Some of the country’s top tennis players are in action at the University of Bath this week as Team Bath Tennis once again proudly hosts the Aegon British Tour event for both men and ladies.
This year’s open-entry singles competition has a combined prize fund of £3,200 and is, for the first time in Bath, a Tier 1 event meaning it has attracted a stronger overall field.
Aegon British Tour events take place throughout the year and provide professional, university and stronger junior players the opportunity for accessible match play at a good level.
There is an extremely strong local entry in this week’s tournament with 26 players who train at Team Bath with the Academy or University performance programme taking part.
James Mitchell, Mark Rushton-Woods, Matt Sumers, Millen Hurrion, Amelia Stuart and Maria Budin all came through qualifying rounds on Monday and Tuesday to secure a place in the main draw.
Wednesday’s first round includes three all Team Bath clashes – James Davis v Imran Aswat, Maria Budin v Megan Davies, and Tiarnan Brady v James Mitchell.
Team Bath duo Lisa Whybourn – a former winner of the event – and Eden Richardson, a MJ Church sporting ambassador, have received byes into the second round on account of their world rankings and will start their campaigns on Thursday.
Play is taking place across the eight indoor courts at the Sports Training Village and all matches are free to watch, with the finals taking place on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Team Bath MCTA ace Marcus Daniell is through to the second round of the men’s doubles at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Daniell and partner Marcelo Demoliner, who reached the semi-finals of the ASB Classic in New Zealand last week, were 7-6(2) 6-4 winners against Guillermo Duran and Joao Sousa on Wednesday.
They now could potentially face number six seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram should they come through their first-round match against Aliaksandr Bury and Paolo Lorenzi.
Rio 2016 Olympian Daniell, coached by Dave Sammel and Ian MacDonald at the University of Bath, is appearing at his eighth successive Grand Slam tournament.
Report courtesy of Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd.
