The Tambour Development Tour Event 2025 at HHTC

This Weekend Hatfield played host to the latest leg of the Tambour Development Tour over the weekend and it proved to be an excellent weekend for Hatfield Professional James Law!

James got proceedings off to a great start on Saturday as he raced through the first set of his Quarter-Final match 6/0 against Tim Armstrong of Seacourt in the first match of the day. James, who many of you will know had a bit of an injury scare earlier in the week when he pulled a calf muscle on court, played perfect controlled tennis, barely making a mistake and never giving Tim a chance to get used to the court. The second set proved to be a much tighter affair though with both players sharing games throughout the set until Tim eventually moved 5/4 ahead and looked to be taking it into a deciding set now that he was fully in tune with the court and making far fewer mistakes, with more purpose to his shots. James though very aware he didn't want any more court time than absolutely necessary, remained composed and gradually clawed back one point at a time, occasionally with a bit of fortune, before taking it to 5/5 and 40-15 up when his 7th Dedans of the match closed out a well deserved victory and a place in the Semi-Final.

The 2nd match of the day was a fairly quick encounter as Nick Jamieson of Radley blitzed Jez Brodie of Bridport 6/0 6/1 in about 45 minutes to mark himself down as one of the favourites for the event. Nick had been down for 2 practices during the week which definitely made a difference as he looked much more confident on the court and dominated from start to finish.

The 3rd match featured ex-Hatfield member and Leamington Professional Chris Aley against Adam Player from Wellington, who having played National League with James for the last few seasons probably knows the court better than Chris these days. This on paper was the match of the first round given their very close handicaps and knowledge of the court, not to mention the fact they have faced each other a lot recently, almost always ending in a tight 3 set match whoever came out on top. Sadly for Chris though that wasn't the case this time as perhaps due to trying a bit hard on his return home he never quite managed the consistency he would expect these days and Adam ran out a 6/3 6/2 winner although the fact that Adam only actually won 14 more points than Chris shows it was actually a much closer match than the score suggests, Adam just managing to take the big points at key moments.

The final match of the day ended up being the closest match by far as Alex Dyter of Jesmond Dene, the only amateur in the event, took on Radley Professional Alex Machin in what proved to be an epic battle. It was Alex Dyter who managed to take the first set 6/3 using his height and reach to great effect, covering the court well and making fewer mistakes than his opponent but roles reversed in the second set as Alex Machin cut out a number of his mistakes and was more clinical with the easier balls and he ended up taking it 6/3 to bring us to our first deciding set of the tournament. Not surprisingly the deciding set was nip and tuck all the way with neither player quite able to take control and some brilliant retrieving and shot making was mixed in with some unforced errors from both before it came down to the inevitable 5 all game. In the end it was Alex Dyter who took the all important game to set up a semi-final with Hatfield Pro James Law on the Sunday.

The first semi-final was between Adam Player and Nick Jamieson and ended up being every bit as tight as everyone expected it to be. Adam got off to a strong start moving 2/0 up before Nick closed it up to 2/2, from there they swapped games to 4/4, Adam always taking the lead only for Nick to get it back again before at 5/4 Nick got his nose in front for the first time in the match and then played a very strong game to close out the set 6/4 to take a hold on the match. Adam was by far the most experienced player in the draw though and kept his composure well moving into the second set as he once again got ahead, this time taking a 3/1 lead and looked as though he was taking control again on the match and sending us in to a deciding set. At this point though Adam got a little bit sloppy and lost some of the intensity and control he had shown and Nick showed a lot of maturity to claw back one game at a time to move 5/3 up and appear destined for the final. Whether nerves at seeing the finishing line or a little lack of concentration he got a bit pushy and allowed his opponent back in and Adam wasn't about to miss the opportunity and he closed back up to 5/5 to send the set into a deciding game. Nick really stepped up in the final game of the set though, moving 40-0 up before a couple of slightly tentative points allowed Adam back to 30/40 but a beautiful cut shot under the grille closed out the win for Nick to take a very well deserved place in the final.

The second semi-final really couldn't have been much different as James was in totally ruthless form against Alex Dyter, much as he had been in the first set of his first match. James served really tightly, barely made an unforced error, put the ball away whenever he had the opportunity and never gave Alex a sniff as he raced through 6/1 6/1 in 38 minutes to take his place in the final against Nick. Alex didn't really do much wrong he just never managed to get any kind of foothold or exert any pressure on James due to James's consistency from start to finish.

This meant that James took his place in the final for the loss of only 7 games in his first 2 matches and started as strong favourite for the title despite Nick's strong form up to this point and it looked very much like this would be the case as James continued his ruthless form taking the first set 6/0 in only 16 minutes to make it 5 sets for the loss of only 7 games so far in the tournament. Nick though had showed a very mature approach up to this point in the tournament and is certainly not a player who lacks confidence and it was huge credit to him that he had a real reset in the second set and was a different player from that moment onwards. James had barely made a mistake in the first set, much as he hadn't for most of the tournament so Nick knew he would need to up his own intensity to put James under any sort of pressure and that he did, putting more weight in his shots and cutting out his own unforced errors to get a foothold in the match and from that moment on it was a brilliant final. Momentum shifted and although most games were very tight and the standard of play extremely high, Nick moved through to a 5/1 lead and we looked destined for a final set decider. James though used all his experience to know he needed to at least break Nick's run if they were to go to a final set and he tightened up his shots and serves and clawed his way back to 3/5 before Nick was able to close it out 6/3 and take us to a deciding set but most importantly from James's perspective, with the momentum fairly even between the 2 players.

The final set brought the best tennis of the tournament as you would hope with both players playing well above their respective handicaps. The retrieving was extremely impressive from both players as was the target hitting on occasion when the opportunities presented themselves. James took the first game only for Nick to level it up straight away. Nick then got his nose in front 2/1 and 3/2 but at no point did James let the pressure get to him or allow Nick any kind of freedom as the games swung one way and then the next. James levelled it up at 3/3 and then retook the lead 4/3 and most crucially 5/3 to offer the first bit of breathing space and at 40/30 up, yet another excellent rally saw James's shot clip the edge of the tambour to leave Nick stranded and James a very well deserved winner. Both players should be commended on a brilliant match but James should be incredibly proud of an excellent weekend, it's never easy with the weight of expectation of being at home and he handled it brilliantly all weekend, ruthless for much of it but gutsy and controlled when he was up against it in the final!

Many thanks to all the members who came along to support to make a really great atmosphere throughout which makes such a difference to all the players and to Liz & Jonathan Fisher for putting 2 of the players up as well as providing a delicious cake for the players and spectators to enjoy.

Footage of all the matches can be seen on our YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/@hhtcpros4689/streams with footage of the final shown below.