Berkhamsted Linksap Open: England’s Gear and Lee Victorious

The Berkhamsted Linksap Open came to its conclusion on Sunday afternoon at the Berkhamsted Lawn Tennis and Squash Racquets Club in England, with a home duo of Joe Lee and Grace Gear taking home the titles from the Challenger 10 level tournament.

Lee came into the event as the tournament’s No.4 seed, and the Englishman started his campaign with a comfortable victory against compatriot and wildcard Hasnaat Farooqi, winning in straight games. He then defeated Israeli No.1 Daniel Poleshchuk in four games to move through to the semi-finals.

The 32-year-old then overcame another Englishman, Ben Smith, in a mammoth three-game contest. He won the first two games easily, but then saw the third game go the distance, eventually winning it 21-19, to end the match after 99 minutes. The final was a much more simple affair for Lee, as he defeated No.3 seed Rory Stewart in straight games in just 41 minutes, with a first game tie-break being crucial en route to his victory, his first in twelve months.

The women’s event saw top seed Grace Gear come through to take victory, her third title of the campaign. She started the week with a win over Hong Kong’s Cheng Nga Ching, before then downing No.8 seed Torrie Malik to make it through to the last four. The Englishwoman then defeated Egypt’s Rana Ismail to make it into the final of the Challenger 10 level tournament.

Gear took on Egypt’s Zeina Zein in the final of the competition, with the young Egyptian aiming to win in back to back weeks after her victory in Hove on Sunday. However, it was the Englishwoman that was able to claim her third title of the campaign, after coming through a tough five-game battle which lasted more than 50 minutes, winning the decider 11-5 to add to her two previous wins in the season.

*Results: Berkhamsted Linksap Open*
*Men’s Final*
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [3] Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-9 (41m)

*Women’s Final*
[1] Grace Gear (ENG) bt Zeina Zein (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5 (52m)

*Men’s Semi-Finals*
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 21-19 (99m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [1] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5 (66m)

*Women’s Semi-Finals*
Zeina Zein (EGY) bt [7] Anna Kimberley (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (25m)
[1] Grace Gear (ENG) bt Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (31m)

*Men’s Quarter Finals*
Ben Smith (ENG) bt [5] Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 3-11, 11-6, 11-6 (68m)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 (50m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [7] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9 (80m)
[1] Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt [8] Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5 (51m)

*Women’s Quarter Finals*
[7] Anna Kimberley (ENG) bt Emma Bartley (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-2, 11-3 (22m)
Zeina Zein (EGY) bt [5] Alison Thompson (SCO) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (27m)
Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [3] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4 (39m)
[1] Grace Gear (ENG) bt [8] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 15-13, 11-3 (45m)

*Men’s Round One*
Ben Smith (ENG) bt [2] Rui Soares (POR) 3-1: 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4 (33m)
[5] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 (35m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [6] Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 (42m)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [WC] Hasnaat Farooqi (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (32m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
[7] Curtis Malik (ENG) bt Miles Jenkins (ENG) 3-2: 11-1, 4-11, 5-11, 11-3, 11-1 (49m)
[8] Emyr Evans (WAL) bt Seif Shenawy (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6 (64m)
[1] Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt Sean Conroy (IRL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (35m)

*Women’s Round One*
Emma Bartley (ENG) bt [2] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-6 (29m)
[7] Anna Kimberley (ENG) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-1: 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (51m)
[5] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Kiera Marshall (ENG) 3-2: 11-6, 13-11, 11-13, 3-11, 11-7 (63m)
Zeina Zein (EGY) bt [4] Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0: 11-5 rtd (5m)
[3] Miilie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Sofia Aveiro Pita (POR) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 (30m)
Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [6] Ali Loke (WAL) 3-1: 11-2, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (33m)
[8] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Saran Nghiem (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (41m)
[1] Grace Gear (ENG) bt Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (26m)