11th April, 2021

Maloney and Matusevich are the winners of the second week of the UK Pro League

One new winner and one regular victor reigned supreme as Eliz Maloney and Anton Matusevich claimed Week 3 honours in the UK Pro League. Revenge was a sweet relief for Maloney in Loughborough, overcoming Emily Appleton for the second time in the week having lost in the Week 2 Final.

But there was no stopping Matusevich at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre, winning his 15th successive match in the competition having not dropped a single set in the week. Maloney has improved week-on-week in this year’s series, and this week was no different having waltzed through the Pool stage with five wins from five.

Another straight sets win over Freya Christie set her up for the Appleton showdown – prevailing 6-4 6-3 to take maximum points away from Week 3. “I’m just so relieved, especially after that last game which seemed to go on forever, but I’m happy to close that out,” she said. “My legs felt a bit shaky, especially on your own serve trying to start it off, but you’d rather have the serve than not.

“The group-stage win gave me a lot of confidence heading into the final, I hadn’t beaten her on these courts but because she’s playing so well, that certainly helped me raise my game. “I was making inroads into Emily’s serve but couldn’t take the break points, luckily I was able to take the chances in the end. She’s serving so well at the moment, and follows it up really well to make it hard to get a look in against her. I’ll be back for Week 4, I’ve got a picnic on Monday to look forward to now – hopefully it will be sunny!”

And Matusevich has taken another huge step towards Finals Week after winning for the second week in a row. Since winning the third-place play-off in Week 1, the 19-year-old hasn’t lost a match – a record he maintained with a 7-5 6-1 win against Henry Patten.

Patten held his own in the opener but Matusevich’s flying form proved too much – winning 14 from a possible 14 sets across the week.

“I was very happy the way I played, I thought I played quite at home out here and was playing better tennis than in the second week. Congratulations to Henry in making the final, that’s a great achievement. It was awesome, I’ve really enjoyed it here. Week 1, you’re panicking a little bit, as top seed having not played in these events before. There was less panicking, less talking for me, I was a bit more calm and composed and stopped thinking about the scoreline. I turn 20 next month – it’s scary getting older, I don’t want to do that. Maturity is definitely something I want to work on, getting mentally solid.”

Sunday also saw a host of play-off matches played, with the final league ranking key in determining who will make Finals Week later this year.

10th April, 2021

A super semi-final Saturday at the UK Pro League

Emily Appleton is just win one away from a UK Pro League 2021 hat-trick after reaching the Week 3 Final in Loughborough. Appleton took top spot in last month’s opening two weeks of competition and is back doing what she does best at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre.

But this week’s route to the Sunday showdown came in rather different circumstances, with semi-final opponent Sonay Kartal having to withdraw through injury following the first set, which Appleton won 6-4. Appleton will now face Eliz Maloney for Week 3 honours – live on BT Sport 3 and UKProLeague.com – with the two familiar opponents having met in the round-robin stage this week as well as the Week 2 Final.

But the men’s and women’s finals won’t be the only action on court. Classification matches will be played to determine the week’s final standings and crucial league points, which players will use in order to qualify for the UK Pro League Final Week.

“I had a bit of a slow start but Sonay played really well at the beginning, I don’t think she missed a ball,” said Appleton. “I started to find my feet and by the end of the set, I felt I was serving pretty well. “I’m really thrilled to be back in another final, three out of three is a great achievement so whatever happens in the final, I’ll be really happy. It’s always a great battle against Eliz because she’s a great competitor, I’ll just focus on my strengths and what I can do well. It’s been a different week to the first two, I feel like I’ve found my momentum again and I’m looking forward to the match.”

Three wins from three different weeks would be an outstanding achievement but her opponent won’t be giving her a free pass to glory. Maloney reached Saturday’s semi-finals with five wins from five in the pool stage, with victory over Appleton one of the highlights of her week. And she carried that form into the last four, downing Freya Christie 7-5 6-2 to reach back-to-back finals in Loughborough.

“I played well, it was a good match – Freya and I always have really long rallies but I just tried to stay positive,” said Maloney. “There’s always things you can do better. I just want to stick to my gameplan and make some small adjustments from this match. I’ve played Emily three times now, she’s serving big and playing some good tennis, so it’ll be about trying to take it on where I can.”

With injury ruling Kartal out of Sunday’s third-place play-off, she is confirmed as finishing fourth this week with Christie placing third. The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative UK Pro League brings together the country’s top professional players and runs across nine separate weeks from March to November.

The season-long competition involves players competing in a round robin format in eight individual qualifying weeks, with the weekend play-offs then giving them the chance to accumulate ranking points to seal qualification for November’s Finals Week. And there’ll be a familiar face in the men’s final with Anton Matusevich, victor last time out, back bidding for a shot at top spot. Matusevich didn’t drop a single set in his round-robin matches and maintained that scintillating tennis to beat George Houghton 7-5 7-5.

“It was a very good match, he played very well, served well, came out as an underdog but his forehand was very good, I’m just happy to get through it, I really enjoyed the match and hopefully I can win in the final. It’s awesome to get in the final again, there’s lots of matches and I’m building up some nice confidence as well.”

Matusevich will be up against Henry Patten in Sunday’s final, wasting little time making his mark in his first week of UK Pro League 2021 action. Patten felt he wasn’t at his best against Julian Cash but held his nerve when it mattered most to win 7-6 7-6.

“I don’t think either of us played very well, it certainly wasn’t our best tennis but mentally I was happy with how I competed. This is my first week here so it’s amazing to reach the final, I came here with moderate expectations but it’s a new event and venue for me so I’m happy to get through that. I got a bit lucky with some of the results but I’m looking forward to the final, I’ll have to be on it.”

9th April, 2021

Three players will take impeccable records into this weekend’s UK Pro League Week 3 semi-finals.

Three players will take impeccable records into this weekend’s UK Pro League Week 3 semi-finals after a storming week of tennis in Loughborough.

Sonay Kartal, Eliz Maloney and Anton Matusevich all rounded off the round-robin stage with five wins from five, with the trio looking in imperious form heading into finals weekend.

Kartal was the stand-out performer in Pool A of the women’s competition, winning ten successive sets to comprehensively secure her place in the last four.

Just one dropped set blotted her copybook – the very first of the tournament after trailing to Danielle Daley on Monday. But she recovered from that setback in impeccable fashion, downing Daley and then Nadia Rawson, Freya Christie, Kimberly Mpukusa and Alice Gillan to maintain perfection.

Kartal can’t rest of her laurels, however, with Saturday’s semi-final pitting her up against Emily Appleton – the winner of both Week 1 and Week 2 in this year’s UK Pro League. That mouth-watering match up, and all matches to be played on Saturday and Sunday, will be live on BT Sport Extra and UKproleague.com.

Appleton finished in second place in Pool B with a comprehensive 6-0 6-0 win over Annali Olivelle seeing her into the placement stages in style. Top spot wasn’t to be hers though, that honour instead going to Maloney – victor in all five of her round-robin matches.

Like Kartal, Maloney dropped just one set in her quintet of matches, unsurprisingly to Appleton as the two went the distance in their Tuesday match-up. But it was Maloney who prevailed, topping Pool B and earning herself a semi-final against Freya Christie, who finished third in Week 1 of the competition last month.

Valuable points are up for grabs all season and one player who looks well-placed to add to his tally is Matusevich, who enjoyed an unbeaten week in Pool B of the men’s draw.

Winner in Week 2, Matusevich maintained his stunning form with five comprehensive victories, not dropping a single set en route to finals weekend. A 6-2 6-3 win over Henry Patten got his week in Loughborough under way in fine style, following that up with success against Oscar Weightman, Joshua Paris, Tom Hands and finally Lui Maxted.

A semi-final clash against George Houghton now awaits for Matusevich at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre. There was also a table-topping performance from Julian Cash, whose four wins from five matches was enough to top Pool A.

Jack Draper had looked set to top the pool having won his opening four matches before having to withdraw from this week’s event through injury. And Cash profited in the best way from his absence, downing Billy Harris in his last match of the week to confirm his place atop the standings.

Indeed, it was only Draper who got the better of Cash in the round-robin format, with Henry Patten now waiting in the wings in the semi-finals after he narrowly took second place in Pool B. While the semi-final line-up is set, it’s not the end of the road for any player in Loughborough, with classification matches across Saturday and Sunday organising the top 12 men and top 12 women in Week 3 action.