Chris Doran was in scintillating form to regain the Hunts 2* Open Men’s Singles title which he won five years ago at the inaugural tournament.
The fifth year of the event, sponsored by Alconbury Weald and Top Spin Sports, brought a host of fantastic talent to St Ives One Leisure.
Junior Competition Day
On Juniors Day, everyone was introduced to the Hee brothers from Singapore. 11-year-old Benjamin Hee was first to announce his arrival on the England circuit by winning the U13 boys’ title over Aadil Anand (Mi).
His older brother Joseph then introduced himself by taking both the Cadet Boys’ and Junior Boys’ titles. He saw off Jamie Liu (Bk) in the Cadet final and Anand in the Junior Boys final.
The U21 Men’s Singles was not contested by the Hee brothers and so this was left to Mitchell Jones (Bd) who was in brilliant form. He overcame James Kelly (Ca) in the semis before dispatching Israel Awolaja (Mi) in a straight sets final. Awolaja came through a crowd-pleasing semi in five sets against Matthew Evans (Bd).
In the girls’ events, Anaya Patel (Bk) dominated in the U13 and Cadets, winning both titles. In the U13 she saw off Scarlett O’Neil (K) in the final in straight sets. However, in the Cadet final we were treated to a most scintillating five-setter which she won against Lois Perryman (K).
The Junior Girls and U21 Women events were dominated by Sarah Menghistab (Mi), who took both titles in gruelling five-setter finals against Tiana Dennison (E).
Seniors Competition Day
On the Seniors Day, Chris Doran showed that he is almost back to his brilliant best by taking both the Men’s Singles and Band 1 titles. He prevailed over No 3 Adeoye Adewale (E) in a brilliant attacking and counter-attacking final of the Men’s Singles before dismissing Niall Cameron (Sco) in a similar fashion in the Band 1 final.
On his way to the final at the top of the draw, Doran saw off Cameron in the semis and Mitchell Jones (Bd) in the quarters. In the bottom half of the draw, No 2 Seed Michael O’Driscoll (Y) endured a shock defeat to the new kid on the circuit, 14-year-old Joseph Hee from Singapore. Joseph then went out to Federico Viterbo (Sy) in the quarters. Adewale dismissed Marek Kurowski (Ca) in the quarters and then Viterbo in the semis.
Men’s Band 2 was won by Jamal Dennison (Sy) in a fantastic five-setter against Matthew Evans (Bd). Dennison saw off Adam Jepson (Ca) in the semis and Rory Scott (Sx) in the quarters. Evans came through against Miroslaw Pazdzior (Ca) in the semis and Jarek Klamut (Hp) in the quarters.
Men’s Band 3 saw the continued dominance of the Hee brothers from Singapore. Joseph Hee triumphed against Benjamin in a fantastic five-setter finishing 12-10. Joseph beat Matthew Currant (Nk) in the quarters before seeing off Kevin Nicholls (Dv) in the semis.
In the Women’s Singles Tiana Dennison (Sy) continued her success of the previous Juniors Day by taking both the Women’s Singles and Band 1 titles. In the Women’s Singles, Tiana saw off Carrie Cope (Ca) in the semis before overcoming Lauren Evans in straight sets in the final.
Lauren came through a hard fought battle with newcomer to the tournament, Feifei Pei (Sy) in her semi-final match. In the Women’s Band 1 final, Tiana was met by a determined Feifei and came through in four.
The Veterans’ Singles was won by local player Marek Kurowsi (Ca) who saw off the challenge of Rory Scott in a straight sets final. Kurowski overcame Alex Facey (Ca) in the quarters and then Miroslaw Pazdzior (Ca) in the semis. On his way to the final, Rory Scott (Sx) saw off Kevin Nicholls in the quarters before defeating Sean Molloy (Nk) in a gruelling five-setter.
Results
U21 Men (19 Entries) Mitchell Jones (Bd) bt Israel Awolaja (Mi) 4, 5, 5
U21 Women (6 Entries) Sarah Menghistab (Mi) bt Tiana Dennison -9, -5, 8, 8, 3
Junior Boys (31 Entries) Joseph Hee (Singapore) bt Aadil Anand (Mi) 6, 11, 8
Junior Girls (10 Entries) Sarah Menghistab (Mi) bt Tiana Dennison (E) 7, -11, -5, 8, 10
Cadet Boys (22 Entries) Joseph Hee(Singapore) bt Jamie Liu (Bk) 3, 4, 5
Cadet Girls (9 Entries) Anaya Patel (Bk) bt Lois Perryman (K) 13, 10, -8, -9, 2
U13 Boys (10 Entries) Benjamin Hee (Singapore) bt Aadil Anand (Mi) 7, -8, 10, -8, 5
U13 Girls (9 Entries) Anaya Patel (Bk) bt Scarlett O’Neil (K) 8, 6, 5
Men’s Singles (60 Entries) Chris Doran (Np) bt Adeoye Adewale 5, -9, 9, 8
Men’s Band 1 (5 Entries) Chris Doran (Np) bt Niall Cameron (Sco) 4, 3, 10
Men’s Band 2 (15 Entries) Jamal Dennison (E) bt Matthew Evans (Bd) 11, 7, -8, -7, 9
Men’s Band 3 (36 Entries) Joseph Hee (Singapore) bt Benjamin Hee (Singapore) -9, 9, 7, -3, 10
Veterans Singles (25 Entries) Marek Kurowsi (Ca) bt Rory Scott (Sx) 7, 7, 6
Women’s Singles (8 Entries) Tiana Dennison (E) bt Lauren Evans (St) 7, 1, 5
Women’s Band 1 (8 Entries) Tiana Dennison (E) bt Feifei Pei (Sy) 8, -9, 11, 4