Bloomfield reaches last eight in Glasgow
Last updated: 27/10/2009 11:51:00
Norfolk's Richard Bloomfield reached the quarter-finals at the Scotstoun Leisure Centre, Glasgow in the first of a double bill of domestic futures tournaments.
Bloomfield, now the British No. 6, made it through two rounds before falling to top-seeded Yannick Mertens of Belgium and will now travel to Cardiff to compete this week.
An opener against Essex's Ben Pritchard was a comfortable warm-up for Bloomfield who cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win. Fifth seed Alexander Sadecky then lay in wait for the unseeded Norfolk man, who was forced to up his game in an entertaining tussle.
The match was evenly contested but the big serving Brit found a crucial breakthrough late in the first set to win it 7-5. Sadecky, from Switzerland, hit back in the second set tie-break to level the scores at a set a piece and send the match into a final set. The 26-year-old from Alpington dug deep again to secure another break of serve and eventually closed out the final set 6-4 to move into the quarter final.
His run came to an end at the hands of the eventual champion Mertens but the top seed was tested by Bloomfield whose form is slowly returning after troublesome back problems.
Mertens claimed the first set 6-3 but a resilient Bloomfield pushed the second set into a tie-break, which was edged by the top seed. He went on beat British Davis Cup team member Dan Evans 6-2, 6-0 in the final.
Norfolk Over-50s women struggled this year with availability and injury but pulled off an excellent win in their opening match against Somerset before defeats at Kent and Hampshire.
Cromer Tennis Club was the setting for a crucial win against Lincolnshire which boosted confidence going into the final away trip to Middlesex.
There were chances against Middlesex but they could not be taken and the home side ran out 3-1 winners. The Norfolk team consisted of Sally Farman (captain), Jane Ling, Angela Roy, Caroline Blincoe, Hilary Kerrison, Mary Ingram, Rachel Hodgkinson and Rachel Clarke.
The Over-60s women faced a tough challenge in group two following promotion last year but put in some excellent performances to finish a creditable third place.
Hilary Kerrison, Mary Ingram, Juliet Chapman and Rachel Clarke were joined this year by Linda Green. Jo Tubby also made a winning debut in the match against Avon.