Dan Tristao wins his 8th National Singles title

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Oundle School
Saturday/Sunday, 23-24 November 2024

STOP PRESS At the National Singles Championship 2024 Dan Tristao won his 8th title, beating defending champion Ben Beltrami in an extraordinarily close semi-final and then four-time finalist Ed Kay in a three-game final. It was Dan’s 9th appearance in the final and it was the first time Dan had beaten Ed since 2019.

In the Plate Lewis Keates from Derby Moor Fives met Cambridge University captain Marcus Cloke Browne after completion of two round robins. There Lewis also won a three-gamer and thus retained the David Gardner ‘Longboat’ which he first won last year.

Charlie Brooks reports: Dan Tristao fought his way to an 8th National Singles title, beating Ed Kay 8-15, 15-12, 15-7 in a scintillating final, played at Oundle School. Both players displayed a magical touch and breathtaking speed in a match that swayed one way and then the other – a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

The day had begun with the 16 qualifiers going head to head in the first round. It was, as ever, an impressive lineup, with surely one of the largest ever age ranges on show at the finals. Amongst the more experienced players were James Toop, six-time winner, Richie Murby, proudly representing Scotland, and organiser Charlie Brooks. At the other end of the spectrum, Freddie Hammond Giles and Marcus Cloke Browne brought their youthful exuberance to the weekend. Another notable debutant was Ander Iraizoz, taking advantage of his Basque Pelota background to qualify in the Midlands.

Pick of the opening round was the clash between Penn Chai and Julian Aquilina. On paper, many expected the fourth seed to progress, but Penn was not to be intimidated by his opponent’s ranking. In fact, for long periods it was Julian who was on the back foot – not a great place to be when short serves were the order of the day. Julian won the first, but with the advantage in game two, it was unfortunate that Penn’s great serving went slightly off the boil. Julian pounced and took it 16-15, thankful to scramble into the quarters.

It’s not often that the top match (seed 1 vs 16) brings so much intrigue. Both James Toop and Ed Kay can feel slightly aggrieved at their draw, but with James not having played a huge number of singles tournaments recently, his position as 16th seed pitted him against top dog Ed. Many a long rally ensued as they pushed each other all over the court. Ed came through 15-7, 15-9, but is this the start of a Toop resurgence?

In the end, there was only one result that went against the seeding. Rising teen star Freddie Hammond Giles beat last year’s Plate winner Lewis Keates to make the quarter-finals in his first appearance; another great result to add to a breakthrough season.

Onto the quarters, where the big three – Kay, Tristao and defending champ Beltrami – flexed their muscles. They swept aside their opponents (Parker, Hammond Giles and Brooks respectively) with power and precision, rarely letting up or offering any kind of opportunity. Bosh.

Fortunately, there was a closer contest developing between Aquilina (4th seed) and Murby (5th). Richie stormed ahead in the first game and won it comfortably. Julian was determined to reverse that in the second. His superior fitness was starting to pay dividends, and at 14-11 ahead, he very much looked the favourite to grab the game and even the whole match. Steely Scottish resolve was to have the final say though; a tense few points followed as Richie saved game balls, won a point or two and repeated the trick enough times to come out on top 16-14.

The semi-finals saw wildly different matches – Ed continued his march into the final with a dominant performance against a tiring Richie, whilst Dan and Ben went head to head in a titanic clash. It was a repeat of last year’s semi, but would the result be the same?

The two players have contrasting statures, with playing styles reflecting that. When Ben connects with a series of power-shots he seems impossible to beat, but Dan’s agility around the court would put a cheetah to shame. Unsurprisingly, this drew the biggest crowd of the weekend, and enthralled they were. It was impossible to pick a winner; even the armchair pundits were reluctant to call the match as first one player edged ahead before the other produced a flash of brilliance to pull it level. On they went, matching each other blow for blow. Ben reached game ball first but couldn’t capitalise; Dan’s first opportunity came and went. Eventually it was Dan who held firm and won 16-15 after 50 nail-biting minutes.

The pattern continued as they started the second; as soon as an advantage was gained, it was snuffed out. As the players tired, there was only a minimal drop off in quality, and absolutely no change to how finely balanced the outcome was. This time it was Dan who reached game ball first, with what seemed to be a healthy lead at last. But Ben drew level at 14-all and it was down to the wire again. His momentum slowed at the critical time though, and Dan triumphed 16-15, 16-14. Fives at its best!

A third final between Dan and Ed, after meetings in 2018 and 2019, was set for Sunday morning. Ed had also made it to last year’s final, coming up just short against an in-form Beltrami.

Dan was fast out of the blocks, betraying the after-effects of the epic semi-final the night before. But from 7-3 ahead, he suddenly found himself floundering in the wake of Ed’s unrelenting intensity. Time after time he forced Dan into an error and steam-rollered his way to 15-8 – a remarkable turnaround.

When Ed continued this form and took 6-3 and 9-5 leads in Game 2, with Dan appearing somewhat ragged, it seemed the semi-final might be taking its toll after all. But anyone who’s witnessed Dan’s previous finals will recognise Dan’s extraordinary ability to battle, dig deep and find his best when it matters most. Slowly but surely he clawed back the points, getting to parity at 11-11, and then got his nose in front. Ed fought hard but couldn’t prevent Dan levelling the match.

Heading into a decider, it was anyone’s to win. From early in the game, Dan wrested the initiative despite continued dogged retrieval from Ed, and eked out an advantage. Then came the rally of the match. 5-11, Ed behind, needing something special. Shot-making of the highest order, determination not to cede an inch, covering every corner of the court, being pulled this way and that. It seemed to last forever until, rather anticlimactically, Dan hit the ball into himself – he is human after all! However, it was not to be a catalyst for a turnaround, and soon afterwards Dan secured a 15-7 score, and with it, the coveted title.

The Plate was a tasty affair. Two pools of four players, with Keates and Cloke Browne topping them. Lewis had close games against both Penn and James Toop, whilst Marcus hit form to only concede 13 points in his three games.

So the 7th and 9th seeds played out the final. Lewis was now finding a consistent line and length after so many hours on court, taking the opener 15-6. Marcus fought back though and got the better of Lewis in the second, 15-9, to force a decider… It was never going to be easy! Perhaps drawing on his superior Plate final experience, Lewis pulled through in the third to defend his Plate crown and join a select few with that achievement!

You can watch the full semi-final between Dan and Ben, as well as the final, on the RFA’s YouTube site – a record of a truly phenomenal weekend of Fives.

Scores

1st round: E Kay (1) bt J Toop 15-7, 15-9; T Parker (8) bt M Cloke Browne 15-9, 15-5; R Murby (5) bt J Tilston 15-2, 15-8; J Aquilina (4) bt P Chai 15-11, 16-15; B Beltrami (3) bt A Iraizoz 15-2, 15-2; C Brooks (6) bt J Sumner 15-4, 15-7; F Hammond Giles bt L Keates (7) 15-5-15-4; D Tristao (2) bt A McCreath 15-5, 15-4
Quarter-finals: Kay bt Parker 15-0, 15-2; Murby bt Aquilina 15-6, 16-14; Beltrami bt Brooks 15-1, 15-5; Tristao bt Hammond Giles 15-0, 15-2
Semi-finals: Kay bt Murby 15-1, 15-3; Tristao bt Beltrami 16-15, 16-14
Final: Tristao bt Kay 8-15, 15-12, 15-7 

Plate Group A: 1st Keates W3 45 pts; 2nd Toop W2 36 pts; 3rd Chai W1 31 pts; 4th Sumner 6 pts
Plate Group B: 1st Cloke Browne W3 45 pts; 2nd McCreath W2 32 pts; 3rd Tilston W1 31 pts; 4th Iraizoz 25 pts
Plate Final: Keates bt Cloke Browne 15-6, 9-15, 15-5

Competitors at the National Singles finals 

The National Singles Champion 2024

The two finalists

Silver for Ed

Plate winner Lewis Keates

Plate finalists Lewis and Marcus

It was a three-gamer!