Men’s Singles

Chris Doran humbled Grand Prix King Ryan Jenkins to win the Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix at Eldon Leisure.

The giant Doran was exquisite in his touch play as Jenkins was given the runaround in the third and fourth games – something which hasn’t been seen on the Grand Prix circuit in a long time.

Both players had won their three group matches in straight games before advancing to the knockout stages. While Jenkins was dominant in his matches with victories over Terry McLernon, Igor Morais and a comprehensive quarter-final triumph over Gavin Evans, Doran found the going tougher.

He beat Ashley Robinson, David McBeath and Gavin Rumgay in five games as he slowly wore his opponents (and himself) down. The semi-final win, 3-2 (10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6) over the Scot was full of drama and excitement as both players were incredibly vociferous.

The Welshman on the other hand was cruising past Irishman Paul McCreery 3-0 (11-8, 11-2, 11-5) – seemingly on his way to another title.

However, the final was a different matter altogether. Doran forced himself ahead in the first game 10-9 to open the first game point but it was Jenkins who stole it 12-10 in the end.

From there the momentum changed as Doran’s staying power frustrated the Welshman as he levelled 1-1 with an 11-9 game.

In an almost unseen display of dominance, Doran took control at 4-1 and 8-2 in the third, before sealing it 11-4 – for the first time this season Jenkins was being completely overrun.

This was confirmed in the fourth game as Doran ran away with the game 11-1 to win the title in front of a stunned audience who had seen an incredible final.

Women’s Singles

Karina Le Fevre was victorious in an entertaining Women’s Singles final at the Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix as her extra experience counted against Yolanda King.

The pair had both come through as group winners but only after each benefitted from the countback system in their respective groups. Le Fevre’s win over Ashley Givan 3-0 (11-8, 13-11, 11-8) technically knocked the Irish girl out while King benefitted from Lynda Flaws 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-6) win over Natalie Slater.

At the semi-final stage King had an incredibly impressive 3-0 win over top seed Emma Vickers with her aggressive use of extra topspin proving particularly effective.

Le Fevre, meanwhile had a more steady 3-1 victory over Chloe Whyte to reach the final where she raced 7-3 ahead in the first game.

However, King, and her increasingly dominant forehands, worked back into the opener to eventually create a game point opportunity at 10-9. This, Le Fevre would save. She also saved a second at 11-10 before taking her own for 13-11 as her Grand Prix experience counted.

Le Fevre raced through a second game 11-3 to seemingly take control of the match but the youngster from Sussex retaliated in the third game to close the gap with an 11-9 game of her own.

King’s power then forced her into a 5-0 lead in the fourth before Le Fevre fought back to 7-6 and then 9-7 up. However, for the second game in a row, King came back to win four consecutive points and force the match into a decider.

Unfortunately for King that was as close as she got as Le Fevre started quickly in the final game to march into a 6-1 lead which she converted to an 11-5 game and Grand Prix title to boot.

Men’s Under-21s:

Paul McCreery was once again the Men’s Under-21 Champion after he beat a battling Sean Doherty in the final.

Doherty had to win an epic five-game semi-final against Adam Nutland to get to that stage after he fell 2-0 behind. He saved two match points in the fifth game to eventually win the match in deuce 3-2 (13-15, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 13-11).

McCreery had a much easier passage to the final with successive 3-0 knockout wins over Alex Wheeler and Ashley Robinson respectively.

In the final the Irishman stamped his authority on the match early with an 8-0 lead in the opening game which he eventually took 11-4. Doherty closed the second game but still lost it 11-9 as McCreery opened up a 2-0 lead.

However, Doherty was not done there as he fought extremely hard to stay in the match and, after trailing 10-8, he saved two match points to take the third game 12-10 and extend his hopes into the fourth.

It was there that his challenge ended as the top seed McCreery marched home 11-4 and deservedly took another under-21 title home.

Women’s Under-21s:

Yuki Wat added the Women’s Under-21 title to her Band 3 triumph yesterday as a comfortable 3-0 victory in the final over Natalie Slater confirmed her second title of the weekend.

After dramas in the group (poor Chloe Whyte missed out on points countback to Evie Collier and Modesta Vaitkeviciute) it was Wat who was dominant with a 3-0 semi-final victory over Collier.

In the other semi-final Natalie Slater overcame a dogged Ashley Givan 3-1 (7-11, 11-3, 14-12, 11-9) to reach the final. However, Wat proved too much for Slater in the final encounter as she won in straight games.

Veteran’s Singles

Steve Brunskill was the Champion of the Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix Veteran’s singles after a 3-1 victory over Gerry Campbell in the final.

Both men had won their groups comfortably with three 3-0 wins.  Campbell then had to play a quarter-final match against Tony Bostic, which he won comfortably again 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-6), before beating Jim Stamas 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8) in the semi-final.

Brunskill won his semi-final against Stuart Fowler 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-3) and, although he lost his first game of the tournament to Campbell, he still went on to secure the title.

Doubles:


Gavin Evans and David McBeath won the doubles title with a 3-1 win in the final over the mixed duo of Matt Ware and Karina Le Fevre.

Ware and Le Fevre made the final with an outstanding 3-0 win over Igor Morais and Daniel Basterfield after the London-based pair had been given a scratch bye over an absent Damien Nicholls and Chris Doran.

In the other semi-final Evans and McBeath had to battle through five tough games to beat the Scottish pairing of Gavin Rumgay and Craig Howieson 11-6 in the fifth. The Scots had saved a match point at 10-9 in the fourth to force a decider with a 14-12 game.

The final itself was level after the pairs traded the opening games but Evans/McBeath struck the crucial blow when they held their nerve for a 12-10 third game. When the fourth game followed 11-6, the title was theirs.

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Tees Sport Newcastle Grand Prix
Final Results:
Men’s Singles:
Chris Doran bt Ryan Jenkins 3-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 11-1)
Women’s Singles:
Karina Le Fevre bt Yolanda King 3-2 (13-11, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5)
Men’s Under-21s:
Paul McCreery bt Sean Doherty 3-1 (11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4)
Women’s Under-21s:
Yuki Wat bt Natalie Slater 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-6)
Veteran’s Singles:
Steve Brunskill bt Gerry Campbell 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9)
Doubles:
Gavin Evans/David McBeath bt Matt Ware/Karina Le Fevre 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6)
Tees Sport Player of the Weekend:
Sam Mabey