Nottingham beat the Newcomers

 Air-IT Nottingham started off their 2013/14 campaign with a home win over league newcomers Coolhurst London …

Emma Beddoes 3-0 Lauren Selby – [11-6, 11-5, 11-3]

On the back of an impressive win in Malaysia, Beddoes came out the traps in an unforgiving mood. The two girls are firm friends off the court, however Beddoes showed no sign of weakness against Selby in this 3-0 encounter.

Selby was able to match Beddoes’ aggressive tempo for a large part of the first game, however her efforts were not enough to dampen Emma’s spirits, who pushed through without many mistakes.

It was a similar story in the second and by the third, the pace had worn Selby down a bit and she was unable to maintain the same level as she had in the previous two games. Beddoes looked strong and confident, and she is definitely is in her top form at the moment.

Chris Fuller 3-2 Adam Auckland – [11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 8-11, 11-2]

By far the longest match of the night between a marked contrast in game styles; Auckland who’s aggressive play attempts to close out a match quickly and Fuller who is meticulous, patient and relentless. In the first two games Fuller was able to restrict and punish Auckland through some brutal exchanges which he executed well.

In the third, Auckland found his short game and had a ball! He was able to continue this momentum into the fourth, with Fuller less taken aback and more up to the challenge. Fuller turbo-charged for the fifth and powered through, not giving an inch unless Auckland took it from him. A strong fifth game gave Fuller the win.

Dave Wardle 0-3 Steve London [9-11, 9-11, 5-11]

Dave Wardle brought the majority of Nottingham University along for the ride for his first appearance in an Air-IT Nottingham Squash shirt. The Notts player asked plenty of questions of his Coolhurst opponent Steve London and was able to go point for point throughout the first half of each game. However, the experience and tenacity of London gave him the upper hand when it was time to close out each game and he extended a lead against Wardle.

This was a great performance by London and a deserved win. However, it was also a promising start from the youngest member of the Air-IT Nottingham team, who looks set to continually improve over the season as he finds his feet.

Eddie Charlton 3-0 Ben Coleman – [11-6, 11-9, 17-15]

Two of England’s up and coming players went to battle in this thrilling encounter. Whilst the pace was high throughout, Charlton seemed to maintain an air of control and calm over proceedings. As the match wore on, Coleman began to adjust to the high tempo and was able to keep up with Charlton for longer, matching him rally for rally at times.

In both the second and the third, Coleman was able to gain the upper hand to begin with; however Charlton was able to restrict him with some punishing backhand trials, tipping the scales back in the favour of the Nottingham number two. Charlton’s recent boost in form was evident as he maintained his composure and was able to close out a lengthy and somewhat controversial third game.

Alan Clyne 0-3 Simon Rosner – [5-11, 9-11, 8-11]

This match saw the Scottish number one ‘Clyney’ face off against the German number one Simon Rosner. Rosner got off to an impressive start and the quality of the world number 12 seemed too much for even the dogged Clyne to get to grips with.

Clyne was able to more damage to Rosner’s game in both the second and third due to his relentless retrieval. The seasoned class of the Coolhurst number one shone through in the closing stages of each game and he just seemed to have that bit more in the tank.