No.5 seed Simon Herbert powered his way into his first-ever British Nationals final thanks to a commanding three-game victory over Perry Malik in Weybridge.
The Englishman, who yesterday stole the show with a standout victory over Perry’s older brother, Curtis, continued his dream run at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-2 victory.
World No.56 Herbert picked up where he left off from his quarter-final win over Curtis, playing into the front two corners throughout the match with devastating accuracy.
Malik matched Herbert toe-to-toe into the latter stages of an entertaining first game, but it was Herbert who clinched what would prove to be the crucial opener.
From that point on, Herbert only grew in confidence, rattling winners off with regularity and racing into a 10-1 second-game lead in quick-fire fashion. Despite Malik claiming six consecutive points to send a few nerves into the Herbert camp, the 24-year-old held off the comeback to move 2-0 up.
The subsequent third game proved largely one-way traffic for Herbert, with the No.5 seed requiring just five minutes to wrap up the win, advancing to the title decider after just 28 minutes of play.
Herbert will face No.4 seed Sam Todd in tomorrow’s men’s final, with both eying a first-ever British Nationals title.
After the match, Herbert said: “It’s very hard to back up a good performance when you don’t have too many good performances in a row. I’ve worked hard this summer to be more consistent. My best isn’t as good as it was, but if I’m more consistent, I’m happy.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning; he took it to me, but I then started playing better as the match went on. I’m really happy with the result.”
Result: [5] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt [6] Perry Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-2 (28m)
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