Stout & Cipriano Win US Racquets Doubles Title
James Stout and partner, Peter Cipriano, won the U.S. Open Racquets Doubles title over Ben Cawston and Mike Bailey, at the Racquet and Tennis Club, Park Avenue, New York.
A spokesperson said, “The score was 3-1 [11/15, 15/12, 15/7, 15/10] and the match lasted for an hour and a half.
“Cawston [WR 3] and Bailey [WR 5] were top seeds in the event while Stout [WR 7] and Cipriano [WR 6] were seeded third. Earlier in the day Cawston had won the U.S. Open Racquets Singles title, 3-0 over Alex Duncliffe-Vines.
“Stout and Cipriano started slowly and after four side-outs had fallen behind 8-3. Bailey’s serve put them under pressure, added to which they themselves weren’t serving to the best of their ability. They spent a good part of the first game 2 or 3 points behind their opponents. After a good service round by both players at last it looked like the pair were about to challenge their opponents at 10-11. However, they immediately lost service, conceded 2 more points and managed to add only one point before Cawston and Bailey claimed the game 15/11 in 27 minutes.
“Stout and Cipriano built up a 6-2 lead in the second game, but their opponents managed to overtake them in the next two rounds, 7-6. Stout came in to serve and with his partner added 5 points to the pair’s score. This included a mammoth 25 shot rally at 10-7 contested mainly by Cipriano and Cawston which ended on an error by Cawston. Having established a 12-7 lead, Stout and Cipriano had to watch it wiped out in one service round. They regained service at 12-all and ran out winners to take the second game 15-12 in 24 minutes.
“At this stage it was anybody’s guess who would win. Stout and Cipriano built a 3-1 lead at the start of game 3, and increased it to firstly 9-2, then 12-4, before closing out the game 15/7 in 16 minutes. It was a quiet and efficient performance by the third seeds.
“Things were looking good for the pair but straight away the top seeds signalled that they weren’t giving up. They built up a 4 point lead before Stout and Cipriano regained service and levelled the score. The top seeds enjoyed another fruitful service round to lead 9-4 over Stout and Cipriano. Stout was put out on his first serve at 4-9 down, then Cipriano had a great run of 8 points on his serve to put the match within their grasp at 12-9. Bailey served and was out straightaway, then he and Cawston won an awesome rally where Cawston dived close to the front wall to get the ball and had to lie there for the two shots it took Bailey to close out the rally. The audience went wild.
“Stout and Cipriano regained service at 12-10 and then closed out the match in one hand 15-10 in 18 minutes. This was Cipriano’s first U.S. Open doubles title, while he and Stout combined to win the British Open doubles in 2017.
“Stout’s performance comes on the heels of his Squash Doubles Association 3-1 victory partnering Australia’s Scott Arnold in the $40,000 David C. Johnson Memorial Tournament over James Bamber and Michael Ferreira on the previous Sunday, March 7, at the Height’s Casino club, New York. Stout is currently ranked 3 in the SDA.”
