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Will Hopton and Alexander Anton
U21Singles Final - Nick James vs Will Hopton
They met in the U24 singles draw and Nick James pipped Will to the post in
that match playing nothing short of sublime rackets. The U21 Final,
however, told a different story. Having learnt from the earlier match Will
Hopton got of to the best possible start winning the first game 15-8. He
was retrieving as well as has ever been seen at this level and was
merciless in his finishing of points. He then won the second game in
similar fashion to extend his lead to 2-0. Nick then proved his worth and
fought back beautifully to take the third game 15-9 with some super hitting
and shots that the world's best would have been proud of. This made the
score 2-1. Hopton then decided enough was enough and came out of blocks on
fire. He took a demanding lead in the fourth game and gave Nick little room
to move and closed out the match 15-6 to win 3-1.
U21 Doubles Final - Will Hopton and Nick James vs Joe Bone and Mike Bailey
This was a keenly awaited final between the cream of the crop of U21
rackets. This match would not have been out of place in a major
tournament's semi final. All player's performances were of extreme quality
and gave the gallery quite a spectacle. The first game went right to the
wire and was eventually snatched by Bone and Bailey 17/16. The second was a
little easier for the Number 1 seeds and they won it 15/8 with some
spectacular serving from Bailey followed up with some precision shot play
from Bone. The younger pair of James and Hopton followed up with a fine
effort in the third game with some excellent grit and determination to
steel the game 16/14. This made the match stand at 2-1. This was as far as
they got and the Number 1 seeds sealed the fourth game 15/8 and the match
3-1. We must commend all players on performing at such a high standard.
Hugely encouraging to see so much talent coming through.
Joe Bone Ali Robinson Alex Coldicott
U24 Doubles Final - Alex Coldicott and Joe Bone vs James Coyne and Mark Penna
This Doubles was slightly more one way traffic. The first two games of this
contest were quite easily claimed by the defending champions 15/2, 15/1.
Neither Coyne nor Penna could seem to do anything with Coldicott's serve.
He put almost every ball to a length and made it a real struggle for the
Number 2 seeds. The third game was slightly difficult and saw Penna serve a
huge run to get the trailing pair to 10/3 up. Coyne could then only add one
to that total. Coldicott then pulled it together again and served extremely
well to level the scores. Penna and Coyne then got the second hand out but
were knocked out of the service box immediately. It was then Joe Bone's
turn to dominate and he then finished the game 15/11 and the match 3-1.
James Coyne and Ali Robinson
U24 Singles Final - James Coyne vs Alex Coldicott
This was a re-run of last year's final. Last year the score line was a
tight 3-2 but his year it was slightly different. It was Coldicott who landed
the first blow. He clearly carried over his serving excellence from his
earlier doubles and won the first game 15/5. That was sadly the last he
really saw of the match. Coyne, obviously slightly disgruntled by the
first game, got into the service box straight away and that is where he
stayed. He served a great length and the ones that did come back were soon
killed. He won the second game 15/0 to level the scores at 1-1. The third
game was similar and Coldicott was now on the receiving end of the
serving he dished out earlier that evening. The third game was again easily
secured by the Number 1 seed 15/3 to take the lead 2-1. The final game was
also taken with no real resistance from Coldicott and Coyne stormed to a
well deserved victory 3-1 5/15, 15/0, 15/3, 15/1. A hearty performance for
the back to back winner. Next year is his last and he will be looking to do
the triple. Reports by James Coyne and Photos by Tim Edwards
Draws
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