Anna Smith and Marcus Daniell go close to doubles tennis titles
Team Bath-MCTA Tennis players Anna Smith and Marcus Daniell went mighty close to recording tournament victories over the weekend in the build-up to Wimbledon 2015.
Smith, pictured, and partner Jocelyn Rae – Britain’s Federation Cup doubles pairing – were only denied their first WTA title by a third-set tie-break defeat to American pair Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Smith in the final of the Aegon Nottingham Open.
And New Zealander Daniell teamed up with Brazil’s Marcelo Demoliner to reach the final of the Aegon Surbiton Trophy, where they went down 6-3 6-4 to British brothers Ken and Neal Skupski.
A rain-delayed semi-final meant Smith and Rae only had a few hours to rest after their hard-fought 6-3 4-6 10-8 victory over number two seeds Jie Zheng and Yung-Jan Chan.
However, they got off a confident start in the final and won the first set 6-3, only for number one seeds Kops-Jones and Smith to take the second set by the same score.
That sent the final to a tie-break, which saw Smith and Rae edge into a 7-4 lead before the Americans hit back to seal an 11-9 win.
Despite the disappointment, the British duo were pleased with their performances and will be looking to build on that after being given a wildcard entry into the Aegon Classic in Birmingham this week.
Over in Surbiton, Daniell and Demoliner made good progress through the early stages before recording a 6-4 6-2 victory over number one seeds Eric Butorac and Colin Fleming in the semi-finals.
Daniell – who is coached by Dave Sammel, Ian Macdonald and Bob Smith at the University of Bath Sports Training Village – recently made his Grand Slam debut when he was partnered by Belgium’s Steve Darcis at the French Open. He is currently a career-high 78th in the ITF doubles rankings.
