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Batson defeats returning Macey!
Ed Batson continued his domestic winning streak with victory at the 2nd Welsh Open last weekend held at the David Lloyd club, Cardiff.
In a strong-looking 8 man monrad the tie of the first round was Nick Macey – returning to the sport after a 5 year absence – against number 1 seed Ray Jordan. Nick looked a little out of shape (fatherhood clearly does that to you) but hadn’t lost any of his touch and took victory in a match that was close in all 4 sports, getting the 18 he needed in tennis at 18-13. Keith Lesser took revenge over Kent’s Mark Steeden – an extremely strong squash player – to set up a semi-final with Macey. Pre-tournament favourite Ed Batson swept aside Hayden Jones despite losing the badminton and Jon Foulds defeated impressive newcomer John Bult at 10-14 in the tennis after strong badminton and squash performances.
There were no surprises in the semi-finals as no tennis was played; Ed underlined his quality by beating Jon at squash and before the tennis – his strongest sport. Nick showed no mercy against Keith with a heavy win that included a 21-4 badminton thrashing to set up an intriguing encounter. The final all hinged on the table tennis – victory for Nick would give him a chance of building up a good lead before the tennis but it wasn’t to be. Ed won both table tennis and squash leaving him needing 17 in the tennis which he reached at 17-5. Another very strong performance – we shall see how he gets on at his first English Open in a few weeks time. As for Nick, he is back. The man from Bournemouth is already considering the Finnish and Scottish Opens and has already entered for Vienna. If he regains his fitness we could yet see some fireworks on the tour again!
Sime mothers do have ‘em!
Excuse the pun. Fiona Sime captured her first tour title with victory in the ladies event after a particularly hard fought round robin group of 4 that also included domestic regulars Dominique Ford, Di Baker and Michelle Eaton. The sports teacher from Ashford was on fire with table tennis victories of 21-3 and 21-2, and a squash victory of 21-4 being particularly impressive. Recent attendance at the Champions League event in Vienna representing her beloved Kent has clearly honed her racketlon skills.
Her match against 2nd place Dom was the virtual final and got off to a bad start for Fiona as she surprisingly lost 21-18 at table tennis. She bounced back in the badminton however, taking that 21-15 and after a very strong 21-4 squash win the match was hers. The closest match in the pool was Di v Dom and as it turned out Dom nabbed it by a mere 2 points – a strong 21-6 table tennis victory helping her here.
Unusually there was no over 45s veterans event, but there was an over 55s! In it newcomer and local player Kwesi Hazell (not to be confused with his brother, Kwesi Hazell) took the win with victories over the man in charge Richard Lawrence, chauffeur Geoff Jordan and Charles Eaton.
Other events saw Fiona double up and also take the Mixed Doubles, playing with newcomer Mike Mace. Local David Lloyd members Pete Bridgeman and Kwesi Hazell took the Mens Doubles. Mens B was won by Richard Colman who beat Mark Johnson in the only gummiarm of the day! But the story was surely Natalie Lawrence’s victory over her England captain and mentor Stuart Foster! Victory in the first 3 sports meant she only needed 6 in the tennis – job done at 6-16. Irishman Colm Harte took Mens C, which included a semi-final victory over his brother Niall along the way. Patrick Garlick was the runner-up.
A great tournament, all finished in 1 day – if we could get some more local Welsh players it would be a tournament to savour.
Thanks All, Ray
Click here for Full Results
Mens A Event - Winner: Ed Batson, 2: Nick Macey, 3: Jon Foulds
Mens B Event - Winner: Richard Colman, 2: Mark Johnson, 3: Natalie Lawrence
Mens C Event - Winner: Colm Harte, 2: Patrick Garlick, 3: Niall Harte
Ladies A Event - Winner: Fiona Sime, 2: Dominique Ford, 3: Dianne Baker
Mens Over 55 Event - Winner: Kwesi Hazell, 2: Richard Lawrence, 3: Geoff Jordan
Mixed Doubles Event - Winners: Fiona Sime & Mike Mace, 2: Dianne Baker & Jon Foulds, 3: Dominique Ford & Richard Lawrence
Mens Doubles Event - Winners: Pete Bridgeman & Kwesi Hazell, 2: Jonathan Healey & Richard Healey, 3: Niall Harte & Colm Harte |