Sunday, October 14, 2007
Hamm-Bennett 2007 - Official Photographs
It's all smiles before the big match
The Umpire presents the spoils
After three gruelling sets, Hamm refuses Bennett's sporting hand
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Match Report - The Hamm Bennett 2007
"Let us leave pretty women to men devoid of imagination." So observed Marcel Proust, a man who would undoubtedly have enjoyed the Hamm Bennett.
The Hamm Bennett 2007 may not have reached the aesthetic heights of last year's tournament, but it was a match of integrity and excitement, for those with imagination to savour - played out for the first time this year in Charlton.
Bennett must have had high hopes at the outset. Playing on home turf, Hamm still acclimatising after his return from the German circuit and with Bennett's traditional dominance of odd years. But the Hamm Bennett is a fickle mistress and all but the most hardened gambler would shy away from predictions.
Bennett's early confidence could have taken a knock as soon as the game began, as he opened with a double fault, but he recovered to take the first game with an unusually comfortable hold of serve. In fact the quality of serving was something of a feature all game. There were no more than four or five double faults all match, and Hamm's booming first serve even produced a couple of aces.
The first set was an attritive battle, and no man ever extended their lead to more than one game - the tie-break, another rarity in Hamm Bennett history, always looked like the only way of separating the players. So it came, and it was the strength of the Hamm serve that was the decisive factor, as he raced through the breaker 7-1 to claim the first set.
Students of the game will of course observe that claiming the first set can often be a curse rather than a blessing - in a match that almost always goes the distance the Hamm Bennett can often be a battle of momentum.
It was difficult to detect a big swing in the second set, as the quality of tennis nose-dived and for a short while it became a rather scrappy encounter. Bennett was swift to accuse passers by of distracting him, whilst Hamm increasingly started blaming cracks in the court for any errors. But the dip in form of both players led to an absorbing tit-for-tat contest with Bennett establishing an early lead, before being hauled back to five games all by Hamm, only for Bennett to suddenly up his game at the crucial moment and take the set 7 - 5.
So it was down to the final set again - was the momentum with Bennett, could Hamm up his game after a poor second set? The answer to the latter question was an emphatic yes. Suddenly Hamm, so insipid and lethargic in the second set, sprung into action. The Hamm serve, which moments earlier was looking like a spent force, suddenly became nigh on un-returnable. As Hamm reeled off game after game to race into a 5 - 1 lead, it looked as if the contest was over, that Bennett had crumbled. But even a highly-tuned athlete like Hamm feels the pressure. Serving for the set he suddenly started to wobble, and Bennett scented weakness. A few blistering returns later it was 5 -2 and Bennett was playing with a freedom that had been absent for the rest of the match. Suddenly he was everywhere, pounding returns from the baseline, in at the net putting away textbook overheads - the defensive battle of the second set banished to a distant memory, by a genuine outbreak of attacking tennis. Soon it was 5 - 3 and the comeback looked on.
But Hamm showed last year that he has a reserve of mental strength that he seems to be able to tap in to at times of crisis. So it was again that he went to the 'Hamm locker', and was not found wanting. With Bennett buzzing around court, sensing the possibility of one of the great sporting comebacks, Hamm steeled himself, somehow found a little extra pace on his serve and finally closed out the final set 6 -3.
Without the sapping heat of last year this Hamm Bennett was more a mental test, than a battle of physical endurance, and once again Hamm was able to plunder his reserves and produce just enough to rise to the challenge. But Proust offers comfort for the loser as well: "Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind." In a contest that continues to be so closely fought, with so little separating the competitors, it may just be the remembrance of defeat that makes the difference next time round.
The Hamm Bennett 2007 may not have reached the aesthetic heights of last year's tournament, but it was a match of integrity and excitement, for those with imagination to savour - played out for the first time this year in Charlton.
Bennett must have had high hopes at the outset. Playing on home turf, Hamm still acclimatising after his return from the German circuit and with Bennett's traditional dominance of odd years. But the Hamm Bennett is a fickle mistress and all but the most hardened gambler would shy away from predictions.
Bennett's early confidence could have taken a knock as soon as the game began, as he opened with a double fault, but he recovered to take the first game with an unusually comfortable hold of serve. In fact the quality of serving was something of a feature all game. There were no more than four or five double faults all match, and Hamm's booming first serve even produced a couple of aces.
The first set was an attritive battle, and no man ever extended their lead to more than one game - the tie-break, another rarity in Hamm Bennett history, always looked like the only way of separating the players. So it came, and it was the strength of the Hamm serve that was the decisive factor, as he raced through the breaker 7-1 to claim the first set.
Students of the game will of course observe that claiming the first set can often be a curse rather than a blessing - in a match that almost always goes the distance the Hamm Bennett can often be a battle of momentum.
It was difficult to detect a big swing in the second set, as the quality of tennis nose-dived and for a short while it became a rather scrappy encounter. Bennett was swift to accuse passers by of distracting him, whilst Hamm increasingly started blaming cracks in the court for any errors. But the dip in form of both players led to an absorbing tit-for-tat contest with Bennett establishing an early lead, before being hauled back to five games all by Hamm, only for Bennett to suddenly up his game at the crucial moment and take the set 7 - 5.
So it was down to the final set again - was the momentum with Bennett, could Hamm up his game after a poor second set? The answer to the latter question was an emphatic yes. Suddenly Hamm, so insipid and lethargic in the second set, sprung into action. The Hamm serve, which moments earlier was looking like a spent force, suddenly became nigh on un-returnable. As Hamm reeled off game after game to race into a 5 - 1 lead, it looked as if the contest was over, that Bennett had crumbled. But even a highly-tuned athlete like Hamm feels the pressure. Serving for the set he suddenly started to wobble, and Bennett scented weakness. A few blistering returns later it was 5 -2 and Bennett was playing with a freedom that had been absent for the rest of the match. Suddenly he was everywhere, pounding returns from the baseline, in at the net putting away textbook overheads - the defensive battle of the second set banished to a distant memory, by a genuine outbreak of attacking tennis. Soon it was 5 - 3 and the comeback looked on.
But Hamm showed last year that he has a reserve of mental strength that he seems to be able to tap in to at times of crisis. So it was again that he went to the 'Hamm locker', and was not found wanting. With Bennett buzzing around court, sensing the possibility of one of the great sporting comebacks, Hamm steeled himself, somehow found a little extra pace on his serve and finally closed out the final set 6 -3.
Without the sapping heat of last year this Hamm Bennett was more a mental test, than a battle of physical endurance, and once again Hamm was able to plunder his reserves and produce just enough to rise to the challenge. But Proust offers comfort for the loser as well: "Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind." In a contest that continues to be so closely fought, with so little separating the competitors, it may just be the remembrance of defeat that makes the difference next time round.
Labels: 2007, Bennett, Hamm, match, report, tennis
