indoors on the acrylic courts which are very different from grass. Rich kept up his good form from the day before to win the first set 6-3.

Rich had an opportunity to break Willis again at the beginning of the second set but Willis hung on and the match ebbed and flowed throughout the second set. Willis began to find his best form especially on the big points. Richard kept up the pressure with some superb attacking play but Willis stayed right with him until at 4-4 Willis broke Rich’s serve with some inspired passing shots. Willis now had the momentum and his tennis was almost faultless as he closed out the second set 6-4 and went on to win the third 6-2.

Rich can be proud of his week, playing 5 matches and regaining his ATP singles ranking. Toby and partner Michael Ward got into the doubles only to lose narrowly to Josh Goodall and Andrew Fitzpatrick 6-4 6-4. Toby goes to Newcastle ITF while Rich goes to the $10k at Frinton.

Things we learnt this week!
•    Jim is an amazing cook! Pasta with pesto and Tesco’s finest hamburgers is the preferred diet at the Northern tournaments.
•    There is nothing to be intimidated by at this level. Toby and Rich both picked up ATP rankings by playing in an aggressive but calm and relaxed frame of mind.
•    Ilkley is very pretty and not that different to Bath.

In the qualifying round and Rich played Toby’s first round opponent from last week, Joss Espasandin from Switzerland. The Swiss must be getting sick of being drawn against MCTA/TEAMBATH players as he lost to Rich as he had to Toby. Espasandin started brightly enough winning the first set 7-6. Rich had many chances to win the set but responded well to the disappointment by breaking  Espasandin’s serve and running away with the set 6-2. During the set the Swiss fell awkwardly and appeared to be hampered in his movement. It made no difference as Rich hit top gear to win the final set 6-2 and qualify for the Main Draw.

The Main Draw pitted Rich against Indian Divij Sharan and Toby against George Morgan, the Wimbledon Boys Doubles finalist from Sunday. Rich was up first and it soon became clear that he was having a special day! Sharan, a left handed serve volleyer repeatedly found his volleys whipped past him. Rich broke his serve to lead 3-1 and never looked back. His passing shots were too accuarate and his first serve too consistent for a player who had reached the quarter finals in Manchester. Rich won 6-2 6-2 and wins an ATP point to match Toby’s.

Next up was Toby’s encounter with Morgan. In near perfect conditions Toby struggled to find his form and dropped the first set 6-4. A sloppy service game at 2-2 in the second set gave Toby the break and he held on to win the set 6-4. At 2-1 down in the final set it began to rain and after a very long break the match resumed indoors. Unfortunately Toby dropped his serve immediately at the restart and was unable to hold serve again as Morgan ran out the winner 6-2.