2018 U.S. Open

Boston Tennis & Racquet Club

By Tony Hollins

Starting on January 23rd, the top court tennis players in the world descended upon Boston to vie for the U.S. Open Singles and Doubles titles, the defending champion and world champion, Camden Riviere, among them.

The Tennis & Racquet Club embraced the event, boasting large crowds starting right from the early rounds.

Away from the club on Tuesday, Jan 24th, the players were treated to a NHL ice hockey game between the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils; a game that Boston won 3-2. This was all courtesy of a generous donor and offered the international players a little American culture along with the tennis club activities; something the players greatly appreciated.

Back on the court, the seeded players were advancing but not without some spirited efforts from their opponents. Tom Durack, for example, pinched the first set from Nick Howell before he steadied the ship, winning the match in 4 sets.

Congratulations to Boston’s own Todd Meringoff and Alex Spence who claimed a solid scalp in the doubles first round over professionals Nino Merola and Matthew Ronaldson.

The highlight matches of the Quarter Finals included an extremely tight doubles match that went all the way to 6-5 in the fifth set as Ben Taylor-Matthews and Darren Long eventually took down Josh Dodgson and Matthieu Sarlangue. In the singles, Steve Virgona managed to hold off a spirited effort from John Lumley, winning in three tight sets 6-3, 6-5, 6-4.

Although the semi-finals were all straight sets, the quality was extremely high. Fahey & Howell def. Taylor-Matthews & Long 6-2, 6-1, 6-3; Riviere & Riviere def. Tanfield & Lumley 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. In the singles Fahey def. Taylor-Matthews 6-2, 6-3, 6-5; Riviere def. Virgona 6-1, 6-1, 6-4.

The seedings in both events held true as #1 seed, Camden Riviere booked his place with #2 seed, Rob Fahey in the singles. The quality of this match, especially in the first two sets, was extremely high as both players tried to impose their respective styles upon the match. The score line of 6-3, 6-2 to Riviere didn’t reflect the tight nature of each game and the length of time that the players had been on court. This lead allowed Camden to use the momentum he had gained and he pushed on to a 3 set victory, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

In the doubles it was also the top two seeds facing off; Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm took on recent Australian Open champions, Nick Howell and Rob Fahey. This was a back a forth affair with Cam and Tim taking a tight first set, that only saw them leading in the latter stages, 6-4. From there it produced some interesting swings in momentum as the remaining sets went 6-0, 1-6, 6-1 to the world champions and #1 seeds, Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm.

Thanks to all of the players for taking time out of their schedules to come to Boston and compete in this year’s Open and thanks for putting on a fantastic show. Congratulations to this year’s champions, Camden Riviere in the singles and Tim Chisholm and Camden Riviere in the doubles.

Another huge thank you to all of the members who came out in numbers to make the atmosphere a special one, the donors, billeteers and supporters who made the event the success that it was, along with the T&R staff and planning committee.

 

Finally, a big shout out to Ryan Carey who tirelessly sat in the Dedans producing the live stream that was seen around the world. To look back on the event please visit the USCTA youtube channel where Ryan has housed all of the matches.

Tuesday, January 23rd
10:30AM – J. Dodgson def. N. Mackenzie 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
12:30PM – L. Smart def. A. Player 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
2:30PM – M. Sarlangue def. A. Spence 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
4:30PM – A. Kemp def. T. Hollins 4-6, 6-5, 6-5, 6-5
6:30PM – M. Gooding def. C. Medlow w/o

Wednesday, January 24th
5:30PM – M. Sarlangue/J. Dodgson def. N. Mackenzie/A. Player 6-0, 6-4, 6-1
7:30PM – A. Spence/T. Meringoff def. N. Merola/M. Ronaldson 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Thursday, January 25th
1:30PM – R. Fahey def. M. Ronaldson 6-5, 6-1, 6-1
3:30PM – N. Howell def. T. Durack 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0
5:30PM – B. Taylor-Matthews def. L. Smart 6-5, 6-0, 6-2
7:30PM – D. Long def. J. Dodgson 6-1, 6-1, 6-3

Friday, January 26th
11:30AM – T. Chisholm def. N. Merola 6-2, 6-3, 6-5
1:30PM – C. Riviere def. A. Kemp 6-0, 6-1, 6-0
3:30PM – S. Virgona def. M. Gooding 6-0, 6-1, 6-1
5:30PM – J. Lumley def. M. Sarlangue 6-0, 6-1, 6-4

Saturday, January 27th
11:30AM – B. Taylor-Matthews def. T. Chisholm 6-1, 6-0, 4-0 ret.
1:30PM – R. Fahey def. D. Long 6-1, 6-0, 6-5
3:30PM – C. Riviere def. N. Howell 6-0, 6-2, 3-0 ret.
5:30PM – S. Virgona def. J. Lumley 6-3, 6-5, 6-4

Sunday, January 28th
11:30AM – R. Fahey/N. Howell def. A. Spence/T. Meringoff 6-0, 6-0, 6-2
1:30PM – T. Chisholm/C. Riviere def. T. Durack/T. Hollins 6-0, 6-0, 6-1
3:30PM – J. Lumley/B. Tanfield def. L. Smart/M. Gooding 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5:30PM – B. Taylor-Matthews/D. Long def. M. Sarlangue/J. Dodgson 6-5, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-5

Monday, January 29th
5:30PM – R. Fahey def. B. Taylor-Matthews 6-2, 6-3, 6-5
7:30PM – C. Riviere def. S. Virgona 6-1, 6-1, 6-4

Tuesday, January 30th
5:30PM – Fahey/Howell def. Taylor-Matthews/Long 6-2, 6-1, 6-3
7:30PM – Chisholm/Riviere vs. Lumley/Tanfield 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Wednesday, January 31st
6:30PM – Camden Riviere def. Rob Fahey 6-3, 6-2, 6-0

Thursday, February 1st
6:30PM – Riviere/Chisholm def. Fahey/Howell 6-4, 6-0, 1-6, 6-1

2018 U.S. OPEN
#18USOpen

TENNIS & RACQUET CLUB
BOSTON
JAN. 23 – FEB. 1