Biel-Bienne Indoors, ITF 3 (Disability, ITF, Brit Watch)

7th - 10th March
Biel-Bienne, Switzerland Hard courts

Marc McCarroll
10/03/13

Marc McCarroll claimed his first singles title of 2013 and his second career win over former world No. 3 Martin Legner of Austria to win Sunday's men's singles final at the Biel Bienne Indoors, while McCarroll and Dermot Bailey finished runners-up in the men's doubles and Louise Hunt finished runner-up in the women's singles.

After reaching the final of the last month's North West Challenge, Britain's first world ranking event of the year, British men's No. 2 McCarroll ensured a successful conclusion to the first of his back-to-back ITF 3 Series tournaments in mainland Europe this month when he beat top seed Legner 6-3, 6-4.

But McCarroll was unable to get the better of Legner for the second time in the space of a few hours when paired up with Bailey for the men's doubles final. The British second seeds finished runners-up to Legner and Steve Welch of the USA after the top seeds secured victory 6-3, 6-2.

In the women's singles Hunt finished runner-up at the Biel-Bienne Indoors for the second time in three years.

After partnering Marianna Lauro to win the women's doubles on the penultimate day, the British women's No. 3 was narrowly touched out by Lauro in the singles final as the Italian top seed prevailed 6-3, 6-4.

09/03/13

Louise Hunt clinched the women's doubles title on the penultimate day of the Biel-Bienne Indoors as she joined Marc McCarroll and Dermot Bailey in keeping British players on track for a possible clean sweep of all the titles.

After a bye into the women's doubles final, Hunt and Italy's Marianna Lauro defeated Annabelle Ribeaud of Switzerland and Micha Spaanstra-de-Vos of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3.

Earlier in the day, after a bye and a walkover in the women's singles, second seed Hunt finally got her 2013 season underway with a 6-1, 6-0 semi-final victory over Sofie Cox of Belgium. Hunt will face top seed Lauro in Sunday's final.

In the men's singles, McCarroll also lived up to his second seeding as he reached his second final of 2013. The British men's No. 2 saved two set points in the second set of his semi-final against Rody de Bie to beat the Dutchman 6-3, 7-6(2). McCarroll will face Austrian top seed Martin Legner in the final and will go in search of his second career victory over the former world No. 3.

McCarroll also partnered 19-year-old Bailey to reach the men's doubles final. The second seeds beat French third seeds Sebastien Husser and Yoann Quilliou 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals and will now play top seed Legner and Steve Welch of the USA.

Dermot Bailey
08/03/13

Dermot Bailey reached his second ITF 3 Series semi-final of 2013 on the second day of play in Switzerland as he and Marc Carroll progressed to the last four of the men's singles.

Nineteen-year-old Bailey defeated Frenchman Sebastien Husser, who is ranked some 60 places higher than the Brit, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 to earn one of the best wins of his career. Bailey will now face top seed Martin Legner of Austria in the semi-finals after the former world No. 3 beat Josh Steels 6-0, 6-0 in their quarter-final.

Third seed McCarroll will face Rody de Bie of the Netherlands in his semi-final after the British No. 2 beat Switzerland's Daniel Pellegrina 6-1, 6-2 in the quarter-finals.

Louise Hunt had a walkover in her scheduled first round women's singles match against Swiss player Gabriela Buehler and the British No. 3 and second seed will now play Belgium's Sofie Cox for a place in the final.

After a bye, Hunt and Italy's Marianna Lauro are also into the final of the women's doubles, in which they will play Annabelle Ribeaud of Switzerland and Micha Spaanstra of the Netherlands.

All three Brits are into Saturday's men's doubles semi-finals. Second seeds Bailey and McCarroll beat Swiss duo Thomas von Daeniken and Herbert Keller 6-0, 6-0 in their quarter-final, but must wait to discover their semi-finals opponents.

Meanwhile, Steels and de Bie edged out their Swiss quarter-final opponents Raphael Gremion and Frederic Decorvet 7-6, 6-4. The fourth seeds will now play top seeds Legner and American Steve Welch.

Marc McCarroll
07/03/13

It was a great first day in Switzerland for the Brits in the men's singles as Marc McCarroll, Dermot Bailey and Josh Steels all progressed to the quarter-finals.
Third seed McCarroll eased past Herbert Keller 6-0, 6-1, while Bailey also beat his higher ranked Swiss opponent Raphael Gremion 6-4, 6-1 and Josh Steels defeated Pascal Chessel of France 6-2, 6-3.

Steels plays Austrian top seeds Martin Legner in the last eight, while McCarroll will face Switzerland's Daniel Pellegrina and Bailey comes up against Sebastien Husser of France.

Louise Hunt will start her women's singles challenge on Friday's second day of play.

Bailey and McCarroll are second seeds for the men's doubles, while Steels and Dutchman Rody de Bie are fourth seeds. Hunt and Italy's Marianna Lauro are top seeds for the women's doubles.

06/03/13

All the Brits in the men's singles have been drawn in different quarters of the draw, with McCarroll and Bailey both opemning their challenges against Swiss players.

Third seed McCarroll faces Herbert Keller and Bailey plays Raphael Gremion, while Josh Steels will take on Pascal Chessel of France.

Louise Hunt is second seed for the women's singles and takes on Switzerland's Gabriela Buehler in the first round.

05/03/13

Four Brits contest this week's ITF 3 Series Biel-Bienne Indoors, with British men's No. 3 Marc McCaroll looking for his first singles title of the year after finishing runner-up on home soil at the North West Challenge on his seasonal debut, while fellow London 2012 Paralympian and British women's No. 3 Louise Hunt makes her 2013 debut in Switzerland.

McCarroll was a men's singles semi-finalist on his last visit to the Biel-Bienne Indoors in 2011, when he also won the men's doubles.

Hunt's last Biel-Bienne Indoors challenge was also in 2011, when she was a finalist in the women's singles after beating Germany's Katharina Kruger in the semi-finals to secure one of the biggest wins of her career to date.

Dermot Bailey and Josh Steels add to the British entry in the men's events, with Bailey having recently reached his first ITF 3 Series main draw singles semi-final at the North West Challenge after edging out Steels in their first round match.

Meanwhile, Steels goes into this week's Swiss event on the back of winning the men's consolation singles at last week's ITF 2 Series North East Tournament, Britain's second world ranking event on the 2013 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

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