The Ilkley tournament is always a welcome stop on the annual grass court circuit. Following Toby’s excellent run at the Manchester Northern $10k, Rich, Big Dan and Toby aimed to keep the MCTA/TEAMBATH momentum going.

Qualifying started on Sunday in a gale force wind, very different from the calm and sunny conditions in Manchester. Rich got off to a great start, finding his touch quickly and dismissing Australian Shaun Waters 6-0 6-1 in under an hour.

Dan was having the opposite experience, struggling to find any rhythm. After losing the first set to fellow Brit Alex Golding 6-4 and going a break down 4-2 in the second things looked grim. A determined fightback saw Dan level the set at 5-5. A poor service game  including 3 double faults gave Golding the break and he served out to win the match 6-4 7-5. Disappointment for Dan who faced a long drive home after watching Nadal secure his second Wimbledon Title on the big screen in the Ilkley clubhouse.

After intermittent rain throughout the afternoon Rich got on court for his second match against Eamonn Soulsby. A hesitant start by Rich gave Soulsby the initiative and he won the first set 6-4. However Rich reacted immediately by upping his level of intensity and aggression and breaking Soulsby immediately at the beginning of the second set. Another break gave him a 3-0 lead and the set was won 6-3. Souslby became more dejected as the third set began. Rich was now finding his ‘A’ game and he ran away with the set 6-0 to put him in the qualifying round tomorrow. More reports to follow!