Emily Appleton at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, 2018
Emily Appleton at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, 2018 (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for LTA)

Tennis | British Tour Doubles | Emily Appleton claimed doubles title

  • Emily Appleton and Yuriko Miyazaki claimed doubles title
  • Fast 4 format to get all matches in one day
ROEHAMPTON, UK – Emily Appleton & Yuriko Miyazaki teamed up for the first Fast 4 format doubles event of the British Tour. The Brit/Japanese pair took out the top seeds in the final.

 

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To enable the doubles to be included at the British Tour events the LTA used a version of the “Fast 4” Format for the doubles. These are matches over the best of three sets, but each set is the first to four games. A tiebreak is held at three all, where the score is first to seven with two points clear. If all level after the first two sets, the final set is a standard match tiebreak with the first to 10 points, still two points clear.  To guarantee each team had the same amount of matches, the doubles was played using a compass draw.

 

Compass Draw

A compass draw is where the draw is divided into brackets, representing the points on a compass. When a player (or players for doubles) loses a match, they simply move into a different bracket. All teams or players start in the middle “column”. The winners move to the right (or East) and the losers move to the left (or West), this ensures everyone plays the same amount of matches and the lower finishing “places” are played for.

Emily Appleton teamed up with the only non Brit in the draw Yuriko Miyazaki for the fast paced doubles on Sunday. In the final the Brit/Japanese pair were up against the top seeds Naomi Broady & Samantha Murray-Sharan. Appleton & Miyazaki had made the final without dropping a set and continued that form. The first set went to a tiebreak, where the Brit/Japanese eased through barely dropping a point. The second set saw Appleton & Miyazaki break the serve of the top seeds Broady & Murray-Sharan to claim the title 4-3(2), 4-2.

Due to the format each team played for a placing within the eight teams. Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls defeated Sarah-Beth Grey & Eden Silva 4-1, 4-2 to claim third place. Soumeya Anane & Tiffany William were given a walkover by Marni Banks & Amelia Bissett for fifth place. Emily Arbuthnott & Ana Popescu defeated Annabel Davis & Sally Pethybridge 4-1, 4-2 to claim seventh place.

Next week the British tour continues in Roehampton. The doubles will feature the male players.

 

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