Multiple Nottingham Indoor champion Jayant Mistry produced the only win over a seeded player during Thursday’s opening day of this year’s ITF 2 Series at the City of Nottingham Tennis Centre.
The Leicester-based National champion defeated No 6 seed Francois Xavier Morille (FRA) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 to become one of three Britons to reach Friday’s men’s main draw singles quarter-finals at the final British-based world ranking event of the 2009 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
Mistry is joined in the quarter-finals by current Scotland’s British No 1 Gordon Reid and Nottinghamshire’s British No 2 David Phillipson. Fifth seed Reid plays fourth seed Frederic Cattaneo of France in the last eight after a closely fought 7-5, 6-3 second round victory over Middlesex’s British No 3 Marc McCarroll.
Phillipson also came through an all-British second round match, the seventh seed overcoming Reid’s fellow Scot Kevin Simpson 6-2, 6-1 and will now face Maikel Scheffers (NED) in the quarter-finals.
World No 3 Scheffers eased past Quico Tur (ESP) 6-1, 6-2, while defending champion and second seed Stefan Olsson overcame a tough challenge from experienced Briton Kevin Plowman 6-4, 6-3. Third seed and world No 9 Ronald Vink plays Tom Egberink in the other all-Dutch quarter-final.
There were few surprises in the opening matches in the women’s singles, with all the main protagonists, including Britain’s Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley, progressing to the quarter-finals after straight sets wins.
British No 1 and defending champion Shuker secured a 6-0, 6-1 victory in her opening match against British No 3 Louise Hunt, whilst world No 3 and top seed Florence Gravellier of France eased past Natalia Bakhamatova (RUS) for the loss of just one game.
Shuker plays world No 7 and 2005 Nottingham Indoor champion Jiske Griffioen (NED) in Friday’s quarter-finals. Meanwhile Gravellier plays world No 10 Annick Sevenans (BEL) in an intriguing line-up of quarter-finals matches.
The closest of the day’s women’s singles matches ended with Marjolein Buis (NED) beating Britain’s Anna Tarkowski 6-3, 6-3 and now faces Katharina Kruger (GER) in the last eight.
Warwickshire’s British No 2 Whiley takes on last year’s runner-up and this year’s second seed Aniek van Koot (NED) in the quarter-finals. The 17 year-old world No 1 ranked junior held off a second set fight back from Christine Schoenn (FRA) to win her opening match 6-1, 7-5.
Ten world top 10 ranked players line-up in a field of 70 for this year’s Nottingham Indoor, with eight of them playing their last major tournament before next month’s NEC Wheelchair Tennis Singles Masters in Amsterdam.
The highest ranked player in action this week is Britain’s two-time Paralympic quad singles champion Peter Norfolk. The Hampshire-based world No 2 ranked quad, opened his bid for a fourth Nottingham Indoor title with a comfortable straight sets win over Boaz Kramer (ISR). Norfolk faces Surrey’s John Parfitt in a semi-final line-up that features three British players.
Sussex’s Adam Field reached the semi-final in the bottom half of the draw after beating Cheshire’s Anthony Cotterill 6-0, 6-3. Field’s opponent in the last four will be Dutch second seed and world No 8 Dorrie Timmermans, who beat Middlesex’s Liam O’Reilly in the opening round of matches without dropping a game.
The Nottingham Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, part of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, continues until finals day on Sunday, 1 November. Entry is free to all spectators throughout the tournament.
Article by Marshall Thomas