28/05/13
Bristol's Steve Metcalfe secured a local West Country victory in the men's singles at the Oxstalls Wheelchair Tennis Development Series event in Gloucester, while Newport's Debbie Brazier also made the slightly longer journey from South Wales pay dividends when she won the women's singles.
With the 12 players in the men's singles divided into four round-robin groups for the qualification phase of the men's singles. Jersey's James Brady, who was previously successful at Oxstalls Tennis Centre when the National Wheelchair Tennis Championships were held there, advanced to the quarter-finals after winning both his round-robin matches. Brady went through along with Portsmouth's Karl Ives, who is only in his first season playing wheelchair tennis.
South Wales South Wales player Martin French was also undefeated in his group and advanced to the last eight alongside Shahzad Afzal, the winner of the Leeds Wheelchair Tennis Development Series event, while Tony Tibbs added to the quota of South Wales players in the quarter-finals as he progressed alongside Metcalfe, Pat Seaward and James Shaw.
With the quarter-finalists again playing one tie-break set, Metcalfe, French, Tibbs and Seaward all secured the vital service breaks in their respective matches to complete the semi-final line-up, before Metcalfe beat French 6-3, 6-3.
Tibbs prevailed in the closest of the weekend's men's matches, edging out Seaward 6-2, 7-5, (10-5) after a championship tie-break and he again provided stiff opposition for Metcalfe in the final before the Bristolian got the better of a first set tie-break en route to wrapping up a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory.
The women's singles was played out as a four-way round-robin event, with Brazier winning two of her three matches in straight sets, defeating local Gloucestershire player Emma Aldred-Tow 6-1, 6-2 and Lancashire's Helen Bond 6-4, 6-3.
Shropshire's Val Fisher also beat Aldred-Tow and Bond in straight sets to set up a decider against Brazier, who eventually held on in a championship tie-break for a 1-6, 6-3, (10-5) victory.
There was a another exciting finish to the the women's doubles, as Brazier and Fisher beat Aldred-Tow and Bond 7-6(8) after a conventional match tie-break, while the Lancashire duo of Afzal and James Ascroft edged top seeds Matcalfe and Ives 7-5 to claim the mixed doubles event.
View the latest Development Series points table here.