Derby Moor Academy, Littleover
Saturday/Sunday, 14-15 September 2024
STOP PRESS Ben Beltrami won his first Yorkshire Open Singles title, beating Julian Aquilina in the final, while Ander Iraizoz beat Emrys Thursfield in the Plate, with both finals won in straight games. The 2nd Plate went to three games, with Gwydion Wiseman beating Marcus Cloke Browne 11-4, 7-11, 11-1.
The Doubles looked to be a question of who would challenge Ben & Theo in the final, and in the end it was Oscar McIntyre & Gwydion Wiseman. These first-time finalists did not disgrace themselves in their two-game defeat. Marcus Cloke Browne & Emrys Thursfield meanwhile won a competitive Plate.
Thanks go to the Derby Moor team who managed to keep the courts playable in increasingly humid conditions. Above all a huge thank you to John Hawke for the 14 years he has organised (and catered for!) this event, introducing a Singles competition in 2014 and thereby raising its profile and attracting top players every year.
John Hawke reports: Once again the Yorkshire Open was hosted by the Derby Moor Club, as the courts at Giggleswick School and at Halifax Heath have fallen into disuse. The Derby courts have the advantage of being easily accessible from many parts of the country, especially London, so the large entry this year was partly facilitated by the ease of travel, but mainly due to the efforts and arm twisting by Lewis Keates, work much appreciated by the nominal organiser.
Saturday singles got off to a timely start, necessary due to the 14 entrants. Fate attempted to derail the timetable as an accident closed the M1 and delayed those travelling by car from the capital, but some plate matches got underway during the wait. Just as the organiser was about to tear out some of his remaining hair the missing contingent appeared, having had an interesting tour of Bedfordshire in their attempts to avoid the motorway queues.
Once the remaining participants had arrived the Cup proceeded apace, with results following the seedings. The most notable match was that between Theo Parker, seeded 4, against Oscar McIntyre. Oscar gave Theo a hard time, eventually losing 12-11, 11-8.
Ben Beltrami then triumphed in a hard fought final, winning 11-2, 11-2 against Julian Aquilina in a match which seemed far closer than the score suggested.
In order to make the entry and the trip worthwhile for those knocked out in the early rounds, two plate competitions were run, one for the six first round losers and the second for those knocked out in the quarter-finals. Two round robins of 3 participants each formed the first plate, with the winners of each facing off for a best of three to eleven final. Emrys Thursfield topped one round robin and Ander Iraizoz the other. Ander, a visitor from Spain currently based in Oxford, won the final 11-8, 11-2, his dogged determination and incredible energy keeping him running hard until the end, when he had almost melted into the court floor.
Gwydion Wiseman and Marcus Cloke Browne topped the four-way round robin of the second round losers competition and played off for a best-of-3 final, which turned out to be the only match of the day which went to three games. Gwydion eventually took the laurels, winning 11-4, 7-11, 11-1.
An excellent day of Fives was topped off by a convivial meal arranged by Lewis at the Derby Club’s local pub.
And so to Sunday. 9 pairs contested the doubles, with a round robin plate for the fives pairs knocked out in the first round. Unlike the singles, the cup did not go strictly to the seeding, with McIntyre & Wiseman knocking out Keates & Singh, the second seeds, in the semi-finals. After lunch the weather turned to rain and the courts started to sweat and become slippery. This threatened to spoil the final, as the outside walls of both courts were showing large wet patches. Heroic efforts by the host club, led by the indefatigable Lewis Keates, brought a massive fan into use. This, coupled with multiple dehumidifiers, reduced the damp patches to insignificance and allowed the final to be played in excellent conditions. A hard fought match was played, which again belied the scores, Beltrami & Parker defeating McIntyre & Wiseman 11-3, 11-1.
The plate saw clear winners in Cloke Browne & Thursfield, who won all their games, with runners-up Fikhter & Davins, who lost only to the champions.
So a highly enjoyable weekend brought my reign as organiser to a close. In the fourteen times that I have run the tournament we have seen it grow from a doubles only event held at Giggleswick School to a proper regional tournament with a large entry gracing the Derby courts. I only hope that those who have taken part have enjoyed the experience as much as I have. I must thank the whole Fives community for providing me with so much pleasure. From now on Lewis Keates will be the man in the hot seat. He could be in line to take command for the next forty, or more, years!
Singles
1st round: B Beltrami bt D Wright 15-0; G Wiseman bt E Thursfield 15-5; O McIntyre bt V Fikhter 15-7; T Parker bt D Swinbank 15-4; L Keates w/o A Hopkins; M Cloke Browne w/o K Davins; A Goodwin bt D Murdoc 15-11; J Aquilina bt A Iraizoz 15-4
Quarter-finals: Beltrami bt Wiseman 11-0, 11-1; Parker bt McIntyre 12-11, 11-8; Keates bt Cloke Browne 11-3, 11-6; Aquilina bt Goodwin 11-1, 11-5
Semi-finals: Beltrami bt Parker 11-6, 11-4; Aquilina bt Keates 11-6, 11-0
Final: Beltrami bt Aquilina 11-2, 11-2
Plate: Iraizoz bt Thursfield 11-8, 11-2
2nd Plate: Wiseman bt Cloke Browne 11-4, 7-11, 11-1
Doubles
1st round: K Davins & V Fikhter bt D Swinbank & D Wright 15-2
Quarter-finals: B Beltrami & T Parker bt Davins & Fikhter 15-5, 15-6; M Frost & A Goodwin bt Cloke Browne & Thursfield 15-5, 15-9; O McIntyre & G Wiseman bt B Kirk & C Yates 15-0, 15-0; L Keates & B Singh bt R Christie & S Kirby 15-4, 15-2
Semi-finals: Beltrami & Parker bt Frost & Goodwin 15-5, 15-10; O McIntyre & G Wiseman bt Keates & Singh 15-7, 15-8
Final: Beltrami & Parker bt McIntyre & Wiseman 11-3, 11-1
Plate: 1st Cloke Browne & Thursfield 60 pts; 2nd Davins & Fikhter 54 pts; 3rd Christie & Kirby 48 pts
John Hawke, gold medal organiser
Yorkshire Open Singles champion Ben Beltrami
The Singles finalists Julian and Ben
Singles Plate finalists Marcus and winner Gwydion
Recording events for social media and the website
The Doubles finalists Oscar & Gwydion, Theo & Ben
Ben & Theo win the Yorkshire Doubles for the first time
Triumph for Theo and Ben
Emrys & Marcus win the Doubles Plate for Cambridge
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