On day 5 of week 6 of the UK Pro League there were 6 playoffs on either court as the competition heated up to decide how many vital ranking points players would receive in Chelsea.
The 4 games in the 5th-8th playoff games started off with a impressive win for Alice Gillan over Lauryn John-Baptiste. Both players were unlucky to have lost their quarter-finals but here Gillan shone, wrapping the victory up 6-4, 6-4. There may have been slight signs of fatigue for John-Baptiste after her marathon games throughout this week, including a win over Eliz Maloney. Maloney featured in the other playoff game, defeating replacement Maddie Brooks in typical Maloney style, battling to a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Maloney displayed her signature tenacity and stickability as she kept the ball in play when all seemed lost.
On the men’s side, the much improved Sean Hodkin ran out comfortable winner over replacement Liam Hignett, who was playing his first match of week 6. Hodkin’s powerful serve has been a huge weapon all week and once again it was the base for a fantastic performance. Elsewhere, Josh Paris beat Evan Hoyt (Pictured above), the top ranked player in the men’s draw, 6-4, 6-4. In his return from double knee surgery Hoyt has shown glimpses of the quality he has to offer but it is still early days in his comeback. Paris looked assured and coped well with the huge serve of Hoyt.
Elsewhere there were wins for Jack Gibbens, Dan Little, Emma Wilson and debutant Emilia Banos-Gregorians. Gibbens and Wilson both made it back to back wins at this stage as they look to maximise their ranking points gained from this week.
Full Day 5 Results:
Alice Gillan vs Lauryn John-Baptiste: 6-4, 6-4
Emma Wilson vs India Rojano: 6-0, 6-1
Sean Hodkin vs Liam Hignett: 6-1, 6-1
Dan Little vs Adam Jones, 5-2 (retired)
Eliz Maloney vs Maddie Brooks: 6-3, 6-1
Emilia Banos-Gregorians vs Jojo Bach: 6-3, 2-6, 10-8
Josh Paris vs Evan Hoyt: 6-4, 6-4
Jack Gibbens vs Ewan Moore: 3-6, 7-6(3), 11-9