30th January, 2022

Day 1 Recap: Great start for Johnson, Rawson, Hodkin, Hands and Brogan

In what has turned out to be a memorable day for the tennis world with Rafa Nadal winning his 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open, the second week of the UK Pro League 2022 kicked off with 8 pool matches.


In a standout fixture of day 1, Luke Johnson overcame a titanic tussle the Scottish Ewan Moore 7-6(2), 7-5 in a match of very fine margins. The 27-year-old recovered very well from a slow start, after being broken in his very first serve game, and managed to keep the mental composure to take the first set at the tie-break. The second set was as balanced, as Johnson only broke Moore’s serve at 6-5, yet the Leeds player was more precise and played some great shots, including this backhand.

 

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At their debut in the 2022 season, Anna Brogan and Sean Hodkin, started off week 2 with straight set wins to reach the provisional top spots in the men’s and women’s pools A. Sean beat Adam Jones 6-1, 6-3 showing his beautiful one-hand backhands that served him so well last year. Brogan ran out winner in just over an hour over Maddie Brooks 6-3, 6-0.

 

The last match on court 1 saw 2021 UKPL Finalist Nadia Rawson fighting hard for a well-deserved victory against Andre Lukosiute 6-4, 7-5. In a 2-hour battle, Rawson managed to be more accurate than Lukosiute, who was not consistent and had some problems throughout the match with her serve (6 double faults).

The Loughborough alumni will be back on Court 1 tomorrow facing week 1 winner Arina Vasilescu but will surely go into that match with good spirits and full of confidence.

Elsewhere, Tom Hands produced a solid victory over Patrick Foley, beating him in straight sets and coming back in the first set from 3-0 down. In what is a very balanced Pool B, 3 points will prove to be crucial for the Oxford player to reach the UKPL quarter-finals for the very first time.

 

Full Day 1 results:

  • Sean Hodkin bt Adam Jones 6-1, 6-3
  • Brandon Murphy bt Sahej Maker 6-0, 6-3
  • Joanna Garland bt Adeola Greatorex 6-1, 6-3
  • Anna Brogan bt Maddie Brooks 6-3, 6-0
  • Luke Johnson bt Ewan Moore 7-6(2), 7-5
  • Tom Hands bt Patrick Foley 6-4, 6-4
  • Nadia Rawson bt Andre Lukosiute 6-4, 7-5
  • Michelle Dzjachangirova bt Soumeya Anane 6-3, 6(5)-7, 10-8