Bolton Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament: Daily updates from Bolton
• 15 MINUTE READ
Day 5
Giulia Capocci of Italy and Dutchmen Maikel Scheffers and Sam Schroder won the women’s, men’s and quad singles titles as the 2019 Bolton Indoor ITF 2 came to an end with Jordanne Whiley narrowly missing out on claiming her third women’s title at the ITF 2 Series tournament.
Unbeaten in nine matches in two weeks after starting her international comeback with victory at last week’s Wrexham Indoor, former world No.3 Whiley began well as she attempted to take her winning streak into double figures. The two-time Bolton Indoor champion struck first for a 4-2 lead, maintaining her advantage to take the opening set before Capocci fought back.
Capocci was the first player to hold serve in the deciding set and earned a 5-3 lead before Whiley saved a match point at 5-4, but ultimately the second seed and world No.5 emerged as the 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 winner in her first ever match against Whiley.
Last November’s Bath Indoor champion, world No.5 and second seed Capocci has now won back-to-back women’s singles titles on her last two visits to Britain. She said: “It’s fantastic, I’m very happy playing here and I played very well this week. I had not watched anyone play her (Whiley) this week as I prefer to work the tactics out for myself rather than rely on watching what others do. ”
Whiley, the Bolton Indoor champion in 2015 and 2016, said: “I didn’t really expect to make any finals this early in my comeback, so I can’t really be too disappointed. I didn’t know what to expect today so to go three sets with her is pretty good. She played some unbelievable tennis and after so many matches over the last 10 days my body is tired.”
Second seed and world No.11 Tom Egberink set the early pace in the men’s singles final as he built on a 3-1 lead, but world No.10 Scheffers followed suit in the second set to level the contest. From 3-1 down in the decider Egberink fought back to take the lead, but Scheffers forced the tie-break and eventually closed out a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory.
After becoming the latest player to add his name to the Bolton Indoor men’s singles roll of honour, Scheffers said: “I think the difference today as that I was able to change my game in the second and the third sets. It was close…7-4 tie-break third set, I love those matches, I love those battles, so I’m a happy man and happy to win Bolton in both singles and doubles.”
Quad singles second seed Schroder secured the first part of a Dutch double on the last day of play at USN Bolton Arena when the 2017 champion recovered from a set down to beat Canadian third seed Rob Shaw 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
With Shaw putting together five games in row to claim the opening set and a 1-0 lead in the second, Schroder gradually began to find his rhythm and wrapped up nine of the last 10 games.
Having already won the quad doubles title on the penultimate day’s play partnering Brit Antony Cotterill, Schroder said: “I’ve been training a lot recently and part of it is showing already, but I know, firstly, that there is a lot more I can do that I didn’t show this week, so I’ve got kind of mixed feelings right now. He’s just a really good player that can put a lot of pressure on me. The final’s always going to be different to any other type of match, but I think I was a very tough opponent to play today.”
The 2019 Bolton Indoor ended with a double-Dutch triumph in the men’s and women’s doubles finals. Top seeds Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren beat fourth seeds Rody de Bie and Egberink 6-3, 6-1 to win the men’s doubles final. Meanwhile, second seeds Aniek van Koot and Michaela Spaanstra eased to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Japanese fourth seeds Kanako Domoti and Saki Takamuro in the women’s doubles decider.
Day 4
Jordanne Whiley booked her place in her second successive women’s single final of 2019 and her third Bolton Indoor final as she set up a title decider against second seed Giulia Capocci of Italy on the penultimate day of play at the USN Bolton Arena.
Meanwhile, the first final of this year’s ITF 2 tournament brought a British winner after Antony Cotterill partnered Sam Schroder of the Netherlands to life the quad doubles title.
Less than a week on from beating world No. 12 Michaela Spaanstra of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Wrexham Indoor, Whiley reeled off the last three games of the opening set against the fifth seed this week and served out for a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
"Today's semi-finnal was more difficult than last week, even though the score was better for me. Michaela played a lot better today, but after beating her last week I knew I could beat her agai," said Whiley,
World No. 5 Capocci took the opening set against Germany’s Katharina Kruger 6-3 in the other semi-final before Kruger had to retire. Capocci will now play 2015 and 2016 Bolton Indoor champion Whiley for the first time.
The men’s singles final will be an all-Dutch affair after top seed and world No. 10 Maikel Scheffers beat Spanish third seed Daniel Caverzaschi of Spain 6-1, 6-4 and second seed Tom Egberink also defeated his Spanish semi-final opponent Martin de la Puente 7-5, 7-5.
There will be a third Dutch singles finalist in the quad singles after second seed and 2017 Bolton Indoor champion Schroder won his semi-final against Korea’s Kyu-Seung Kim 6-3, 6-2.
Schroder will play Canadian third seed and last week’s Wrexham Indoor champion Rob Shaw in Saturday’s final. Shaw kept himself on course for possible back-to-back titles when winning his semi-final against Israeli eighth seed Shraga Weinberg 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Schroder already has one winner’s trophy to take home after partnering Cotterill to win the quad doubles final. The top seeds built on a 4-0 first set lead to beat Ymanitu Silva of Brazil 6-1, 7-6(2)
There will be another all-Dutch final in the men’s doubles as Scheffers and Egberink meet for a second time on Saturday. Top seeds Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren beat de la Puente and Jef Vandorpe 6-3, 6-1 in Friday’s semi-finals, while Egberink and Rody de Bie won a tense contest against second seeds Frederic Cattaneo and Caverzaschi 4-6, 6-3, (10-5) after a match tie-break.
Whiley and the USA’s Dana Mathewson saw their bid for back-to-back women’s doubles titles come to an end as last week’s Wrexham Indoor champions bowed out to second seeds Spaanstra and Aniek van Koot 7-5, 6-4.
Spaanstra and van Koot will play Japanese fourth seeds Kanako Domori and Saki Takamuro in the final after Domori and Takamuro were awarded a walkover ahead of their semi-final.
Order of Play - Saturday, 23 February
Day 3
Jordanne Whiley moved ever closer to another Bolton Indoor women’s singles final after the two-time champion beat Louise Hunt 6-0, 6-1 in Thursday’s quarter-final at the USN Bolton Arena. Whiley, who has now stretched her unbeaten sequence for 2019 to eight matches, will now play fifth seed Michaela Spaanstra in a semi-final for the second straight week after defeating the Dutch world No.12 in straight sets in Wrexham last weekend.
Spaanstra caused something of an upset after coming from behind to beat her compatriot and 2017 Bolton Indoor champion Marjolein Buis 4-6 6-3 6-2.
The other women’s singles semi will see Italy’s world No.5 Giulia Capocci continue her bid to make it back-to-back titles in successive visits to British shores after last October’s Bath Indoor champion also came from behind to beat fourth seed Dana Mathewson of the USA 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Next up for Capocci is a semi-final against world No.9 Katharina Kruger, the runner-up to Whiley in Wrexham last weekend, who, also move closer to making it back-to-back finals after defeating Charlotte Famin of France 7-5, 6-4.
Whiley and Mathewson kept themselves on course for a second women’s doubles title in as many weeks after sweeping past third seeds Hunt and Famin 6-0, 6-2 to book a place in the semi-finals.
Dutch and Spanish players remain in the hunt for the men’s singles title, with players from both nations set to contest both of Friday’s semi-finals.
Top seed Maikel Scheffers eased through his quarter-final against Chile’s Alexander Cataldo 6-2, 6-1 as countryman and second seed Tom Egberink ended the challenge of Japan’s Takuya Miki 6-3, 6-2.
Spain's Dani Caverzaschi and Martin de la Puente both had tougher assignments, but third seed Caverzaschi completed his win over Wrexham Indoor finalist Ruben Spaargaren 6-4, 7-6(3) to deny a third Dutch player of the chance of making the last four. Meanwhile, fourth seed de la Puente finished strongly to win his quarter-final against Belgium’s Jef Vandorpe 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-0.
Players from four different nations line up for the quad singles semi-finals, with Sam Schroder of the Netherlands the only previous champion left in the draw after the 2017 victor raced to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Germany’s Marcus Laudan.
There will only be one player with the surname Shaw in the quad semi-finals after the Brit challenge in the event came to an end on Thursday’s third day of play. Britain’s James Shaw made a fine start to his quarter-final against Korean fourth seed Kyu-Seung Kim before Kim fought back to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Rob Shaw remains on course to follow up his Wrexham Indoor quad title after defeating Richard Green, the other Brit in the quarter-finals, 6-1, 6-2. Canadian third seed Shaw plays Israel’s former world No.1 Shraga Weinberg for a place in the final after Weinberg ended the challenge of 2015 champion Anders Hard of Sweden 6-0, 7-5.
As the third day of play neared its conclusion Antony Cotterill became the first Brit to reach a final at the 2019 Bolton Indoor. Cotterill and Schroder, the quad doubles top seeds, edged to a tense 6-3. 1-6, (10-7) victory over Robert Shaw and Weinberg. With both semi-finals being settled after deciding match tie-breaks Cotterill and Schroder will play Hard and Ymanitu Silva in Friday’s final.
Order of Play - Friday, 22 February
Day 2
Less than a week on from making her return to international competition follow maternity leave, Jordanne Whiley extended her 2019 winning streak to seven matches as the top seeds bowed out of both the women’s singles and quad singles on the second day of Bolton Indoor.
Whiley came back from 2-0 down in both sets of her second round match against Dutch top seed and defending champion Aniek van Koot to beat the world No.3 7-6(3), 6-4. Whiley continues her bid for a third Bolton Indoor title since 2015 with an all-Brit quarter-final on Thursday against seventh seed Louise Hunt, whose 6-0, 6-0 win over Turkey’s Busra Un was gave Hunt her second win in successive days without dropping a single game.
Joining Whiley and Hunt in the last eight is 2017 champion Marjolein Buis, also a 6-0, 6-0 winner over the USA’s Elizabeth Williams. With Whiley and Hunt guaranteeing a British semi-finalist, Buis and fifth seed Micha Spaanstra ensure that there will also be a Dutchwoman in the semi-finals after Spaanstra recovered from a slow start to beat Sweden’s Rebacka Bellander 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Italian second seed Giulia Capocci and the USA’s Dana Mathewson will play each other for a semi-final berth, as will German fourth seed Katharina Kruger and French eighth seed Charlotte Famin, with Kruger recording one of three 6-0, 6-0 wins on the day.
Seven of the eight seeds will contest the men’s singles quarter-finals after Japan’s Takuya Miki reversed the outcome of his semi-final against Frederic Cattaneo of France at last week’s Wrexham Indoor. Cattaneo beat Miki in a final set tie-break a week ago, but former world No.6 Miki took his opportunities on Wednesday to win 6-2, 6-2 and set up a quarter-final against Dutch second seed Tom Egberink. Egberink ended Brit hopes after beating Dermot Bailey 6-2, 6-1.
Top seed Maikel Scheffers won his all-Dutch second round contest against Rody de Bie in straight sets and goes on to play Chilean Alexander Cataldo, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over experienced Hungarian Laszlo Farkas.
Spanish players will contest each of the other two men’s quarter-finals as third seed Dani Caverzaschi faces Dutch fifth seed Ruben Spaargaren and fourth seed Martin de la Puente takes on Belgian sixth seed Jef Vandorpe.
With Brits James Shaw and Richard Green already into the quad singles quarter-finals, Sweden’s Anders Hard hit the headlines on the second day of play when he edged out Brazilian top seed and world No.8 Ymanitu Silva 6-4,2-6, 7-5. Hard, the 2015 Bolton Indoor champion, plays Israel eighth seed Shraga Weinberg for a semi-final place.
Canadian third seed 2018 Bolton Indoor semi-finalist Rob Shaw also advanced in three sets, defeating Bianca Osterer of Germany 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Rob Shaw now plays seventh seed Green.
With sixth seed James Shaw having won his opening match of the week 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday, Korean Kyu-Seung Kim matched the Brit’s achievement to book his place in the last eight against Shaw.
Meanwhile, 2017 Bolton Indoor quad singles champion and this year’s second seed Sam Schroder ensured that the Brit presence in the quarter-finals was kept at two players after defeating Antony Cotterill 8-1, 6-0. Schroder meet Germany’s Marcus Laudan in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Cotterill and Schroder are also doubles partners and the top seeds won through to the quad doubles semi-finals in straight sets.
Order of Play - Thursday, 21 February
Day 1
Two-time women’s singles champions Jordanne Whiley and Aniek van Koot will meet for a place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday’s second day of Bolton Indoor after Whiley opened her bid for back-to-back singles titles in Britain with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
With 2014 and 2018 champion and top seed van Koot one of the players to have a first round bye, Whiley beat fellow Brit Debbie Brazier comfortably as the 2015 and 2016 champion began her attempt to follow up on her Wrexham Indoor title.
There were also 6-0, 6-0 win for Whiley’s fellow Brit and seventh seed Louise Hunt, Sweden’s Rebecka Bellander and Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana.
There were no fewer than four three-sets matches among the 10 completed women’s singles contests as Japan’s Saki Takamuro and Kanako Domori both recovered to advance after being a set down in their respective matches against Emmanuelle Morch of France and Donna Jansen of the Netherlands,
Turkey’s Busra Un also came back from a set down to beat Britain’s Cornelia Oosthuizen 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and will now play Hunt for a place in the last eight. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Williams also beat Pauline Helouin of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to join fellow American Dana Mathewson in the second round.
With all eight seeds in the men’s singles having first round bye, British No.2 Dermot Bailey was among the player to advance to the round of 16. Bailey will play Dutch second seed Tom Egberink next after beating Israel’s Guy Sasson 6-1, 6-4.
Japan’s Takuya Miki will play seventh seed and last week’s Wrexham Indoor men’s singles champion Frederic Cattaneo next after beating Israel’s Adam Berdichevsky in straight sets, while Finland’s Taneili Tenhunen will face Wrexham Indoor runner-up Ruben Spaargaren after earning another straight sets win.
The day’s only three set match in the men’s singles ended with Nico Langmann defeating fellow Austrian Martin Legner 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 with Langmann set to play third seed Dani Caverzaschi of Spain for a place in the quarter-finals. Top seed Maikel Scheffers will play fellow Dutchman Rody de Bie after de Bie claimed the only 6-0, 6-0 victory in the men’s singles first round.
After eight matches on the opening day of the quad singles, Brits James Shaw and Richard Green and Israel’s Shraga Weinberg were among the first four players to book quarter-final spots, Green and Weinberg advancing in straight sets. They are joined in the last eight by Germany’s Marcus Laudan, who beat fifth seed Mika Ishikawa 6-0, 6-4, with Ishikawa becoming the first seeded player to exit any of the main draw singles events.
Antony Cotterill made it a largely successful day for the British players in the quad singles draw after racing past Italy’s Alessandro Bernardi 6-0, 6-0. Cotterill plays 2017 champion and second seed Sam Schroder for a place in the quarterfinals, while a 6-0, 6-3 win for 2015 quad singles champion Anders Hard of Sweden means that Hard will play Brazilian top seed Ymanitu Silva for a quarter-final spot.
Preview
Five former champions - three in the women's singles and two in the quad singles - are among more than 80 players from 22 countries lining up for this week's Bolton Indoor ITF 2 Series.
As international wheelchair tennis returns to the USN Bolton Arena for the sixth successive year, Bolton Indoor is the second of seven world ranking events on the International Tennis Federation's UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour that will take place in Great Britain in 2019.
A new name will be added to the Bolton Indoor men's singles roll of honour this year, with seven world Top 20-ranked players vying for this 2019 title.
Defending champion Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands and Britain’s Jordanne Whiley are both former two-time women's singles champions in Bolton, with van Koot one of four Top 10 women's singles players in this year's line-up. World No.7 Marjolein Buis, the 2017 chanpion, also joins Italy's world No.6 Giulia Capocci and Germany's world No 9 Katharina Kruger amonog the top four seeds.
Whiley is bidding for back-to-back singles titles in successive weeks after winning last week's Wrexham Indoor ITF 3 in her first international tournament since returning from maternity leave.
Former champions Sam Schroder of the Netherlands and Anders Hard of Sweden are among the entries for the quad singles, for which Brazil’s world No.8 Ymanitu Silva is top seed.
