By Adrian Kemp
Tennis Invitational
This year’s Silver Racquet Invitational Tennis Singles featured a strong qualification draw which attracted entrants from clubs across the country, as well as from England and France. Three slots in the main draw were up for grabs on Wednesday, with Shep Skiff and Bill Barker both sealing their place in the main event before John Beam edged out Kenny Soffer to secure the final slot.
The Invitational Tennis main draw featured a host of the top-ranked amateurs in the country. Peter Cipriano was the top seed and hoping to win the Silver Racquet title for the first time. The defending champion from 2019, Ben Stein, was seeded three and was joined by two of the top juniors in the world, Freddie Bristowe (seeded 2) and Erik Barker (seeded 4). The main draw play began early on Friday morning with Frenchman Charlie Hurstel facing qualifier John Beam. Beam came out strong, whilst his opponent took some time to get comfortable on the court. The first set was tied at 4-4 before the Parisian hit his stride and closed out the first and followed up, running through the second. The other first-round matches saw comfortable wins for Zach Sacks over Shep Skiff, Bill Barker over Anderson Good, and Pete Dickinson over Phil Stockton. The pick of the Quarter Final matches was between Zach Sacks and fourth seed Erik Barker. After taking the first set and building a 5-2 lead in the second, Sacks looked to be heading towards victory. However, Erik never gave in and managed to claw his way back to 5-5. The deciding game went Barker’s way, and he carried this momentum into the deciding set, clinching it 6/2. The remaining Quarter-Finals all went consistently with seeding, the most notable of which was between Cipriano and Hurstel, a high-quality affair that went Cipriano’s way 6-3 6-3.
Barker and Cipriano faced off in the first Semi-Final where it looked as if the previous day’s exertions had caught up with the youngster. Top-seeded Cipriano played some flawless tennis on his way to a comfortable straight-set victory. In the other Semi, Ben Stein took on Freddie Bristowe in what promised to be a tightly fought battle. The first set was won by Bristowe 6/4 but Stein had set points at 5-3 up in the second. Bristowe fought back to 5/5 but fell behind 40-15 in the deciding game. After saving another two set points Bristowe converted his own and clinched the match.
Cipriano and Bristowe went into the Final with little to separate them, perhaps even less than a fraction of a point difference. A packed gallery was treated to an exhibition of athleticism and shot-making from both players, with neither able to exert control over the scoring. Cipriano played impressively in the early going and won the first set despite sizable resistance from the youngster. Freddie surged in the second set and third sets and showed the class and potential that many see in him. Ultimately his first Silver Racquet victory will set the tone of things to come for the New York-raised prodigy.
New York Open Handicap ‘A’
This year the Open ‘A’ Handicap division featured a full 32 man draw. Handicaps ranged from 4 through to 39, with many matches being played off of large, unforgiving handicaps. Young R&TC member and Squash Doubles Pro Tour player, Kyle Martino, made it through to the Semis, closing out a tightly fought match with Winston Simone Jr. on the way. Elsewhere, Briggs Fraser had been making light work of his opposition in the opening rounds. The two met in the Semi-Finals where they played a virtually level match. Despite Martino’s best efforts the heavy-hitting and improved retrieving of Fraser proved too much for Martino to handle.
In the bottom half of the draw, two players who had competed in the Silver Racquet Invitational, Shep Skiff & Bill Barker, both had strong runs and made it through to the Semis. Skiff had saved match points in his first-round tussle with Charlie Hurstel but had eased through his other matches despite giving away plenty of handicap points. Barker had battled his way through to the semis taking down-home pro-Josh Dodgson en route. The Skiff vs Barker match was incredibly tightly contested with neither player giving up on a ball or dropping their intensity. It was fitting that the match came down to 7-7 and a deciding game. Skiff was thankful that he was able to close it out and reach the Final.
Shep’s success in multiple sports meant a heavy schedule even on Sunday morning. It looked as if the exertion of the morning was going to prove too much, Fraser played beautifully to stretch out to a 4-0 lead. Skiff dug in and ground out a couple of games despite the heavy handicap against him. With the momentum shifting, a couple of errors began to creep into Fraser’s game allowing Skiff to tie up the scores at 7-7. The deciding game saw both players give everything and featured some remarkable shot-making and retrieving. In the end, it was the steadiness of Skiff that allowed him to close out the final crucial points and take the New York Open Handicap ‘A’ title.
New York Open Handicap ‘B’
The ‘B’ division saw the tightest banding of handicaps, with the participants all playing between 40 and 56 handicaps. The close banding produced tight results, with many close matches and very few one-sided scores. Early standout performances came from a pair of R&TC members who both seem to have improved despite extended absences because of Covid, Ned Pierrepont, and Donnie Carey. Elsewhere, Felix Clarke was bamboozling their opposition with some unorthodox but extremely effective shot-making, whilst Squash convert Val Quan made it to the Semis with a couple of 8-7 wins.
The Semi-Finals saw Carey square off against Pierrepont in the early morning Sunday match. Pierrepont was giving away a considerable handicap but produced a display of remarkable concentration and poise. It was enough to reach 7-7, but it was Carey who upped his game at the crucial moment, taking the match 8-7.
Felix Clarke and Val Quan were due to face off in the other Semi-Final. Both players had produced energetic dance floor performances some hours earlier, but unfortunately, Quan had tweaked an ankle and was unable to compete.
The Final was a classic exhibition of handicap tennis. Clarke’s nonchalant style made for entertaining viewing, with Carey using his strong volleying skills to get balls that looked destined to be winners. Carey took an early lead but was pulled back to 5-6, before Clarke finally started to make some errors, Carey taking an 8-5 win.
New York Open Handicap ‘C’
The ‘C’ division is always one of the most interesting and unpredictable events of the weekend. It has become a notable stepping stone for some of the most rapidly progressing players in the game. Inevitably most of those producing strong performances in this draw will continue on to further successes. Many of those competing were new to the event and to the game, a wonderful metric of health for the community. Three of the four Semi-Finalists were part of a rapidly growing New York contingent making waves. The other spot was taken by young Philadelphia member, Jeremy Thompson, who overcame home-court advantage, gunning down three R&TC members in the process.
Nick Dunphy played James Wyper in the first Semi-Final. James is known for his retrieving skills, and they were tested to the limit against Nick who worked the ball into the corners at will. Despite James’s best efforts he was outgunned, Dunphy taking the win and progressing to the Final. The other Semi-Final saw a match-up between two tough competitors; Frasier Esty and Jeremy Thompson. Esty edged his way through a tight battle in his typically composed manner 8-6.
In the Final, Dunphy and Esty battled tightly and both displayed shot-making skills that would be very legitimate in the ‘A’ division let alone the ‘C’. Dunphy managed consistently excellent length on the return, Esty countering with strong volleying when given the opportunity. A vocal crowd enjoyed the high-paced action and were wowed by some fantastic moments of invention from both players. Dunphy was giving away a small handicap (as well as some 30 years in age), but had a slight edge throughout and came out the winner 8-6.
Many thanks go to the R&TC’s superb professionals and staff. The Silver Racquet was once again a fantastic event for spectators and competitors alike.
Click Here to see the Silver Racquet Draw
Click Here to see the New York Open Handicap “A” Draw
Click Here to see the New York Open Handicap “B” Draw
Click Here to see the New York Open Handicap “C” Draw
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Silver Racquet - Peter Cipriano and Freddie Bristowe
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NY Open A - Briggs Fraser and Shep Skiff
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NY Open Handicap B Div. - Donnie Carey and Felix Clarke
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NY Open Handicap C Div. - Nick Dunphy and Frasier Esty
