Club Champs Order of Play & Highlights Day 11

Dear All,

As we head into the heart of the second week of the championships, the matches are hotting up, injuries are developing - at least one player was seen hobbling around the grounds this evening - and the suspense is building.

Tonight saw one of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far as flatmates and besties Jo Weiland and Matt Whitehead faced off in a 2.5 hour thriller. One might have been forgiven for wondering if Jo's mind was elsewhere in the first set, which he lost quite quickly 6-0. However, at the start of the second set, he got into his stride, celebrating valliantly after he won his first game. The crowd went wild.

The atmosphere shifted slightly at that point as Matt joked that it had taken him quite some time to get on the scoreboard. That seems to have fired Jo up and he went on to take that set 7-6. No surprise then that Dom Pearson - who had also been in action earlier that evening - then video called first seed Tom Fenton so that he could watch the rest of the match live (pictured below). As the champ tiebreak got going, Matt began to cramp and Jo kindly offered that he could retire if he wanted, but Matt wasn't having any of it and he ultimately seized it 10-4. Hopefully the atmosphere in the Weiland/Whitehead flat is not too tense this evening....

The other men's quarter final this evening between seventh seed Chris Alstadt and third seed Dom Pearson proved to be rather less gripping, with Dom taking no prisoners. He ran away with the match 6-0, 6-0 in what is surely a warning to all the other seeds left in the draw. More than one spectator surmised that Dom - who asserted his dominance incredibly early on in the match by taking it upon himself to call the lines on both sides of the net - would certainly be in the final. But Matt may have something to say about that...

Elsewhere there was some gripping mixed dubs action on court 7. Gill Kirwan and Nick Stott pushed first seeds Luke Hymas and Emma Michell hard. Nick played out of his skin, nailing ridiculous volleys all over the court in an effort to hold Luke and Emma at bay. But they were having none of it and Luke started to really turn it on in the second set, nailing a smash directly at Gill's head. She appeared unphased by it, however, noting instead that she needed to work on returning Luke's serves. Luke and Emma will now play Hannah Pulford and Joe Tyndall in the next round in what will undoubtedly be a sensational match.

An equally exciting mixed dubs clash graced court 5 this evening, with father daughter duo Hamid and Kiran Irshad taking on Alyson Fox and Benson Yuen in one of the best doubles matches we have seen so far this tournament. Vibrant volleys and titanic tactics were on display on both sides of the net. Benson showed no signs of sleep deprivation despite recently becoming a dad as he darted all over the court hitting volley winners, while Alyson hit some incredible reaction volleys to really push the Irshads in the first set. But Hamid and Kiran grew into the match and once they got into their stride there was no stopping them. They took the second set comfortably.

Tomorrow's matches to watch:

Wonderful Wednesday is star studded and we recommend you get down early to get a good seat for this ludicrous line up. First up, one-time champs and fifth seeds Alex Walker and Benson Yuen take on fourth seeds Joe "Risky" Reeve and Miles Speer in an exciting quarter final match up. But we are not sure you will know where to look because there will also be an awe-inspiring men's dubs semi final between Tom Fenton and Dom Pearson and coaching duo Luke Hymas and Hamid Irshad . That one is going to be wild.

The 745pm session sees some women's semi final action, as 2024 champ Virunee Viravong looks to book her place in a second consecutive single's final. She plays Jane Buswell , fresh from her quarter final victory against fourth seed Jess Bosi . Can she cause another upset?

But again spectators will be spoilt for choice. This slot will also see second and third seeds Jess Moody and Hannah Pulford play one another, while fourth seed Lewis Henderson will play fifth seed Miles Speer in a men's singles quarter final, with Miles looking for revenge after last year's defeat to Lewis in the tournament.

See you there!

Wednesday 25th June Order of Play

18.30
MD QF: A.Walker/B.Yuen [5] vs J.Reeve/M.Speer [4]
WD QF: J.Buswell/H.Pulford [3] vs S.Whitehead/A.Iyengar [5]
WD50+ SF: G.Kirwan/M.Tavassoli [3] vs A.Fox/A.Iyengar [2]
MD SF: T.Fenton/D.Pearson [1] vs L.Hymas/H.Irshad [3]

19.45
MS QF: Miles Speer [5] vs Lewis Henderson [4]
WS SF: Virunee Viravong [1] vs Jane Buswell [7]
WS SF: Hannah Pulford [3] vs Jess Moody [2]
WS50+ SF: Vicky Flind [1] vs Anna Leslie
MD50+ SF: A.Burgis/H.Irshad [1] vs C.Casey/M.Viera [4]