by Jon Crowell
Arriving in London at 6:40 am on Saturday morning the excitement of match play was still two days away. Despite not having slept at all on the plane, I arrived surprisingly awake with the possibilities of this fabulous tournament at the top of my mind. It was not intentional but, very conveniently, 3 of the 4 US Bathurst Cup team members landed within minutes of each other at Heathrow airport and met up for the second time as teammates in the arrival hall beyond customs.
Having seen each other in Philadelphia for a two-day training camp the month prior, we were happy to reunite with each other on foreign soil and travel together to the Maryleborn Cricket Club (MCC) for the first time. Alongside myself, the 2022 Bathurst Cup team was comprised of Pat Winthrop, Pete Dickinson, and Freddie Bristowe. Freddie was missing from our airport reunion, having arrived a day prior, but we had two others with us to keep us on track throughout the week to come. Affectionately known as “the GMs”, our team general managers were Pat’s wife, Alex, and my wife, Sydney. Without them, much of our planning before and fun during the week would have suffered, so I’ll thank them here at the top of the recap, as I forgot to do in my end-of-tournament speech.
Packing ourselves into the first of many VW Sharans, our many bags completely blocked the view out the back window. However, I’ll argue that’s not saying much, as EVERY Uber in England had more lackluster headroom than there was legroom on the plane. Despite the lack of visibility, our Sharan successfully pulled up to the Grace Gate on St. John’s Wood Road, and we approached the walls surrounding Lord’s cricket ground for the first time. In our minds, this week was all about amateur Court Tennis played at its highest level, but when we announced to the gate attendant, “we’re here for the Real Tennis,” there was a long moment where you could see them processing what we just said. If you didn’t know, Court Tennis is a bit of an add-on to the MCC; it’s legitimately the home of cricket in England.
Skipping past our incredibly impressive practice session to the welcome party that evening, we were greeted by fellow competitors from Australia, France, and the UK. The party was hosted in the beautiful MCC museum and sponsored by Pol Roger, who plied us with ample white wine but little food. Definitely an exercise in restraint, we succeeded in not overindulging and learning much about the ground. Interestingly, Court tennis was added at the MCC in the early 1900s as a way to boost membership. Now they have a waitlist that spans multiple decades.
The earl and countess Bathurst were the guests of honor at the opening cocktail party and also throughout the week, where they avidly spectated from the dedans. This year’s tournament was incredibly special for two reasons. Firstly because it marked the 100th anniversary of the tournament, which was started by the late countess Bathurst in 1922. It’s so special that the countess continues to patronize this tournament and loves its history in spite of admitting to having trouble understanding its chases and hazards. Secondly, an inaugural ladies’ tournament took place alongside the men’s tournament and featured a team of UK women versus ladies from the rest of the world (ROW). A ladies’ tournament has been a long time coming, and we look forward to seeing the day when the US can field a full team as well.
Back on the men’s side, after another fruitful practice day on Sunday, we were ready for the tournament to begin on Monday morning!
In our first match, we drew a French team comprised of Matthieu Sarlangue (#1) and Nicholas Victoir (#2). Matt has consistently been one of the top amateurs in the world, competing in multiple Opens each year, and Nicholas has the most experience in the tournament with 7 Bathurst Cups under his belt. The format of the first match began with reverse singles which meant that our #1 player (Freddie) would play their #2 (Nicholas) in the first match. Freddie was not an unknown going into this international tournament, having previously won the Junior World Championships; however, his performance in New York’s “Below Zero” tournament the week prior dropped his handicap by over 5 points.
It was clear on the French side that they expected a closer match based on their silence as Freddie jumped out to a lead that he never gave up. Freddie finished the match comfortably 6/1,6/3,6/3.
In the second reverse singles, the French were similarly silent at the start as I broke out to a 3-1 lead in the first set. However, Matt rallied with his traditional consistency and took the first set 6-5. In the second set, I again had a quick start going out to a 2-1 lead, but then, unfortunately, I pulled a muscle in my leg. From that point on, I battled my injury and didn’t win another game.
The next day our doubles team of Bristowe and Winthrop took the court and displayed a perfect balance of Freddie’s aggressive striking from the backcourt and Pat’s solid volleys up at the net. Their youth and experience combination finished off the French team in straight sets. This is all the more impressive considering that the only match the UK lost in the final was to this same French doubles team.
On the third day, we had two more singles matches. While Nicolas and I have played twice in the Bathurst and are tied 1-1, a rematch wasn’t in the cards with my injury, so I was happy to sub in Pete Dickinson and see him get a good singles to match against Victoir at #2. Nicholas displayed his experience and didn’t miss much as Pete got his first international cap. Dickinson lost 6/2,6/1,6/1 in a tighter match than the score line indicated.
Now tied 2-2, the match comes down to the last pairing of Bristowe vs. Sarlangue. A perennial slow starter, Freddie played well in the first set but ultimately lost 6/3. He seemed destined also to lose the 2nd set until he found his aggressive backhand again and took it from behind 6/4. Magic struck in the 3rd as Freddie could do nothing wrong and closed it 6/0. With the momentum on his side, and Matt appearing to suffer a wrist injury, we thought that victory was in sight. Unfortunately, Matt’s experience prevailed, and he took the next two sets 6/2. It was a fabulous match that just had us fall short of making it to the final.
No rest for the weary, the matches for the ¾ spot continued the next day, with the US playing Australia. Freddie, now on his fourth day in a row, had his most favorable matchup of the tournament against Paul Rosedale and won fairly comfortably in straight sets 6/3,6/4,6/1. My match against Mike Williams had a very similar result in the opposite direction losing 6/1,6/3,6/4. Where Freddie got stronger as the match against Paul went on, so did I against Michael, testing my injured leg more and more as the match went on. Thankfully I held up in the end and felt confident to play the second singles against Paul on Saturday.
Giving Freddie a break on day 5, Pat and I took on the Aussies and won in nearly straight sets. Somehow both of us took a nap in the 3rd set and lost that one 6/0, but the rest of the match was filled with high-energy rallies. Michael William’s forcing was very impressive throughout the match, but Pat’s volleys from the backcourt caused consistent errors of frustration from the Aussie side. I thankfully got several free points on my railroad, but nonetheless, the match lasted over 2 and a half hours.
On the final day of the tournament, I took the court first against Paul Rosedale in the match of two guys with the closest handicaps in the tournament (both hovering around 10). My aforementioned railroad served me well in the first set as we both shook off our nerves, and I was still anxious about my leg. By the middle of the first set, I had regained my confidence and had surprised him enough to take it 6/3. Paul recovered well in the second, getting over to the serving side more and volleying returns frequently to better than 2. A tough task considering the difficulty of the court. After losing the 2nd set, In the third set, I changed to a high serve and won a few tight deuces to emerge 6/1.
The 4th set was very tight, exchanging the lead a few times until the end of the set when he led 5/4. Not intending the drama, I thankfully was able to steal the set and secure the win with 5 or 6 main wall forces sliding past his racquet. I enjoyed that match tremendously, but I think the crowd was less so!
In the final match of our tournament, Pete was again able to take the court in a dead rubber match against Al Ramsay. Fairing better than in his match against the French, Pete served and retrieved incredibly but couldn’t pull out one final win. I know he will be back to claim revenge in future Bathurst Cups.
Thank you immensely to the USCTA and the USCTPF for their support of this tournament. The competitive drive that this tournament fosters in our US players is exactly what we need to raise our level.
