Pim Palmen picked up two titles as Oxstalls Sports Park, Gloucester hosted the Tennis Foundation’s latest Wheelchair Development Series event, with competitors coming from Wales, Jersey, Southampton, London and more locally, from Gloucester and Bristol.
Alongside familiar faces such as 2013 winner Steve Metcalfe, Steve Crompton, winner of the Development Series in 2012 and Palmen, a world top 100 ranked player, there were a number of newcomers, including Buckinghamshire’s Joshua Card, who began his first ever tournament with a 6-3, 2-6, (10-0)victory over Cardiff’s Tony Tibbs.
Card was one of three players to win their first round matches in a match tie-break. They included Anthony Evans, but a second successive match tie-break for Evans ended in a 5-7, 7-6, (10-9) loss to second seed Crompton, who went on defeat fourth seed Shahzad Afzal 6-3, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
Palmen beat Card 6-2, 7-5 in the quarter-finals before ending Metcalfe’s bid for a second successive title in Gloucester with a 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory over his hitting partner and doubles partner. The Dutch-born player cinched the title after beating Crompton 6-1, 6-2 in a hotly contested final. .
Jersey’s James Brady defeated Tibbs 6-1, 6-1 in the consolation singles final.
The doubles began with two round-robin pools of three partnerships, Crompton and Pat Seaward winning both of their one-set contests in a tie-break to advance to the final.
Meanwhile, Metcalfe and Palmen dropped just one game across their two round-robin matches to also book their place in the final before defeating Crompton and Seaward 6-2, 6-2.
Metcalfe and Palmen were among the players using the event as a warm for the British Open in Nottingham in July.
“The event was a great success, with some excellent tennis over the weekend and all the players really enjoyed the tournament,” said Darren Morris, Tennis Performance Officer for Oxstalls Sports Park, which is managed by Aspire Sports & Cultural Trust.