19th April, 2022
Month: April 2022
Dan Cox is the winner of week 4!
At his second final in 2022, Cox managed to impose his game over the in-form Harris, making this his first UKPL victory since 2020.
After a one-way first set, the 31-year-old managed to overcome Harris’ come back attempt winning 6-2, 7-6(11).
What a week for Cox! He didn’t lose a single set in the entire week and he is the deserved winner of the fourth event of the 2022 UKPL season.
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Maia Lumsden admitted she had no real expectations heading into Week 4 of the 2022 UK Pro League after completing a remarkable recovery from long Covid to triumph in Saturday’s final at Warwick University.
Lumsden, 24, is returning to the sport after an 18-month layoff and marked her return with a strong week that resulted in a hard-fought victory over Marni Banks in the final. There have been times over the past 18 months where the Scottish star has struggled to get out of bed due to her illness, though the UK Pro League has provided the perfect platform for her to start her comeback.
And in the men’s final, victory went the way of experienced Daniel Cox, who fended off a comeback from Billy Harris to prevail in straight sets.
Glasgow ace Lumsden, who won three singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit before being struck down with the virus in 2020, said:
“Physically, it was a tough one. “Obviously it was great to get through in a tiebreak as tiebreaks to ten are always quite tight. “I thought I played well in the first set and then it was a bad game to lose my serve in the second, but that was all that was in it. I’m glad I found my game for the tiebreak. “I didn’t really have any expectations in terms of results. My goal was to just manage the five matches and hope I was going to feel fine through it. To get a win is such a nice bonus.
“The fact that no matter the result I was going to get a number of matches was perfect for me in this situation. To come through them and be feeling OK is a massive positive as before the event I guess I wasn’t sure exactly how I’d feel and how I’d react. Overall it’s been really positive to get all these matches this week.
“It feels great to be back playing after such a long time. I’ve really missed the feeling of competitive matches so to be playing all these matches this week is a great feeling. The event’s been great. It’s so well run and I’ll definitely be back.”
Banks and Lumsden had previously contested one the matches of the event in the pool stage, with Banks prevailing 6-7(5), 7-5, 11-9 on the opening day at Warwick University. Despite an opening defeat Lumsden rallied and won every other match she contested to reach the final, while Banks was unbeaten approaching the Saturday showpiece.
This proved to be another tight encounter, though it was Lumsden who prevailed to cap a memorable return to tennis.
The Scottish star was in control of the opening set, breaking twice, though Banks responded with a strong second set to force a deciding tiebreak. But Lumsden was able to wrestle back control of the encounter, and some impressive tennis in the closing stages saw her claim a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 win in an hour and 40 minutes.
In the men’s event, Cox and Harris had picked up a string of comprehensive victories on their way to the final, with neither player dropping a set across their previous matches.
And Cox continued his dominant form at the start of the contest, comfortably claiming the opening set and racing to a double break lead as he closed in on victory. However, Harris refused to go down without a fight and battled back from 4-1 down to force a second-set tiebreak against the Lincoln star.
A nail-biting tiebreak ensued and Harris had a handful of chances to force a deciding ten-point tiebreak, though the 31-year-old held firm and closed out a 6-2, 7-6(9) victory in an hour and 56 minutes. Cox, who reached the first round of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, said: “I started off really well, going 6-2, 4-1 up and was really happy with the way I was playing, but then I took my foot off the gas a little bit.
“He started to improve, to miss a little less, he did well to claw it back at the end. It feels good after reaching a few finals. This is my first win since the Pro League started so I’m really happy to come through with a win, especially from being quite far up in the match and eventually nearly losing the second set. I’m really relieved to get through that.
“We’ve got four ITF 25ks in Nottingham coming up. I only live 45-50 minutes away so there I obviously want to try and make the most of it. Having won this tournament is good preparation!”
With nearly half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season, all the thrills and spills are broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv. News and updates across the season can be found at ukproleague.com
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A super Wednesday packed with action at the University of Warwick, featuring all quarterfinal matches and the 9-12th play-off kicking off.
Maia Lumsden, who has been on the side-line for the past 18 months suffering with long Covid, completed one of the best comebacks in the UKPL history, winning 6 straight games in the second set after being one set and 5-1 down.
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“Resilience personified”, as Abigail Johnson described her at the end of the 1hr 45min battle, Lumsden suffered the great ball-striking and precision of Stresnakova for the first 13 games. The Slovak ace had been relentless up to the 5-1 service game in the second set, letting very little past her. The Glaswegian, however, managed to find her form, and raised her game to push the match to the decider. With the 1-6, 7-5, 10-4 win over Stresnakova, Lumsden accessed the semi-finals in the UKPL for the second time, after her very first 2020 appearance at St. George Hill tennis club.
Marni Banks also reached the semi-final stages for the second time in a row by defeating Scarff 6-2, 6-4.
The other two women’s quarterfinal matches went the distance, with Daley having the best over teenager Greatorex 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 and Maloney beating Gillan 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 on Court 1.
On the men’s side, all the favourite players are through the semi-finals, with Cox, Murphy and Recci all winning in straight sets in less than a hour each. The highest ranked player of the week, Billy Harris, had to work slightly harder against Hodkin, who had a perfect start to his quarter final match. The 23-year-old managed to break early on Harris’s serve in the first set and had three set points, but he didn’t manage to convert leaving a big opportunity for Harris to come back and win in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-1.
In the 9-12th play-offs, Hands, Foley, Fernandes and Bagerbaseh got important wins over Doe, Hou, Okoye and Mansfield respectively.
Full Day 4 results
Brandon Murphy bt Sam Reeve 6-2, 6-2
Billy Harris bt Sean Hodkin7-6(4), 6-1
Maia Lumsden bt Katarina Stresnakova 1-6, 7-5, 10-4
Marni Banks bt Eleonor Scarff 6-2, 6-4
Dan Cox bt James MacKinlay 6-0, 6-0
Mason Recci bt Felix Mischker 6-1, 6-2
Eliz Maloney bt Alice Gillan 7-5, 4-6, 10-4
Danielle Daley bt Adeola Greatorex 6-1, 2-6, 10-8
Tom Hands bt Matt Doe 6-4, 6-1
Patrick Foley bt Ying Hou 6(2)-7, 6-3, 10-7
Jizel Fernandes bt Jada Okoye 6-0, 6-2
Kapari Bagerbaseh bt Kate Mansfield 6-2, 6-3
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Winner of week 2 and 3 Brandon Murphy picked up on his UKPL 2022 adventure exactly from where he left off by beating Hands 7-6(5), 6-3. The match probably didn’t start the way Brandon had expected it, with Hands taking an early break, but the 21-year-old managed to turn it around resisting Hand’s counter attacks and making the best out of his great serve and powerful forehands.
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Billy Harris celebrated his new career high of 397 with a solid win over Felix Mischker. The Isle of Man star got it done in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, breaking Mischker’s serve early on in both sets and finishing the match with an incredible 97% first serve points won.
The last match of the day in the men’s draw saw Hodkin and Recci fighting it through for nearly 2 hours, with the latter coming out victorious 6-4, 5-7, 11-9 in a dramatic decider.
On the women’s side, Stresnakova and Maloney trotted through their matches, both winning in straight sets and reaching the top spots in pool B and C respectively. They are now automatically through to the quarterfinals of week 4 and will have to wait until the end of play tomorrow to find out who their opponents will be.
The last match of the day saw teenager Adeola Greatorex upsetting Alice Gillan 7-5, 6-2 and with this key victory she reaches the quarter finals for the very first time at the UKPL.
The last day of group stages will start at 11am, live on Tennis Channel and BT Sport Extra.
Full Day 2 results
Brandon Murphy bt Tom Hands 7-6(5), 6-3
Dan Cox bt Patrick Foley 6-3, 7-5
Maia Lumsden bt Soumeya Anane 6-1, 6-3
Katie Stresnakova bt Kapari Bagerbaseh 6-0, 6-2
Billy Harris bt Felix Mischker 6-1, 6-4
Mason Recci bt Sean Hodkin 6-4, 5-7, 11-9
Eliz Maloney bt Danielle Daley 6-2, 6-4
Adeola Greatorex bt Alice Gillan 7-5, 6-2
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After more than a month away, the fourth week of the 2022 UK Pro League has started at the University of Warwick, with straight sets wins for Cox, Maloney, Stresnakova and Recci.
The opening day of Week 4 started with a speedy win from Dan Cox over UKPL debutant Roan Jones 6-0,6-1, taking that momentary top spot of Pool B. Cox, who won the M25 ITF event in Bath earlier this year, looked confident on court and definitely determined to win his first week at the 2022 UKPL.
The second match on Court 1 saw the long-awaited return of Maia Lumsden after more than 18-months of absence from the courts. The 24-year-old Glaswegian player battled a tough encounter against Marni Banks and managed to come back from a set down to push it all the way to the championship tie-break. Yet after 2h30mins it was the 19-year-old to come out on top, winning 7-6(5), 5-7, 11-9 and imposing efficiently her great serve game (11 aces in the match) on Lumsden who was only able to convert 4 break points out of 14.
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Over on Court 2, both Felix Mischker and James MacKinlay managed to come back from a set down and turn around their matches against Ying Hou and Tom Hands respectively. Mischker will be back in action tomorrow against Billy Harris trying to retain the top spot of Pool A.
Recci, Maloney and Stresnakova all took maximum points for straights sets wins and as the highest seed in their pools, they will be looking to progress having set the early pace.
Full Day 1 results
Dan Cox bt Roan Jones 6-0, 6-1
Felix Mischker bt Ying Hou 6(3)-7, 6-2, 10-5
Marni Banks bt Maia Lumsden 7-6(5), 5-7, 11-9
Eliz Maloney bt Jizel Fernandes 6-3, 6-1
Mason Recci bt Matt Doe 6-1, 6-4
James MacKinlay bt Tom Hands 1-6, 7-5, 10-8
Katie Stresnakova bt Eleonor Scarff 6-2, 6-1
Kate Mansfield bt Adeola Greatorex 7-6(2), 4-6, 10-4