25/05/15
Dermot Bailey clinched his second ITF Futures title in the space of a month when he beat Paul Stewart 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the men's singles final before partenring Stewart to win the men's doubles.
Bailey, champion at last month's Sheffield ITF Futures, completed Gloucester's first international wheelchair tennis tournament with both titles after he and Stewart also won the doubles final in three sets, defeating second seeds John Lambert and Scott Smith 6-3, 4-6, (10-2) after a match tiebreak.
24/05/15
Dermot Bailey and Paul Stewart reached the men’s singles final on the penultimate day of play at Oxstalls Sports Park and will also pair up in an attempt to land a second title after both seeded partnerships advanced to the men’s doubles final.
Top seed Bailey kept his bid for a second ITF Futures singles title in as many months on track with a 6-1, 6-1 semi-final victory over Dutch third seed Pim Palmen. April’s Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament champion will play for Stewart for the Gloucester title after the unseeded Stewart won his third match in a row for the loss of just one game, beating John Lambert 6-0, 6-1 in their semi-final.
Later in the day Bailey and Stewart joined forces to defeat Steve Metcalfe and Palmen 6-0, 6-0 in their doubles semi-final. Second seeds Lambert and Scott Smith won the other doubles semi-final against Tony Knappett and Greg Shea 6-2, 6-2.
The middle of the three days of play at Oxstalls Sports Park also brought a first career quad singles title for Welshman Ashley Davis. Davis won the straight play-off for the quad singles against Austria’s Werner Pramendorfer 6-1, 6-0.
23/05/15
Dermot Bailey and Paul Stewart, the two players in the men’s singles draw who are part of the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme, reached the semi-finals on the first day of play at Oxstalls Sports Park after two of the seeds bowed out.
With two rounds of singles played, Surrey’s Greg Shea made up for a slow start against Hertfordshire’s Marc Francis to earn a 2-6, 6-0, 6, 0-2 first round victory. However, Shea, who arrived in Gloucester on the back of winning the Development Series tournament in Warwick a week ago, saw his challenge end in the quarter-finals after slipping to a 6-3, 6-1 loss to the immensely experienced John Lambert.
Lambert had a first round walkover and is joined in the last four by fellow non-seed Stewart, who was in fine form on the opening day. Stewart dropped just one game in each of his first two matches, defeating fourth seed Tony Knappett 6-1, 6-0 to earn his place in Sunday’s semi-finals against Lambert.
Top seed Dermot Bailey and third seed Pim Palmen will contest the other men’s singles semi-final. Bailey eased into the ITF Futures tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 first round win and then raced to a 6-0, 6-0 quarter-final victory over Martin French. UK-based Dutchman Palmen followed up a 6-4, 6-1 win over Welshman Tony Tibbs by defeating Scot Keith Thom 6-2, 6-2.
Bristol’s Steve Metcalfe and Palmen also won through to play top seeds Bailey and Stewart in the doubles semi-finals, while second seeds Lambert and Scott Smith will take on Knappett and Shea for a place in the final.
22/05/15
Great Britain internationals Dermot Bailey and Tony Knappett are among a strong entry for the Gloucester Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which celebrates having world ranking status for the first time at Oxstalls Sport Park on 23 - 25 May.
Players representing four countries are set to play for the men’s singles and doubles titles over the Bank Holiday Weekend, with Bailey and Knappett, who have both represented Great Britain in the World Team Cup, among the home players facing opposition from Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Oxstalls Sports Park has hosted top class wheelchair tennis for many years and first hosted the National Wheelchair Tennis Championships over 10 years ago.
Now home of the National Championships and National Development Series Finals in December, the Gloucester venue has also staged a Development Series tournament in recent years. However, this weekend is the first time that Oxstalls has played host to an ITF Futures Series tournament, one of nine British tournaments on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour either organised by, or supported by the Tennis Foundation in 2015.
Northamptonshire’s Bailey will bid to earn his second senior international singles title in Gloucester after winning the ITF Futures tournament in Sheffield last month, while Bristol’s Steve Metcalfe and a number of players from Wales will also aim for success closer to home.
Also competing will be Shropshire’s Scott Smith, winner of the men’s singles at the 2012 National Wheelchair Tennis Championships at Oxstalls Sports Park, while Pim Palmen was winner of the Development Series tournament at Oxstalls in 2014.
“We have a long association with the wheelchair tennis at all levels here at Oxstalls after hosting the National Championships and National Development Series Finals on many occasions and are now very excited to be hosting our first ITF Futures wheelchair tournament,” said Helen Stevens of Oxstalls Sports Park.
“I urge anyone who has never seen wheelchair tennis at the top level to come and join us over the Bank Holiday Weekend. We hope the top players in action will inspire more people to come and take part in our sessions at Oxstalls available throughout the year supported by the Tennis Foundation.”
Entry is FREE for spectators and matches start at 9.30am on Saturday, 23 May. and 9.00am on Sunday, 24 May.
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