Lumsden continues to climb ATP rankings as Scottish county and national teams feature in successful weekend

Ewen Lumsden posted another impressive week on the ITF pro tour as he made a run to the final of the Monastir M15 singles. 

Lumsden began his week as the eighth seed with a first round win over Matyas Cerny of Czech Republic 7-5 6-2. The Scot then got through a tough match with lucky loser Sven Corbinais 6-1 3-6 6-2 to move on to the quarter-final. 

There he played in-form Taiyo Yamanaka from Japan who had upset fourth seed Adrian Oetzbach the round before. Lumsden dispatched Yamanaka 6-4 6-2 to progress to the final four. 

Ewen came through another battle in the semi-final where he downed Filip Planinsek 7-5 3-6 6-1 to book his spot in the final, where he faced Italian second seed Federico Bondioli, who had previously reached the final of the Lexus Pro Series in Edgbaston.

Bondioli took the first set 7-6(2) before Lumsden battled back to win the second 6-3 to take the final to a deciding set. However, it was the Italian who found a way through in the end, taking the third set 6-4. 

The run marked Ewen’s second pro tour singles final this year as he continues to climb the ATP rankings.

County Cup teams earn promotion 

Scottish teams represented their counties at various venues in the 2024 Winter County Cup. Notable results included promotions for the North Men, West Women and South Men following three days of match play. 

The North of Scotland Men’s team made up of Jed Alexander, Ruairidh Fraser, Cameron Fryer, Logan Gillespie, Calum MacGeoch, Marcus McLaren, Bruce Strachan and Patrick Young featured in Group 2B.  

The team opened the weekend in Bromley with a 5-4 win over Kent before dispatching Cambridgeshire 8-1 on Saturday and Cheshire 7-2 on Sunday to cement their place in Division 1.  

The North Men are now one of a few teams in the UK to have a place in the top division of both Summer and Winter County Cup events. 

West of Scotland Women earned a second County Cup promotion following their strong weekend in Nottingham.  

The team made up of Heather Barlow, Eleanor Cochran, Emily Gates, Emily Lauder, Maia Lumsden, Anna McKnight, Caitlin Steel and Jennifer Steel notched three wins from three to top Group 3B. 

The team beat host county Nottinghamshire on Friday 6-3 before posting another 6-3 win over Buckinghamshire on Saturday. Sunday saw a 5-3 lead secure the tie against Derbyshire, crowning West as champions and securing their promotion to the second division.  

The win added to the West’s Summer County Week promotion where they were also undefeated to earn their place in Division 3 for 2025. 

South of Scotland Men also swept the field in Group 6B in Sheffield. The team consisted of Adam Clunie, Josh Kean, Archie Mcmillan, Jed Mcmillan, Ewan Moore, Harry Mouratidis, Callum Semple and Grant Semple, led by Colin Hanbidge.  

The South opened with a flawless win over Cornwall 9-0 before a convincing performance on Saturday to beat Bedfordshire 7-2. Their first-place medals were secured on Sunday after a 5-4 win over Gloucestershire, the team now moves up to the fifth division. 

Scotland’s 75+ sweep Senior Four Nations 

Scottish senior players were in action in Bolton at the 2024 Super Senior Four Nations. 

Both 70+ and 75+ mixed teams were represented in the event. The 75+ Scotland team were unbeaten across three days of competition. The team was made up of Christine Lockhart, Marjorie Love, Christine Windmill, Rennie Johnston, Ian Swann, and David Windmill. 

The team started strong with all three doubles pairings picking up wins to beat Wales 3-0 on Friday.

Saturday saw a closer encounter with Ireland. Scotland pulled through 2-1 after Ireland picked up a match tie-break win in the men’s doubles tie.  

Sunday’s tie with England saw Rennie Johnston and Ian Swann win in a third set match tie-break to compliment a straight-sets victory from Marjory Love and Christine Windmill for Scotland to win the tie and top the 75+ Mixed category. 

The 70+ Mixed team was made up of Anne Hamilton, Carol Hunter, Mary Murray, Sarah Rendle, Roy Fraser, Anthony Marchetti and David Rankine.  

A tough opening day against Wales saw the Scots suffer a close 2-1 defeat. However, the team bounced back on Saturday with all three pairs gaining wins over Ireland to secure a 3-0 victory. 

Sunday’s tie against England saw a couple of close doubles matches but it was England who picked up two wins to beat Scotland 2-1. The win secured an unbeaten weekend for the England 70+ squad as they finished top of the group. 

University of Stirling pick up BUCS Individuals Doubles medals  

The University of Stirling’s Rob Cowley and Liam Hignett were crowned champions at the 2024 BUCS Individuals Doubles Championships last week.  

Cowley and Hignett entered as top seeds and were on a strong form following their run to the final at the TS Open Tour National Doubles Championships the week before. They picked up five wins on their way to the title without dropping a set and the final saw the Stirling duo defeat Nottingham’s Phoenix Weir and Dominik Kellovsky 7-5 6-3. 

Stirling Head Coach Scott Macaulay had this to say following the win: “Liam and Rob are dedicated, hardworking players. This is not just about a great performance one weekend; they did themselves proud, demonstrating not only their skills, but also their commitment to the international sports scholarship programme at the University of Stirling.” 

“They were no doubt aided by a great run recently at the TS Open Tour National Championship, where they finished as finalists. This honed their match tightness and they continue to deliver great results in university, national, and international competitions.” 

Liam has since been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Master’U BNP Paribas World University Tennis event in France. 

Stirling’s Cameron Fryer and Kyle Mckay also had an impressive tournament, placing third after a run to the semi-finals where they lost out to Weir and Kellovsky 7-6 4-6 7-10. 

Halle Pringle and Lucy Furness brought home hardware for Stirling in the women’s draw as they made their way to the semi-finals, earning a bronze medal following their loss to eventual winners Megan Davies and Eliz Maloney.