04/05/15
Wiltshire’s Lewis Fletcher won his second men’s singles title and Oxfordshire’s Beth Simmons won her third women’s singles title as the 2015 National Deaf Tennis Championships drew to a close on May Day Bank Holiday Monday at Gosling Tennis Centre, Welwyn Garden City.
Simmons won a hat-trick of titles after adding the mixed doubles title with Willcox to the women’s singles and doubles titles, while Fletcher completed the Championships with both the men’s singles and doubles titles.
Fletcher regained the men’s singles crown he won for the first time in 2012 when he beat 12-time former champion and top seed Peter Willcox 6-1, 6-1 in the final. He had beaten second seed Jack Clifton in the semi-finals.
After winning the women’s doubles with Valerie Copenhagen on the second day of competition, Simmons beat Copenhagen 6-0, 6-0 in the decisive women’s singles round-robin match at the three-day tournament.
Jack Clifton partnered Fletcher to win the men’s doubles title, the duo defeating Nicholas Ansell and Willcox 6-0, 6-1 in the deciding contest to remain unbeaten in their three round-robin matches.
Meanwhile, Simmons and Willcox beat Jack Clifton and Copenhagen 6-3, 6-2 to retain the mixed doubles title.
Middlesex’s Esah Hayat ended the event by adding the boys’ singles title to the men’s consolation singles title he had already won. Hayat beat Toby Clifton 4-0, 4-0 in the boys’ final.
03/05/15
Peter Willcox and Lewis Fletcher will contest the men’s singles final for the fourth successive year after Fletcher beat second seed Jack Clifton on the second and penultimate day of the 2015 National Deaf Tennis Championships.
Beth Simmons and Valerie Copenhagen will contest the deciding match in the women’s singles after pairing up to win the women’s doubles title on the second day, while Clifton and Fletcher will play Nicholas Ansell and Willcox in the decisive round-robin match in the women’s doubles. The mixed doubles final will be contested by Clifton and Copenhagen and reigning champions Simmons and Willcox.
Fletcher, the 2012 champion, defeated Clifton 6-0, 7-6(1) in their men’s singles semi-final, while Willcox moved to within one match of a possible 13th National title after beating Ansell 6-0 , 6-0.
Later in the day Jack Clifton and Fletcher beat Jack’s younger brother Toby and Esah Hayat 6-0, 6-3 to go into their final men’s doubles round-robin match against Ansell and Willcox having dropped just four games in their two matches to date. Ansell and Willcox also have two straight sets wins to their name so far after beating Jamie Mathews and Ciaran McCarthy 6-0, 6-1 and Toby Clifton and Hayat 6-3, 6-2.
Simmons stayed firmly on course in her women’s singles title defence after a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Savannah Elliott. Copenhagen won her second round-robin contest against Savanna Ramsbottom 6-2, 6-0.
Meanwhile, Copenhagen and Simmons beat Elliott and Ramsbottom 6-0, 6-0 to win the women’s doubles as Copenhagen won her first National title and Simmons became women’s doubles National champion for the fourth time.
With Toby Clifton and Hayat also winning through to the boys’ singles final, Hayat clinched victory in the men’s consolation singles final after defeating Mathews 6=0, 6-0.
02/05/15
There were few surprises on the first day of play at Gosling Tennis Centre as top seed Peter Willcox, second seed Jack Clifton, Lewis Fletcher and Nicholas Ansell reached the men’s singles semi-finals and defending champion Beth Simmons and Valerie Copenhagen won the opening round-robin matches in the women’s singles.
Former champion Fletcher held off young talent Esah Hayat 6-3, 6-2 to book his place in the last four against second seed Jack Clifton, who raced to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ciaran McCarthy. Willcox started his quest for a 13th National title with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jamie Matthews. Local Hertfordshire player Nicholas Ansell beat Toby Clifton 6-3, 6-1 in his quarter-final and will now place Willcox for a place in the final.
Simmons eased to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Savanna Ramsbottom and Copenhagen defeated Savannah Elliott 6-1, 6-1 as the women’s singles got underway. Simmons will play Elliott and Copenhagen will face Ramsbottom on Sunday’s second day of competition, when Simmons will also partner Copenhagen to play Elliott and Ramsbottom for the women’s doubles title.
The second day of competition will also see the second set of round-robin matches in the men’s doubles and the start of the boys’ singles. Meanwhile, Clifton and Copenhagen are through to play Willcox and Simmons in the mixed doubles final after both partnerships eased through their respective semi-finals.
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