Nottingham Open - An Alternative Review

So that is it. The 2015 UK Racketlon Tour has officially come to an end. And what a year it has been!

Sixteen events on the calender, an excellent international tournament in Malta and a fresh new, regular face in the organising team have helped make this a great year for Racketlon around the UK.

The sixteenth and final event on this year's jam-packed calender saw the Tour head to Nottingham - (or no-man's land as far as the potential Racketlon Ryder Cup is concerned).

The tournament certainly had a little bit of everything.

Outrageous backhands, bizarre quiz questions, queues, unreliable lighting, queues, expletive-laden rants, some more queues, multiple gumi arm finals, and (eventually) a Racketlon TV appearance cover just a few of the memories to take away from the David Lloyd in West Bridgeford.

pic.twitter.com/hjaB6hHluK

— Racketlon News (@keithracketlon) November 14, 2015

Okay, so the tournament certainly had some teething issues. Everyone loves a bit of recovery time after a badminton match but that might have been taken to the extreme this weekend.

But it's all a learning process and hopefully there won't be a repeat of these mistakes when we return to the venue early in 2016.

So rather than focus on the negative, let's enjoy some of the more memorable moments from the weekend.

Best Match

I feel slightly under qualified for this one having not seen a single match being played but then what is Tournament Software good for if not eagerly scanning results for several days after. The Men's C quarter-final encounter between Stuart Stanyan and Lee Gregson looked tasty, with Stuart holding off Lee's booming serves to win by four.

You also won't find a closer contest than the Women's B Singles match between Cambridge's Ruby Marsden and Jessica Pham which ended 23-21 17-21 17-21 21-17 to give Ruby a victory of just +2. If that isn't getting your money's worth then I don't know what is.

But I am going to highlight the Men's C and D Singles finals which remarkably both finished on gumi arms. Of those two, I am going to pick the C final as my best match, as Geoff Woods did incredibly well to, not only keep George Hargreaves below the 10 that he needed, but also saved a number of match points to force the gummi arm. Top work from the Notts pair.

Highlight of the Tournament

Highlight of the tournament? This might be highlight of the year! During the wonderful new one point extravaganza, a round two clash between Johnny Bispham and Will Gregson is where we head.

Picture the scene. Bispham, full of confidence, steps up to serve. Moments later the ball flies straight back past him. Will Gregon, 13 years old I might add, hit the most audacious backhand return off the Bispham serve, straight back past him. Outrageous. One that will be remembered for a long time, and young Master Gregson has certainly earned himself some admirers!

@keithracketlon good day of dubs at notts,thanks for playing BC and MH. But today will be remembered as the day Will G became my idol. Wow!

— Dan Busby (@DanBusby1) November 15, 2015

For Johnny it was to cap off a miserable weekend after his shocking inability to answer a quiz question about his idol and dream date Jesper Ratzer in Saturday's quiz.

Local Hero

Take your pick. It was a massively successful tournament for the Nottingham contingent who took home six trophies between them. Nottingham players reached the finals of five of the six doubles tournaments entered with a special mention for Jonny Wan who won the lottery doubles (partner Will Coley) and the Men's B Doubles (partner Jon Spinks).

WILL COLEY HAS DONE IT!!!! A grade champion on home soil, defeating Ray Jordan in the final!

— Nottingham Racketlon (@NottsRacketlon) November 14, 2015

But it was Wanny's lottery doubles partner, Will, who takes home the Local Hero award after claiming his first ever A Grade singles title - all the more special for earning it on home soil. Will is arguably well on the way to cementing himself among some of Nottingham's other sporting heroes such as boxer Carl Froch and archery enthusiast, Robin Hood. 2016 is going to be a huge year for our curly-haired friend. Watch this space.

Dream Team

You would forgive George Roberts for feeling slightly unloved after both myself and Ramon Miles ditched him as doubles partner over the past few weeks - (both because of injuries - certainly not because we feared he'd be too hungover to turn up....).

@keithracketlon @d_bennett999 @jobennett26 fantastic time playing doubles with David. Loved it. And we won! pic.twitter.com/mhBhUIpAlz

— George Roberts (@GeorgeRacketDon) November 15, 2015

Step up rising star David Bennett. The common expression in life is third time lucky and it certainly seemed that way with George's choice in partner as David carried George (not literally) to a Doubles C title - comfortably dispatching the Gregsons and the Tetleys en route.

Most Outrageous Moment - (Unofficially) Sponsored by Cisk

Straight out of the 'Sam Barker School of Stupid Tennis Decisions That Somehow Pay Off', comes the conclusion to the first (of many... maybe) one point extravaganza competition. James Pope vs Dan Busby. Pope has put his first serve in the net to effectively leave a gummi situation.

Now it's a well known fact that, unless you're Dustin Brown, a serve-and-volley on a second serve is effectively tennis court suicide. That would never stop The Butler though, who served up a successful moment of madness when he intercepted Busby's passing shot to volley home the winner. An A+ for sheer boldness/stupidity from me. #WWSBD

@JamesPope10 is the first ever winner of the one point challenge. @NottsRacketlon unbelievable scenes! pic.twitter.com/ekd8pNUINv

— Racketlon News (@keithracketlon) November 15, 2015

Shortest Debutant

Spare a thought for Adarsh Shah who might have broken a record for the shortest time participating in a debut Racketlon tournament.

The only good thing that can be said is that he just about completed the table-tennis. However, during badminton a knee injury has left the poor debutant on crutches.

Shortest Racketlon career ever @keithracketlon pic.twitter.com/khUHtzM5Ez

— James Watkins (@James_Watkins90) November 14, 2015

We wish you well and hopefully will see you back fighting fit again in the future... maybe even on a squash court!

We are Family

One thing that can certainly be said for the Nottingham Open is that it was very much a family affair. As well as some of our regular family units - the Russell sisters and parent/child pairings of the Gregsons and the Shelleys - a number of new and returning families descended on Nottingham.

The Tetleys, Bens and the Wans made a welcome return to the tour as a group after one or two previous solo tournaments, whilst there were debuts for certain members of the Gillot and Hopwood clan.

Perhaps the stand-out family though were the Woodliffes, especially dad Mark, who blew away the field to win the Over 45s and then backed that up with a devastating doubles performance alongside son, Ben.

Obviously there has to be a special mention for the Whitemans, turning out in force - (with honorary members Mark Harris and I) - for Saturday evening's quiz. We'll ignore the fact that we came third, only beating (unsurpsingly) the Trent table.

Good luck to those playing in Prague and to everyone else, check out the 2016 Tour as it develops!

Not sure what Racketlon is? Find out more information here.

Bernard Tomic - Quiet Progress in a Turbulent Year

Australia has dominated the tennis headlines this year. Mostly for the wrong reasons.

Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have found themselves in trouble with just about everyone in 2015 and even managed to drag unwitting pal Thanasi Kokkinakis into it earlier in the year.

Whilst their off-court antics have been eagerly documented, their on-court actions have sometimes been overlooked - especially in the case of Bernard Tomic.

Despite his run-in with the law in Miami earlier this year and his explosive rant at Tennis Australia during Wimbledon, Tomic has had a year of steady, progressive improvement.

An impressive run of ten quarter-finals across...

Click here for the full article.

Things Learnt From the China Open

As the covers are pulled over the China Open for another year, we ar eleft with just enough time to reflect on another intriguing tournament as the tennis world heads towards the end of year Finals.

Beijing really is Novak Djokovic's home from home... or is it Shanghai?

There is just something about the hard courts of Beijing that Novak Djokovic has warned to. Twenty-nine matches, six titles, not a single defeat. That is a pretty sensational record, but perhaps more worringly for his opposition is that nobody even came close to him this week...

Click here to read the full article.

Daniel Evans: British 'Bad Boy' On Road To Recovery

Twelve months ago, Daniel Evans was hot property in the tennis world. On the cusp of conquering the top 100 ranking barrier and with a run to the third round of the US Open in his back pocket, Evans' reputation was on the rise. British fans were particularly excited by a player arguably boasting the most natural ability since a certain Andrew Murray burst onto the scene.

Fast forward eleven months to the start of this year's Wimbledon and you would have found the Birmingham-born Brit languishing at #752 in the World having played the main draw of just four....

Find the rest of the article at http://lastwordonsports.com/2015/07/29/daniel-evans-british-bad-boy-on-road-to-recovery/.

GB's Italian Job Falls Short

Despite entering the final day in control of the tie, Great Britain collapsed to lose 3-2 to Italy in the quarter-finals of this year's Davis Cup in Naples.

An excellent second day had seen Andy Murray claim both a delayed singles rudder and the doubles rudder alongside Colin Fleming to give GB a commanding 2-1 lead heading into the final pair of singles matches, after James Ward had lost his opening match on a rain-interrupted day one.

However with Murray unable to topple clay-expert Fabio Fognini and James Ward suffering a similar fate to Andreas Seppi, the Italians completed the comeback moving into the semi-finals to face Switzerland. Switzerland staged a comeback of their own, also overturning a 2-1 deficit on the final day against Kazakhstan.

The opening tie sa James Ward take on Fabio Fognini in what looked on paper to be an easy match for the Italian. However, some spilled rainwater on the court left Fognini notably rattled and Ward caused him plenty of problems in the early couple of sets, losing the first 6-4 but recovering to even the match up with a 6-2 victory in the second.

However, as the court dried up Fognini began to take control, seizing the next two sets 6-4 and 6-1 to give Italy the opening rubber. The rain delay in the morning meant barely two sets of the second match was able to be played, Murray winning 6-4 5-5 when play was stopped due to bad light.

Murray came out early on the Saturday knowing he would most likely play in the doubles later that day so dispatched Andreas Seppi hastily, taking the second set 7-5 before claiming the third 6-3 to even up the contest.

The Scot was then called upon the partner Colin Fleming and a commanding performance from the pair meant they won 6-3 6-2 3-6 7-5 against Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli giving Britain a dominant lead going into the final day.

Murray had been unable to train for much of the week with a stomach bug, and it seemed as though this started catching up with him as he played first on Sunday. The Scot never really got going against a rampant Fognini and the Italian cleared up in three sets, winning 6-3 6-3 6-4.

Andreas Seppi then won it for Italy with a dominant singles performance over a nervous looking James Ward, winning 6-4 6-3 6-4. Whilst Italy will take on Switzerland, the other semi-final will see the Czech Republic do battle with France in September.

Published on SEaT Capital.

April Fools? Serena Suffers Shock Exit

Just three days after claiming a record seventh Sony Open title, Serena Williams underwent a shock 6-4 6-4 defeat to the young Slovak Jana Cepelova.

As number one in the world, Williams received a bye to the second round however that was as far as the defending champion managed to progress, looking jaded in her second round defeat.

Whilst the big talking point will be the disappointing performance of Williams, plenty of credit must go to the plucky 20-year-old Cepelova, as she held her nerve to claim her first ever victory over a top-15 ranked player.

Williams will have found herself turning back to her first set against Li Na at the weekend as she quickly went 5-0 down to Cepelova within just 18 minutes, silencing the Charleston crowd.

It looked as though it would be a repeat of her escapades in the Sony Open final as she reeled off the next four games to get a foothold in the first set. However, despite the shift in momentum Cepelova was able to regroup, serving out the set to claim it 6-4.

The second set was a much tighter affair with the pair trading blows from the baseline and just the one break from Cepelova was needed to see out the match, the 78th ranked player hitting an audacious winner to claim victory.

Cepelova will move on to face the winner of Petra Cetkovska and Elena Vesnina in the third round whilst Williams claims she is looking for a break from tennis, telling USA Today, "I'm really just dead. I need some weeks off where I don't think about tennis and kind of regroup. I've had a long couple of years, and I'm really a little fatigued."