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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.

21st March, 2021

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

Queen of Loughborough Emily Appleton insists she’s still in pursuit of tennis perfection after waltzing her way to a second consecutive UK Pro League win.

Surrey’s golden girl stormed to a brilliant Week 1 triumph earlier this month and followed up those unbeaten exploits in Week 2 – without dropping a single set.

Appleton, the British No.23, won all five of her Pool A matches before breezing through the semi-finals and toppling Eliz Maloney 6-3 6-3 in Sunday’s showpiece.

14 wins from her first 14 matches is a formidable record but Appleton, who’s now racked up a maximum haul of 36 ranking points, says she won’t stop striving for improvement.

The 21-year-old, who also beat Maloney 6-2 6-3 in the Pool stages on Friday, said:

“I think there are a lot of things I can work on. I’m never content with how I’m playing, and I think there’s always room for improvement, so I think I’ll go back to the drawing board next week and see what else I can do better. That was a really hard match – a battle. Eliz definitely made me work for that. We played earlier in the week as well, and that one wasn’t easy either. I knew I had a battle on my hands today, and I was very happy to get the win.”

In the men’s competition, Anton Matusevich was crowned king of Week 2 after beating Mark Whitehouse in a thrilling battle of the boffins.

Whitehouse, 27, has balanced his tennis career with a Mathematics degree at Imperial College while Matusevich, 19, studied a data science course in lockdown and is a keen economist.

The pair are also practice partners but it was Matusevich, who sits one place ahead of Whitehouse in the British rankings, who came out on top after clinching a pulsating super tie-break 10-6.

The Sevenoaks star took the first set 6-2 before Whitehouse showed all his resilience to overcome a knee injury and level in a tie-break.

But Matusevich bounced back in the champion tie-break and the British No.17, who was playing in his first ‘buster’ of the week, believes he’s finally adapting to the indoor conditions at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre.

“It was quite an intense final and I’m really happy to get through it. I think I’ve just got used to the conditions – I’ve been playing quite a lot of matches, I played Dan Cox on the second day and that’s probably the best match I’ve ever played in my life. I’ve just really focused, been really consistent, tried to hold my serve and get in the rallies. I’m extremely happy to get through – I think once you get used to it, you get much better.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, Dan Cox claimed third-place in the men’s competition after beating close friend Sean Hodkin 6-1 6-2.

The experienced Cox went down to Whitehouse in Saturday’s semi-finals but delivered an impressive display 24 hours later to scoop 12 valuable ranking points.

And the former world No.206, who competed in the first round of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, believes embracing the innovative UK Pro League format is the perfect way to catapult himself up the world tennis rankings.

The 30-year-old said:

“This format is incredible for my game. I’m coming back and playing so many matches, so I’ll try and play as many of these as possible.”

In the women’s competition, Beth Grey bounced back from her late-night Saturday heartbreak to beat Alice Gillan 6-1 6-2 in her third-fourth place-play off.

Grey, the British No.20, twice surrendered a 5-1 lead against Maloney in her semi-final but put that setback behind her to claim 12 ranking points and take her overall tally to 27.

And the 25-year-old, who will not compete in Week 3 next month but return for Week 4 on April 19, said: “It was a great end to the week, especially after last night’s loss.

“I think I managed to bounce back really well today, just take one point at a time and wipe the slate clean, so it was good.”

20th March, 2021

Maloney: Queen of comebacks

Comeback queen Eliz Maloney completed a miraculous turnaround to reach the UK Pro League Week 2 final and revealed the secret key to her heroics – ‘I just hate losing’.

Maloney twice battled back from the brink against Week 1 finalist Beth Grey to engineer a remarkable victory and book a date in Sunday’s final with unbeaten Emily Appleton.

Precocious Maloney, 20, found herself 5-1 down in both the second set and the super tie-break before eventually winning a thrilling decider 10-6.

She lost the first set 6-3 before winning the second on an 11-9 tie-break and Maloney, who competed at last summer’s UK Pro Classic in Weybridge, reckons her fierce competitiveness held the key to her escapology.

The Rickmansworth 20-year-old said:

“I’m just a very competitive person and I really hate losing. There’s always a part of you that thinks no matter what the lead is, you can do it. I think it was so far away that it just took the pressure off. I just started swinging a bit more freely, and then just took each point a time. It just slowly built up. I’m very pleased, especially to build from the first week. I’m definitely [looking forward tomorrow].”

Maloney could only muster an eighth-place finish in Week 1 to pick up five ranking points – but now only

Week 1 winner Appleton stands between her and a brilliant maximum haul of 18.

Appleton, 21, has been in imperious form since the tournament began and continued her remarkable Week 2 record of not dropping a set to march into Sunday’s final.

The Surrey star also dropped just a single set on the way to the Week 1 title – in the semi-finals against Freya Christie – and carried on where she left off by easing past the talented Alice Gillan 6-0 6-2 in the last four.

Appleton is sparkling under the Loughborough lights and hailed the innovative UK Pro League format for giving her a long-awaited opportunity to compete.

“I’m really happy – to play good tennis in the semis is always tough and I think today I was able to do that. It’s just the opportunity to compete – honestly, it was three months without competing and I was just training every single day and it was very repetitive. “But I’m thankful that it was worth it because it’s paying off now.”

In the men’s competition, Anton Matusevich continued his dazzling run of form to emulate Appleton and also storm into the Week 2 final without dropping a set. The 19-year-old, who finished third in Week 1 behind Joshua Paris and Billy Harris, raced past Sean Hodkin 7-5 6-2 in the day’s opening semi-final to send yet another statement of intent to his rivals.

And he will meet British No.18 Mark Whitehouse in Sunday’s final, who toppled the experienced Dan Cox for the first time in his career in a heart-thumping last four duel.
Whitehouse finished seventh in Week 1 but has been in red-hot form in Loughborough after topping the Pool B table.

And he chose the perfect time to finally break his duck against Cox, winning 10-3 in a super tie-break to tee up a tantalising Sunday showdown with Matusevich.

Cox, 30, has twice reached the first round at Wimbledon and Whitehouse revelled in banishing his demons when it mattered most.

The 27-year-old said:

“I save my one win just for the semi-final! I think the match tie-breaks are a bit of a lottery. He made a couple of mistakes where if we played it again he might not make, or I might play different shots, so I was lucky today it went my way.”

Both Whitehouse and Matusevich are renowned for their big hitting and Whitehouse is predicting a blockbuster encounter on Sunday.

The Reigate star added:

“I think we both like to hit the ball pretty big. We’re both going to try and take the felt off the ball, I think!”

20th March, 2021

Appleton continues her sparkling start to the 2021 UK Pro League

Imperious Emily Appleton continued her sparkling start to the 2021 UK Pro League after storming through to the Week 2 semi-finals without dropping a set.

Week 1 winner Appleton has been in red-hot form since the tournament got underway this month and extended her formidable record in Loughborough. Appleton, who toppled Beth Grey in straight sets in the Week 1 final, beat Eliz Maloney 6-2 6-3 on Friday to cap another stunning week and mark herself out as the player to beat heading into the weekend.

The 21-year-old prodigy had already beaten Freya Christie, Olivia Nicholls, Annali Olivelle and Kimberly Mpukusa in the round robin format and will now meet Alice Gillan in a tantalising Saturday semi-final. Gillan finished second in Pool B after picking up four wins in five matches and beat Tanysha Dissanayake in a super tie-break on Friday.

Only Grey could beat Gillan – in a super tie-break ‘buster’ on Thursday – and it was the Merseyside star who finished at the summit of the pool after five strong days in Loughborough. But she was unable to emulate Appleton and complete an unbeaten pool stage as she suffered a surprise 7-5 4-6 5-10 defeat against Danielle Daley on Friday.

The experienced Grey, 25, will now meet Maloney in Saturday’s semi-finals after the talented Hertfordshire player finished second – behind Appleton – in Pool A.

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

The 19-year-old, who finished third in Week 1, followed up his wins against Billy Harris, George Houghton, Dan Cox and Alexis Canter – who withdrew after round two – with another victory against Julian Cash on Friday.

Cash was unable to hit the jackpot as Matusevich completed a round robin clean sweep and booked a last four clash against Sean Hodkin on Saturday. Hodkin, 22, finished second in Pool B on nine points after picking up three wins from his five group matches.

And it was Mark Whitehouse who topped that group after an impressive five days from the Surrey star, racking up ten points in the pool to book a semi-final date against Cox. Whitehouse, who competed in last year’s UK Pro Classic, beat Harry Wendelken in straight sets on Friday and will be relishing a last four duel against the evergreen Cox.

The 30-year-old, who reached the first round of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, has hailed the unique UK Pro League format for revitalising his career and finished second in Pool A after another solid week. Cox beat Mason Recci – who replaced Canter after his round two withdrawal – in straight sets on Friday to finish the pool on 11 points, losing only to Matusevich who beat him 6-2 6-2 on Tuesday.

With all eight semi-finalists confirmed, the stage is set for a thrilling weekend of action as the star-studded Week 2 line-up continue to duke it out for valuable ranking points in Loughborough.

7th March, 2021

Paris and Appleton are the winners of the first week of the UK Pro League

Joshua Paris hailed a UK Pro League week to remember and the first men’s winner of the season vowed – this is only just the start.

The London-based ace turned 25 on Saturday and gave himself dual reason to celebrate after beating close friend Billy Harris 6-3 6-4 in Sunday’s final.The aggressive right-hander toppled Dan Cox in the semi-final and despite being pushed hard by a resilient Harris, had enough in the tank to win in straight sets and claim a valuable 18 ranking points.

In the women’s competition, the precocious Emily Appleton was crowned Week 1 winner after beating Beth Grey 6-4 6-2 in the Loughborough University Sunday showpiece. Paris finished second in Pool A – behind Anton Matusevich – after the round robin format but hopes peaking at the perfect time on Finals Weekend is a sign of things to come.

Asked if tennis fans could expect to see a lot more of him across the gruelling eight-week season – which culminates in November’s prestigious Finals Week – a relieved Paris roared: “Definitely.

“You’ll definitely be seeing a lot more of me, hopefully towards the end of the year.

“It is a big relief – it was a tough one today. It’s been a long, long week for all of us players, but I thought I did really well. Billy’s an amazing competitor and a good friend of mine, so it’s really good and I’m so happy.

“To be out here, you always have to believe you can win. Did I necessarily think I was going to win? Probably not, but I have good self-belief, I’ve calmed down a little bit and am just trusting myself.”

The innovative UK Pro League brings together the country’s top professional tennis 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 opportunity to accumulate ranking points to seal qualification for November’s Finals Week.

Paris scooped 18 points from his triumph in Loughborough – in addition to over £4,000 in prize and appearance money – and another player to do so was Appleton, who downed Grey in straight sets to get her season off to a flyer.

The talented 21-year-old went into the final unbeaten and extended her sparkling run of form with a fine performance against her Merseyside opponent. Appleton, who competed at last season’s UK Pro Series Finals Week in August, showed experience beyond her years as she beat Grey, 25, 6-4 6-2 in Sunday’s first final. The Surrey ace was forced to battle a nosebleed against her opponent but revelled in her resilience after powering over the line.

Appleton, who hails from Ripley, said: “Beth played really well today and she definitely made me work for it. “I’m happy to come through. I think the end goal for everyone in this tournament is to get to the last week, so by winning the tournament this week I’ve done well. It’s the best I could have done, so on to the next one now.”

On her nosebleed, she added: “It was a bit annoying – it did disrupt me a little bit. I just tried to fight for every point and get the rhythm back.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, Freya Christie claimed third-place in the women’s competition after beating Alicia Barnett in a super tie-break thriller. The Nottingham player, who finished second in Pool A – behind Barnett – won a pulsating ‘buster’ in the third-fourth place play-off to get her season off to a promising start.

And in the men’s competition, Pool A winner Matusevich claimed third after beating Cox in straight sets. Matusevich’s stock as one of British tennis’ most exciting stars continues to rise and the 19-year-old, who also featured at last year’s UK Pro Series Finals Week, said: “I’m very pleased.

“I’m going to be coming back a week after [this] – I’ll be feeling at home out here later. I’m looking forward to it.”

Week 2 of the UK Pro League gets underway on March 15, when Britain’s top professional players will once again take to the Loughborough University court and duel it out for ranking points ahead of November’s Finals Week.

6th March, 2021

Grey, Appleton, Paris and Harris make it to the finals of the UK Pro League

Emily Appleton and Beth Grey will contest the first final of the new UK Pro League after the pair came through dramatic tie-break deciders in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Appleton hadn’t dropped a set in five matches this week but had to fight back to overcome Freya Christie at Loughborough University. Grey, meanwhile, enjoyed a perfect start against Alicia Barnett but had to hold her nerve to fight another day.

The men’s competition also provided plenty of drama with Josh Paris and Billy Harris reaching the UK Pro League Week 1 final.

Appleton and Christie got semi-final day under way superbly, with the latter enjoying a strong start to win the first set 6-4. Pool B winner Appleton took the second set by the same scoreline and needed a Championship tie-break set to seal the match, winning that 10-6.

“It was all about fighting for every point and trying to stay tough,” she said. “I told myself to keep trusting my game. Freya played really well, I thought if I could keep putting pressure on her then she might slip up, but I just kept hanging in there.

“I haven’t been able to play since November. So to play seven matches in one week is unbelievable for everyone.”

Appleton will now look to do the double over Grey after the two faced off in Pool B earlier this week. But victory won’t be a foregone conclusion, with Grey in scintillating form in her semi-final, winning the first set 6-0 against Barnett. Unsurprisingly her opponent – unbeaten in Pool A – fought back and took the second 6-2 to force a tie-break.

But Grey held her nerve when it mattered most, an 11-9 final-set scoreline booking her place in Sunday’s showcase.“I’m glad that’s over! It was a great match, it always is between me and Alicia. I came out all guns blazing in the first set, I was executing really well,” she said.“She did really well to reset and come back fighting in the second set, she played some unbelievable tennis, I just had to reset and go again for the tie-break.

“Emily and I played a few days ago and she blew me off the court to be honest, she’s playing very well this week and if I can take care of my serve and take a few chances on hers, it could be a really good match.”

Running across nine separate weeks from March through to November, each week players compete in a round robin format and play-offs to secure League Ranking Points as they endeavour to qualify for the end of season UK Pro League Final.

And Paris has given himself a superb chance of late-season glory after reaching the first week’s final with victory over Dan Cox. Cox had topped Pool B with five wins from five but couldn’t get the better of Paris, who celebrated his 25th birthday in style with a 6-3 6-4 victory.

He said: “It’s been a long week. I had a game plan going in, I wanted to keep the rallies short, he’s such a good player. “I just had to execute and I did. Mentally, I’ve been pretty tough, I’ve gone through some pretty tough matches and I think that helped me in this match.”

Paris will be up against Harris, who lost the first set and came from behind to win 10-4 in the deciding tie-break against Pool A-topping Anton Matusevich. Harris had to fight hard in the second set to get the game to parity but made the third and final set his own to prevail.

Neither Paris nor Harris won their pools but showed their class when it mattered most of all.

“It’s very satisfying. After the first set and through the second, I knew it would be tough to come back,” said Harris.

“I found a bit of form in the tie-break and got over the line.

“I was definitely feeling it when I was trying to hold out those long service games. Anton was playing well and it was tough the whole way through.”

As well as the main finals, all 24 players will contest classification matches on Sunday, with League Points awarded based on final finishing positions that contribute to the overall League Standings.

With a prize fund of around £500k and broadcast live on BT Sport, the UK Pro League is the only place where the British player group come together to compete across the full year.

5th March, 2021

Matusevich Makes Semis at UK Pro League

After a shock defeat to Jack Findel Hawkins on day one, former Junior US Open champion Anton Matusevich bounced back to win all four of his remaining group matches to top Pool A in the first week of the UK Pro League at Loughborough University.

The 19 year-old, who needed a straight sets win to top Pool A in his final group match, recovered from 4-1 down in the second set to defeat fellow 19 year-old Oscar Weightman 6-4 6-4 and book a mouth-watering Semi-Final match with Billy Harris on Saturday.

Joshua Paris won arguably the match of the day on Friday. In a showdown that determined who would join Matusevich in the Semi-Finals, Paris had to fight back from a set down against Jack Findel Hawkins. The 24 year-old Londoner eventually winning an incredibly tight match-tiebreak 6-7 (8) 6-0 10-8 in an encounter that was full of attacking intent and sensational net play.

Former world number 206 Dan Cox continued his incredible love affair with tennis as well this week. Cox returned to competitive tennis after a three year hiatus in 2020, but is arguably looking better than ever in 2021. After much success in last year’s UK Pro Series, the Lancastrian has been in inspired form all week, winning all five of his matches to top Pool B. It will be a mix of contrasting styles as ‘the Speedster’ Cox will face off against ‘the big-serving’ Paris on Saturday for a place in the final.

In the women’s event Emily Appleton has been showcasing her incredible talent all week. The 21 year-old is yet to drop a set after topping Pool B. Appleton will play Freya Christie in Saturday’s Semi-Final. Christie lost a dramatic roller-coaster ride of a match against Alicia Barnett 2-6 6-4 12-10 on Thursday, despite having a match point. But the former world number 286 bounced back to defeat Tanysha Dissanayake in straight sets on Friday to ensure a last four meeting with Appleton.

After a sensational come-back win over Christie on Thursday, the top ranked player in Pool A, Alicia Barnett, held her nerve on Friday to defeat good friend and doubles partner Olivia Nicholls. The Gloucestershire based Barnett barely put a foot wrong in a display of great attack minded tennis to ensure she topped Pool A, winning 6-4 6-1. The undefeated Barnett will face Beth Grey in the Semi-Finals on Saturday.

16th August, 2020

Liam Broady and Emma Raducanu aim high after winning UK Pro Series titles

The Stockport star toppled British No 11 Ryan Peniston 6-2, 6-4 in the final at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club, capping off a memorable Classic Week where he won six out of his seven matches. The British No 6 will next head to Trieste for an ATP Challenger Tour event where he’ll swap Weybridge’s speedy indoor courts for the slower, more attritional Italian clay.
That’s a transition he’s relishing and with the French Open confirmed to take place at the end of next month, Broady reckons a first Grand Slam appearance since 2018 – and first at Roland-Garros – could be just around the corner.
“It feels fantastic to come away with the win – Ryan was fantastic all week and has been getting better and better going into the tournament, It’s been great and I’m now going to go and play the Challenger Tour event in Italy on the clay and get ready for the French Open. Obviously it’s a different surface and I’m going from indoors to outdoors, from the low bouncing hard court to the pretty lively Italian clay courts.” the 26-year-old said.
“It will be a pretty quick turnaround but hopefully I have the time – I’m feeling match fit and I’ve definitely got the confidence, so hopefully I have enough time to feel comfortable with the surface. I guess we’ll see how the clay court season goes, but maybe if I qualify for the French Open [a Grand Slam appearance] will be sooner than we expect!”
Emma Raducanu also says the Grand Slams are next after battling from behind to be crowned the tournament’s first ever women’s champion. The teenage sensation thought she was dead and buried against Jodie Burrage but showed all her resilience to overhaul a 6-2 super tie-break deficit and seal a remarkable turnaround.

 

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The 17-year-old is one of the hottest prospects on the circuit and reckons her lofty ambitions are within touching distance.
“It feels great especially after that match – it was a bit of an epic, was up and down and there was such a momentum shift. To be honest, at one point I didn’t think I’d be able to pull through but as it got tighter I thought I could actually do it.” she said.
“My long-term goals in tennis are to be top 10 in the world and win Slams – they’re my ultimate dreams and I definitely think I have the mentality to do it. I’m pretty ambitious – there are a lot of 17-year-olds out there who are better than me. There are top 100 WTA players, so that’s where you want to be. It’s just if my game can follow, but I think with the progress that I’m making at the moment that isn’t too far out of the question.”
“I really do believe I can do it. I think I’ve still got at least 15 years in the sport, but I would want to be peaking in my 20s when I’m about 23.”
Broady and Raducanu were two of 24 leading players competing in the widely-billed Premier League of tennis, playing alongside the likes of Burrage, Naomi Broady and Harriet Dart in the women’s draw and Peniston, James Ward and Arthur Fery in the men’s.
The innovative format was devised by Andy Murray’s coach, Jamie Delgado, with players on Classic Week being split into two boxes of six ahead of finals weekend.Ward secured third place in the men’s draw with a clutch super tie-break victory over a despondent Dan Cox, who had embarked on a memorable run but was unable to finish his week in style.
The experienced Cox, who retired from tennis in 2017 before returning ahead of the event, failed to hold on to a 6-2 first set lead as Ward took the second 6-3 and then the decider 10-8.
“I don’t like the feeling of what I’m feeling at the moment and I don’t miss that from tennis,” Cox, 29, said.
“Right now just coming off it does [make me think twice about playing again]. When things have calmed down I’ll be able to take a bit more positives out of it but right now, it hurts.”
Julian Cash won his fourth super tie-break in a row to finish fifth against Billy Harris, who was playing his 42nd consecutive game in 42 days since the UK Pro Series first started on July 6. Cash also had to come from behind but took the second set 6-3 and the ‘buster’ 10-4 to complete a remarkable change in fortune, having lost his first three deciders of the week but winning his final four.
Alastair Gray beat Fery 12-10 in their decider to finish seventh, while Henry Patten toppled Luke Johnson to finish ninth and Mark Whitehouse sealed eleventh place with a win over Tom Hands.
British No.3 Dart scooped the final spot on the podium in the women’s draw after Eden Silva was forced to retire with the score at 4-1 to Dart in their third-fourth place play-off. Dart was at far from her best in Weybridge and was blown away by Raducanu in the semi-finals, but is looking to bounce back when the international tour resumes and improve on her No.147 world ranking.
Young star Emily Appleton shocked the experienced Naomi Broady to finish fifth, while Sarah Beth Grey toppled 18-year-old Sonay Kartal to secure seventh.
Emily Arbuthnott finished her week on a high by beating Freya Christie to finish ninth, while there was a win for Loughborough University student Nadia Rawson as she beat Danielle Daley – replacing an injured Eliz Maloney – for eleventh.
15th August, 2020

Emma Raducanu rattles Harriet Dart to reach final of UK Pro Classic

The 17-year-old prodigy stunned world No.147 Dart 6-0, 6-3 to book her place in the women’s final on Sunday with a majestic performance at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
Dart’s patience was tested throughout the match as she struggled for the form that saw her reach the third round at Wimbledon last year, littering her game with unforced errors as Raducanu blew her away. Dart allegedly had regular pops at both her opponent and the umpire but Raducanu, still a teenager, says she thrives under that atmosphere.

“It did get a bit intense and there were a few comments,” she said.
“In the heat of the battle you say and do things that you don’t necessarily mean, so you can’t really look that deep into it. A lot of the stuff was at her end so I couldn’t hear, and I just heard from my coach that there were a lot of comments. She would walk past me and she would say something under her breath. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but when that happens they’re under pressure.”
“That’s how I take it – when they’re coming out with all of this stuff trying to disrupt your rhythm, I take it as they’re trying to vent their energy and they’re just channelling into me. So she’s actually feeling the pressure, and I was enjoying it. For sure! [I thrive off that]”
Raducanu kept her cool to sparkle under the glittering Weybridge lights, delivering a memorable performance to tee up a clash against British No.7 Jodie Burrage. Dart was at far from her fluent best in the last four bout, getting ‘stuffed’ in straight sets after struggling with a groin injury through lockdown.
The British No.3 played down any talk of on-court tension and says she won’t be losing any sleep over the outcome.
“I got stuffed love and three, so I’m not sure how it could be tense!” the 24-year-old said.
“I’m not going to dwell on this at all. It’s one match and one match doesn’t define you.
“Your ranking defines where you’re at. It will be interesting once we get back to the main tour.”
Burrage will meet Raducanu on Sunday after beating Eden Silva in her semi-final, with Silva retiring through injury when Burrage was well-placed at 6-2, 1-0 up.

MEN’S SINGLES

Liam Broady was forced to go to the ‘trenches’ against James Ward but reckons his resilience is the asset that’s placed him in the final. The British No.6 won a semi-final epic against the experienced Ward, clinching the super tie-break 10-7 to book a date with Ryan Peniston. Broady had to dig deep to come from behind but says if there’s one thing he represents as a tennis player, it’s graft and determination.
“Against guys like James, he makes you have to go to the trenches and fight it out,” the 26-year-old said. You have to just try and stay quiet, keep focused and concentrate on doing what it takes to win. I think one thing people would say that I am, and I do sometimes, is grind out a few wins in tough situations. It happened again today – I felt good out there and came away with the win.”
Peniston toppled Dan Cox in a thrilling encounter in the day’s second semi-final, winning his tie-break ‘buster’ by the same margin as Broady to end the 29-year-old’s winning streak. Cox had impressed in the pool stages and took the first set 7-5, before British No.11 Peniston restored parity – with a 6-0 win – and then held his nerve when it mattered.

24 leading players in the widely-billed Premier League of tennis were whittled down to eight ahead of semi-final Saturday, with the likes of Naomi Broady, Sarah Beth Grey, Arthur Fery and Anton Matusevich all featuring in the original draw.
The innovative format was devised by Andy Murray’s coach, Jamie Delgado, with players on Classic Week being split into two boxes of six ahead of finals weekend on August 15th and 16th. Julian Cash continued his brilliant run of form in tie-breaks with a 10-6 triumph over Alastair Gray, while Luke Johnson toppled Mark Whitehouse 7-6, 7-6 in one of the day’s other early games.
Billy Harris produced a gutsy display to beat Fery 10-5 in his tie-break, marking his 41st consecutive day playing in Weybridge in style. The Isle of Man star has played in every individual qualifying week of the series since July 6 and is showing no signs of fatigue in Surrey, beating Broady on Wednesday, and now Fery, to outline all his physical fortitude.
Henry Patten beat tournament newcomer Tom Hands in straight sets while on the women’s side, Emily Appleton beat Sonay Kartal on a tie-break and Freya Christie bounced back from her Friday defeat with a win over Nadia Rawson. Emily Arbuthnott beat Eliz Maloney after the 20-year-old retired hurt – with Arbuthnott one set up at the time – while Naomi Broady beat Grey 10-7 in a super tie-break in the final game of the day.
11th August, 2020

Marcus Willis returns to singles tennis after two-and-a-half years

The Warwick-based Brit, who met Roger Federer in the second round at Wimbledon in 2016, has recently returned to singles action for the first time in two-and-a-half years at the inaugural event in Weybridge.
The tournament adopts a unique format at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club, with players duelling it out in a round robin system over five weeks and the winner of each week booking their place in Classic Week in August.
“It’s the first singles I’ve played in two-and-a-half years! It’s been different, with the intensity so it was a big shock,” Willis, 29, said.
“I love playing singles and if I was 23 then I’d tried and pursue it, but I’m 30 in October so I’ve got to think about what the best thing to do for my career is.”
“I wouldn’t have played singles at all if it wasn’t for this tournament – who’s to say I won’t play more? I don’t have a ranking so it will be difficult to get into international events, but in British tours and these events, absolutely.”
“It will help my fitness if I do it a few times a year, it’s a great opportunity and will be a special treat for me.”