British Handicaps Report and Photos 2014
BRITISH LADIES’ HANDICAP SINGLES AND DOUBLES TOURNAMENTS
14th to 16th November 2014
at Leamington Tennis Court Club and Moreton Morrell Tennis Court Club
sponsored by an Anonymous donor
Go to British Handicaps Results 2014
Div 1 Singles Winner Georgie Willis with Sir Andrew Hamilton Chairman of Moreton Morrell
Div 2 Finalist Cecile Alchuteguy with Sir Andrew
Div 2 Doubles winners Charlotte Barker and Diane Binnie with Guy Stanton
Bernadette Bidouze
Katie Leppard
Gabrielle Smart
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Rebecca Kashti and Lucy Davies
Katie Leppard
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Div 1 Singles Finalist Charlotte Barker with Sir Andrew
Div 1 Doubles Winners Fiona Harrison and Katie Leppard with Guy Stanton Chairman of Leamington
Div 2 Doubles Finalists Felicity Sargent and Isabel Candy with Guy Stanton
Lucy Davies and Lucy Hutchinson
Fiona Harrison
Nick Jury at work
Gabrielle Smart and Savannah Poolman
Audrey Perie
The brilliant organiser: Katy Weston
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Div 2 Singles Winner Isabel Candy with Sir Andrew
Div 1 Doubles Finalists Lucy Davies and Lucy Hutchinson
Charlotte Barker
Isabel Candy, Felicity Sargent, Diane Binnie and Charlotte Barker before the Div 2 final
Isabel Candy and Cecile Alchuteguy before the Div 2 final
Charlotte Barker and Georgie Willis before the Div 1 Final
Lucy Hutchinson and Charlotte Barker
Chantelle Harding
A thank you from the competitors for Katy
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Thirty six players gathered for the British Handicaps this year. Once again it was a pleasure to see a strong French contingent to add a bit of ooh-la-la. It was heartening also to see some of our young Bursary holders starting to show their form – one of whom (Spoiler Alert!) went through all the way to triumph in her Division…
Dinner on Saturday night was the usual triumph at Leamington – with nearly forty diners enjoying a delicious meal.
Our thanks to the Anonymous Donor, to the two Clubs for hosting the tournament; to the four professionals for their marking (Ben Matthews, Marc Seigneur, Tom Granville and Nick Jury); to Lucy Hutchinson, and above all, Katy Weston for organising a wonderful 3 days of great play and amiability.
Division 1 (Singles 59.6- and Doubles joint Handicap 59.4-)
Perhaps the most admired presence at this year’s British Handicap Division 1 matches was the one creature present without a handicap at all – four month old Toggle the dog – who livened up both the court and the dedans. Many an iffy shot was greeted with a deep growl-cum-groan: Toggle has definitely already acquired an intelligent overview of the game, and showed great keenness by participating in a match.
All matches, apart from the Final, were played at Moreton Morrell, best of six, beginning at one game all (apart from the Finals).
Singles Division 1
Apart from Toggle, four groups of four battled out the round robin stage (best of six games, starting at one all). The competition got off to a cracking start with Bernadette Bidouze playing Liz Leach. Both found the winning gallery, and five of the games went to 40 all, with the last one at 5/5 when Bernadette sneaked through. Two groups had an all-out winner – Charlotte Barker and Georgie Willis both with perfect scores. The other groups were somewhat tighter. In Group A, there was a close fight between winner Lucy Hutchinson and runner-up Bernadette, who both won two matches and were only separated by one game. And in Group D, (with 3 players, after Candida Nicholls had to scratch) a thrilling and close encounter, between Gabrielle Smart and Fiona Harrison, gave Gabrielle the winning position.
In the knock-out quarters, Lucy Hutchinson was absolutely ruthless in beating Fiona Harrison, smacking the ball low into corners from both ends and giving Fiona no chance to find her rhythm. Against Charlotte Barker, Linda Fairbrother looked to be going through, despite a big handicap of ten points against her, until a string broke when leading 5/3. By the time she had mastered a lent racquet, Charlotte had re-found her form and won the next three games to go through 6/5. Emily Summers, another new and young player, was up against 16 year-old Georgie Willis. Though Emily was improving with every game, and hitting some lovely shots, Georgie was making better use of the tambour and hanging on to win the vital points, to go through 6/4. And in the last quarter final, Gabrielle Smart met the one and only Bernadette Bidouze, whose apparently static style belied her cunning ability to read where the ball would be and thus get to the right place in time. Both players very seldom laid a chase worse than 3, but Gabrielle managed to find ways to strand Bernadette, and went through 6/3.
By the semi-finals, two young players were left: Georgie Willis and Charlotte Barker (not quite as young as the former, but looking pretty frisky compared to the majority in the dedans). Charlotte was first up, against Lucy Hutchinson, who was giving her 15/love every game. Charlotte came out, all guns blazing, and gave Lucy no mercy. Lucy was unable to craft those ruthless low corner shots that we’d seen previously, and Charlotte could step in and hit at will. At 5/1, Lucy threw caution to the winds and began to hit more aggressively in a last-ditch effort, but Charlotte stood firm and at 40/15 ahead, she defended chase better than 5; Lucy managed better than 6, and it was all over at 6/1.
In the second semi-final, Georgie took on Gabrielle Smart, with receive half 15/owe half 15 in Gabrielle’s favour. The handicap points against her didn’t trouble Georgie, whose good length and aggressive power prevented Gabrielle from playing her favourite shots (cunningly slipping down the backhand side into a corner). Gabrielle also had to face a series of morale-sapping grille shots from her opponent, who seemed to have a piece of elastic tied to the tambour as well. At 5/1, some great shots by Gabrielle gave her a game point at last, but it was denied by a good serve from Georgie, who then went on to take the next point and the match, 6/1.
The Final, then, was between the youngest player in the Division against the third youngest, in a match that began at 0/0, instead of 1/1 as the previous matches had been. Charlotte had Rec15/half owe 30 in her favour, but once again this didn’t seem to bother Georgie. Charlotte was not tight enough on her serves to contain Georgie’s big hits; and her ground strokes were floating too high, allowing Georgie to volley into the corners. The games slipped away, with Charlotte making her opponent play, and nearly winning games, but finding it hard to get that vital last point. Then at 3/0, Charlotte finally won two games in a row and Georgie began to look rattled, alternating good shots with weak hits into the net. Could Charlotte capitalise on the errors and pull it off? No – Charlotte looked nervy too, and allowed her opponent back in. Georgie reeled in the games, and won the match in fine form, 6/2.
Doubles Division 1
In the doubles, there were a number of excellent matches where one pair were up 5/3 and apparently about to win, but whose opponents came from behind to take the glory. It was a shame that it all had to stop at just one set.
Some of the long-standing partnerships, such as Chantelle Harding and Pam Tomalin, and the two Lindas (Fairbrother and Sheraton-Davis) went out in the first round. The latter managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as they were 5/3 up against Katie Leppard and Fiona Harrison, eventually losing the final game at 5 all when their opponents beat chase worse than 1. However, not all the old-timers had lost their sparkle: the Lucy/Lucy partnership (Hutchinson and Davies) triumphed 6/4 over young Georgie Willis and Pam Tomalin (getting another bite of the cherry as a stand-in). Tight serving and placement won the day over hard-hitting opposition.
A quarter-final was held to determine which pair between Candida Nicholls and Rebecca Kashti against the two French players Bernadette Bidouze and Cecile Alchuteguy would go through to the semi-final stage. Calls of: “Don’t let the Frenchies win!’, were quickly followed, in the interests of fairness, from the same person shouting: “Allez les Francaises!” when Bernadette and Cecile were behind. (Naming no names, but her initials are PT.) Ignoring all interjections, Candida and Rebecca calmly held on to their lead and went through 6/4.
The first semi-final was between Katie Leppard with Fiona Harrison against Gabrielle Smart and Audrey Perie (both again from France, please note). The two pairs were apparently equally matched with good rests and placing. All players were making good use of the court, going cross-court low and hard, but Katie and Fiona were winning the vital points and games. The eventual score was 6/1, but this was unfair to the fine play by Gabrielle and Audrey.
In the second semi-final, alas, Candida Nicholls had to retire at 2/2, suffering from severe tennis elbow exacerbated by an awkward shot. So Lucy Hutchinson and Lucy Davies went through.
In the Final of the doubles, the two Lucys received 15/0 every game from Katie and Fiona. This was a well-fought game with some great hitting all round. Katie was using her serve and power well, but Lucy Hutchinson in particular was picking up nick shots superbly, and sending the ball back into a corner. However, Katie and Fiona were up 2/0 quite quickly, leading to a comment, as a nasty railroad serve from Katie bounced into the corner: “She is totally vicious!’. Vicious indeed, though the Lucys got on to the scoreboard and managed to hang on. Lucy Hutchinson in particular made two great dedans shots in a row returning Katie’s serve to win their second game, and then another, to make it 3/5. Could they sweep on all the way and break the will of their opponents? It was not to be – Katie Leppard and Fiona Harrison stayed focused; and fighting steadily, won the match 6/3 in a fitting end to the doubles tournament.
Report by Linda Fairbrother with Lucy Hutchinson
Division 2 (59.8+ Singles; Joint 59.5+)
All games held at Leamington, with best of six matches starting at one game all (apart from the Finals).
More young players emerged in this Division – Felicity Sargent, Sarah Vermont and Amy Pye – who all went through in the initial Round Robin in fine style.
In the preliminary matches to determine the last two quarter-final places, Felicity swanned through again, despite a huge handicap difference of 16 points. After a tentative start, she held her nerve, serving well, with back-hand cross-court returns that were real killers, to win 6/1. The other preliminary was between Isabel Candy and Liz Fisher. Liz’s steady play kept things level at first, and she had chances to go to 3 all. But Isabel was just too athletic and firm, going through 6/2.
In the quarter finals, another junior Amy Pye (the 2013 Div 2 title holder) had a great match with steady-as-a-rock Diane Binnie. In a game of two halves, Amy went 5/2 up, despite giving a big handicap (10) to Diane; but then some flawless play by Diane brought it up to 5 all. Amy then dug deep and took the final game, 6/5. Julia Vermont then beat Annabel Wyatt 6/2, while Cecile Alchuteguy beat Felicity Sargent 6/4 with some wonderful volleying from both. Isabel Candy then beat Audrie Perie, 6/3.
In the first semi-final, some good rests saw Cecile beat Amy 6/4; in the second semi, both Isabel and Julie served well - and returned well too. Isabel fought from 4/2 down to beat Julie in a great contest 6/5.
For the Singles Final, then, Isabel Candy met Cecile Alchuteguy, who is a very useful Lawn Tennis player back in France. Both showed great maturity in play and competitiveness. Their style of play was similar: good at getting to the ball and great volleying, but not so effective at either hitting or returning low cut balls.
At 2 all, Cecile began to pull away, using a spinning serve which Isabel kept missing, getting her to 4/2. But Isabel fought back to 4 all and then 5/4, with some fantastic low shots into the corners. In the next game, Isabel turned on the heat with a shot to the grille at 30/0 and then a super serve to make it 40/0. She held steady to force an error from Cecile, winning 6/4.
Doubles Division 2
Holders Charlotte Barker and Julia Levy were knocked out in the first round, but Charlotte then teamed with Diane Binnie whose partner had to withdraw due to injury. This turned out to be a Cunning Plan….
They beat mother and daughter team, Sarah and Julia Vermont; veterans Sarah McGivern and Katy Weston; and then met in the Final youngsters Isobel Candy and Felicity Sargent, who had beaten Trish Morris and Annabel Wyatt in an exciting semi-final match.
In the Doubles Final, it was two Doctors against two Juniors. The Doctors, Charlotte and Diane, began well and continued better, with Charlotte using her power and Diane her steadiness under fire (despite being constantly peppered by her young opponents Isobel and Felicity). Charlotte and Diane moved forward to 3/1 (the match having started at 0/0), and then, helped by 3 nicks in a row, to 4/1. Isobel and Felicity looked as if they were panicking at this point, with no Plan B as to what to do in the face of players on the other side of the net who were calmly returning everything thrown at them. They won no more games, despite valiant efforts, and Charlotte and Diane won comfortably 6/1.
Was this the first time two medical Doctors have won an LRTA title??
Reports by Diane Binnie, Katy Weston and Linda Fairbrother
Huge thanks to the two courts of Leamington and Moreton Morrell for their hospitality and the loan of the four markers: Ben Matthews, Marc Seigneur, Tom Granville and Nick Jury. Many thanks to Guy Stanton and Andrew Hamilton for presenting the prizes. Charlotte Ricketts for giving us a wonderful dinner at Leamington. Without our ever-generous Anonymous Benefactor there would not have been a tournament at all, so we are very grateful for the support. And above all, we must thank Katy Weston who organized the whole tournament and coped with a bumper crop of entries (and of drop outs) with flair and calm.
All games held at Leamington, with best of six matches starting at one game all (apart from the Finals).
More young players emerged in this Division – Felicity Sargent, Sarah Vermont and Amy Pye – who all went through in the initial Round Robin in fine style.
In the preliminary matches to determine the last two quarter-final places, Felicity swanned through again, despite a huge handicap difference of 16 points. After a tentative start, she held her nerve, serving well, with back-hand cross-court returns that were real killers, to win 6/1. The other preliminary was between Isabel Candy and Liz Fisher. Liz’s steady play kept things level at first, and she had chances to go to 3 all. But Isabel was just too athletic and firm, going through 6/2.
In the quarter finals, another junior Amy Pye (the 2013 Div 2 title holder) had a great match with steady-as-a-rock Diane Binnie. In a game of two halves, Amy went 5/2 up, despite giving a big handicap (10) to Diane; but then some flawless play by Diane brought it up to 5 all. Amy then dug deep and took the final game, 6/5. Julia Vermont then beat Annabel Wyatt 6/2, while Cecile Alchuteguy beat Felicity Sargent 6/4 with some wonderful volleying from both. Isabel Candy then beat Audrie Perie, 6/3.
In the first semi-final, some good rests saw Cecile beat Amy 6/4; in the second semi, both Isabel and Julie served well - and returned well too. Isabel fought from 4/2 down to beat Julie in a great contest 6/5.
For the Singles Final, then, Isabel Candy met Cecile Alchuteguy, who is a very useful Lawn Tennis player back in France. Both showed great maturity in play and competitiveness. Their style of play was similar: good at getting to the ball and great volleying, but not so effective at either hitting or returning low cut balls.
At 2 all, Cecile began to pull away, using a spinning serve which Isabel kept missing, getting her to 4/2. But Isabel fought back to 4 all and then 5/4, with some fantastic low shots into the corners. In the next game, Isabel turned on the heat with a shot to the grille at 30/0 and then a super serve to make it 40/0. She held steady to force an error from Cecile, winning 6/4.
Doubles Division 2
Holders Charlotte Barker and Julia Levy were knocked out in the first round, but Charlotte then teamed with Diane Binnie whose partner had to withdraw due to injury. This turned out to be a Cunning Plan….
They beat mother and daughter team, Sarah and Julia Vermont; veterans Sarah McGivern and Katy Weston; and then met in the Final youngsters Isobel Candy and Felicity Sargent, who had beaten Trish Morris and Annabel Wyatt in an exciting semi-final match.
In the Doubles Final, it was two Doctors against two Juniors. The Doctors, Charlotte and Diane, began well and continued better, with Charlotte using her power and Diane her steadiness under fire (despite being constantly peppered by her young opponents Isobel and Felicity). Charlotte and Diane moved forward to 3/1 (the match having started at 0/0), and then, helped by 3 nicks in a row, to 4/1. Isobel and Felicity looked as if they were panicking at this point, with no Plan B as to what to do in the face of players on the other side of the net who were calmly returning everything thrown at them. They won no more games, despite valiant efforts, and Charlotte and Diane won comfortably 6/1.
Was this the first time two medical Doctors have won an LRTA title??
Reports by Diane Binnie, Katy Weston and Linda Fairbrother
Huge thanks to the two courts of Leamington and Moreton Morrell for their hospitality and the loan of the four markers: Ben Matthews, Marc Seigneur, Tom Granville and Nick Jury. Many thanks to Guy Stanton and Andrew Hamilton for presenting the prizes. Charlotte Ricketts for giving us a wonderful dinner at Leamington. Without our ever-generous Anonymous Benefactor there would not have been a tournament at all, so we are very grateful for the support. And above all, we must thank Katy Weston who organized the whole tournament and coped with a bumper crop of entries (and of drop outs) with flair and calm.