Richard Gabb through to second round at Wimbledon as Toby Martin secures first ATP ranking
Team Bath Tennis Academy player Richard Gabb and former Team Bath player Ashley Hewitt swept aside their opponents in the opening round of their boys’ doubles match at Junior Wimbledon this afternoon (Wednesday)
The unseeded pair beat New Zealand’s Sebastian Lavie and Argentina’s Renzo Olivo 6-3, 6-2 on court six to set up a second round tie against number two seeds Damir Dzumhur from Boznia & Herzegovina and Mate Pavic from Croatia.
Gabb, now 18, made his Junior Wimbledon debut last year, reaching the second round of the boys’ singles.
His success came hot on the heels of fellow TeamBath player Toby Martin achieving his first ATP senior ranking points playing at the AEGON Pro-Series Futures event in Manchester.
The 17-year-old came through qualifying to reach the main draw and then produced a battling performance to beat Switzerland’s Joss Espasandin. After losing the first set 6-2 he won the second 6-1 and then saved six match points to come back from 6-3 down and win the final set tie-break.
That set up a second round contest against British Davies Cup player Jamie Baker, number one seed for the tournament, which Baker won in a second round tie-break
Martin becomes the fifth Team Bath player to gain an ATP world ranking while at the Team Bath Tennis Academy, which is an LTA International High Performance Centre. He follows Gabb, Hewitt, James Chaudry and Olivia Smith.
Barry Scollo, director of tennis at the Team Bath Tennis Academy, said: “Congratulation to Richard and to Toby for their achievements. They have worked extremely hard to improve their tennis. I’d also like to thank the Ian MacDonald and Alex Cockram, members of the coaching team at the University of Bath who have put so much work in with our players.
“The Team Bath Tennis Academy has also benefitted from the expertise of the Dave Sammel and Jim Edgar of the MCTA group in helping our players to progress.”
The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its Team Bath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.
Members of the media who require further information can contact the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or 01225 443998 or see the Team Bath website.
