Nick Matthew’s fantastic racketlon debut ended with a fourth-place finish in the Men’s A Doubles alongside partner Dan Busby at the Nick Matthew Steel City Open Racketlon Challenger.
Matthew and Busby won their first match before falling to eventual champions Luke and Leon Griffiths in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, World Champions Zuzana Severinová and Stine Jacobsen won another title together as they beat Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Izzy Bramhall to claim the Women’s Doubles title.
There were also titles for David Bennett, Sam Barker, Kieran Shelley, Matthew Page and Cherisse Lau on day one of the tournament in Sheffield.
Men’s A Doubles – Matthew and Busby Narrowly Miss Out on Podium
All eyes on Friday were on the Men’s A Doubles as three-time World Squash Champion Nick Matthew made his long-awaited racketlon debut. Partnered by Dan Busby, the pair began against Alex Du Noyer and Luke Barnes.
It was a slow start for Matthew, who struggled to read the spin on the table tennis table. Du Noyer and Barnes raced to a 6-0 lead. But Matthew began to find more forehands, hitting a few winners to claw it back to a 21-9 defeat.
Matthew looked more at home on the badminton court, where his athleticism and coordination began to show. Busby and Matthew were competitive but ultimately still found themselves on the losing side. Barnes and Du Noyer won 21-14, targeting Matthew’s serve.
The turnaround began on the squash court. Du Noyer got four points off Busby at the turn, with Barnes getting the honour of facing Matthew. Could he earn himself a point? He could not. Matthew rolled through his 10 points to seal a 21-4 squash win.
The first-round victory was secured on the tennis court, as Busby and Matthew produced a superb performance to win 21-15 and take the match by four points. It has to be said that Matthew’s tennis was his second-best sport. His squash-style tennis was very effective and he rarely made mistakes.
The semi-final against Leon Griffiths and Luke Griffiths proved too much for Matthew and Busby. The Griffiths brothers won 21-15 and 21-4 in their first two sports. Leon then sealed the match by beating Busby to 11 in the first half of the squash. That didn’t stop Luke Griffiths from having a go at Matthew on the squash court. Despite his best efforts – and one frustrating shot into the tin that draw an exasperated gasp from the huge watching crowd – Griffiths could not get a point off the squash star.
Busby and Matthew’s chance of a podium was ended by Eric Durand and Anthony Duthuillé. The Australian-French pair performed very well, securing a six-point victory with an 18-16 tennis set, despite Matthew and Busby winning the squash 21-1.
“It’s just a great day with a really nice atmosphere to be a part of”
Speaking about his first Racketlon experience, Nick Matthew had the following to say.
“I’ve had such a good day and really enjoyed it. I would definitely love to give the singles a go next time.
“The table tennis was the toughest. Once you go above a certain level where players have the techniques to impart so much spin it just makes it impossible for people at my level to be able to compete.
“I think the badminton and tennis I feel I could do alright. But it’s just a great day with a really nice atmosphere to be a part of. I was so impressed with how easily the players are able to switch techniques so easily between the sports.
“Seeing the Griffiths brothers go from badminton where they are so strong to the squash court where they’ve both got really solid techniques is great to see”.
Men’s A Doubles – Griffiths Brothers Overcome Top Seeds in Final
After advancing to the final against Busby and Matthew, the Griffiths Brothers found themselves taking on top seeds Morten Jaksland and Max Plettenberg.
The Danish-German pair had reached the final with a comfortable win over Durand and Duthuillé. They then made a very fast start to the final as they took the table tennis 21-15. The British pair began to battle back though, winning the badminton 21-9 to take the lead.
That gap was further extended in the squash, where Luke Griffiths produced a stunning display to beat Max Plettenberg in the second half and win 21-16. Needing 11 on the tennis court, the brothers did not falter. They lost the tennis set 11-12 but won the match, securing another international doubles title together.
That takes Leon Griffiths to eight international Men’s Doubles titles while Luke Griffiths moves to three. The duo will continue to team up throughout the year as they hunt more titles internationally.
The full Men’s Doubles results are available here.
Women’s A Doubles – Jacobsen and Severinová Cement Their Status as World’s Best
Stine Jacobsen and Zuzana Severinová teamed up once again after last winning the World Doubles Championship in Prague last November. The duo were in a four-player box league alongside Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Izzy Bramhall, Myriam Enmer and Nienke Veldkamp and Susie Dilloway and Jane Galsworthy.
The Women’s Doubles draw went very much to script for the first half of the day. Jacobsen and Severinová beat both Enmer and Veldkamp and Dilloway and Galsworthy before tennis. Ahlmer and Bramhall did exactly the same to set up a blockbuster final between the four racketlon stars.
Ahlmer and Bramhall made the faster start to the final, sneaking the table tennis 21-16. In the end, though, that would be the only set Jacobsen and Severinová would lose all tournament. They romped to a classy 21-7 badminton victory before sneaking a 21-16 squash win as well. The match was sealed with an 8-4 tennis victory to secure them the title.
That victory for Severinová sees her move to 11 Women’s Doubles titles, drawing with Bettina Bugl at No.4 on the all-time list. Stine Jacobsen moves to four overall career Women’s Doubles titles.
British pair Dilloway and Galsworthy completely the podium after beating Enmer and Veldkamp in the bronze medal match.
The full Women’s Doubles results are available here.
Men’s B Doubles – Barker and Bennett Win Thrilling Final to Claim Title
One of the most competitive finals of the day occurred in the Men’s B Doubles as Sam Barker and David Bennett took on Will Gregson and Simon Lau in an all-British final.
Barker and Bennett had battled through their opening two matches, each time recovering after being down before the squash. In their opener, they took out table tennis stars Cameron Leight and Nick Rate. The No.2 seeds Alan Plater and Andy Stenson were their next victims, with a 21-4 squash set and 19-7 tennis set securing a spot in the final.
Gregson and Lau had a tougher route to the final. They endured a proper battle in their opening match. The duo battled past father-son team Oliver and Peter Barton by just five points, winning the tennis set 21-14 to advance. The semi-final was more routine as they comfortably beat top seeds Julian Clapp and Graham King in the semi-finals before tennis.
Barker and Bennett drew first blood in the final, sneaking the table tennis 21-19. A badminton masterclass from Gregson and Lau swung the pendulum in their favour as they triumphed 21-9 to lead by 10 points. Barker and Bennett restored some of the damage with a 21-16 squash win to set up a tense tennis set.
In the end, Barker and Bennett won by two points, winning 21-14 after a late Bennett ace proved decisive. The title is the first Men’s B Doubles crown for both players as they now go in the Men’s B Singles over the weekend.
Stenson and Plater finished third after winning the bronze medal match against Clapp and King.
The full Men’s B Doubles results are available here.
Men’s C Doubles – Page and Shelley Hold Off Top Seeds to Triumph
As with the Women’s Doubles, the Men’s C Doubles box league was decided in the final match of the day. Matthew Page and Kieran Shelley were in the final and they took on Chase Burgess and Leigh Ware.
Both pairs had made light work of their opening two matches. Brandon Petty and Adam Turner and Jonathan Keough and Adam Manuel had both suffered defeats at the hands of the two pairs in the final.
Burgess and Ware made the faster start, sealing a 21-17 table tennis victory. That lead evaporated very quickly. Page and Shelley produced a ruthless 21-7 badminton win and then extended that lead with a 21-17 squash victory. That left the pair needing just eight points on the tennis court – which proved tricky.
Burgess and Ware raced ahead and looked like they could pull off a miraculous comeback. In the end, Page and Shelley snuck through, losing the tennis 8-16 but winning the match by six points. That is the first international title of any kind for both players.
Petty and Turner claimed the bronze after winning a hugely dramatic gummiarm against Keough and Manuel.
The full Men’s C Doubles results are available here.
Girls U21 Singles – Lau Edges Ogram After Late Tennis Comeback
The Girls U21 Singles was a straight shoot-out for the title between currently Girls Singles World No.1 Alexandra Ogram and current Women’s C World Champion Cherisse Lau.
Lau made a seriously fast start, winning the table tennis to 18 and badminton to 5 to lead by 19 points. But Ogram is a phenom on the squash court and produced an extremely mature performance to win 21-2, completely eradicating the 19 point lead to leave a full set of tennis for the title.
The tennis set was nip-and-tuck throughout, with both women unable to fully pull away. Ogram led late on before Lau produced a masterful late surge. Lau overcame Ogram 21-18, in the end, to win a high-quality match by just three points. That is Lau’s first Juniors tile after finishing second in the Girls U21 at the World Championships in Switzerland last year.
The full Girls U21 Singles results are available here.
There was also Mixed Doubles action on Friday, with the A and B grade finals due to take place on Saturday night. A full report on those categories will come at the end of Saturday.
The full results from Day One of the Nick Matthew Steel City Open Challenger can be found here. Keep up with all the results from Day Two of the tournament here.
Follow Racketlon on Facebook and Instagram for more updates on the tournament.
You can also rewatch Nick Matthew and Dan Busby against Luke Barnes and Alex Du Noyer on Facebook. The table tennis and badminton are here, the squash here and the tennis here.
Interested in playing racketlon? Check out the 2022 FIR World Tour here. All tournaments have a range of different age and ability classes to anybody can enter.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
