Day 2 XD

Robertson shown a
yellow card and the door
Day Two Mixed Doubles, by Richard Eaton

Nathan Robertson's new partnership with Jenny Wallwork, unfairly but inevitably billed as the former Olympic silver medallist's attempt to re-build for the London 2012 Games, suffered a startling setback when it failed to reach the final of its first tournament together on domestic soil.

Startling not only because Robertson is the most successful male player England has ever had, but because the 21-18, 18-21, 21-16 loss came against a pair, Chris Langridge and Sarah Bok, which had never won a single game before these English national championships, let alone a match.

Facts are often misleading. It is too early yet for Wallwork to be cast as a successor to a star such as Gail Emms, the woman with whom Robertson won World, All-England, Commonwealth and European titles. And the promising Langridge and Bok had been without previous success principally because injuries and incompatible schedules had restricted them to only three tournaments before this.

In fact Wallwork often played excellently at the net, and defended stoutly too, while Robertson was below his best, apparently suffering from a cold, and prone to bouts of grumpy irritation. One of these got him a yellow card from the umpire after he ignore a command to play on.

“They played very well,” was Robertson's first response afterwards, and when asked about his own performance, he said “I just don't seem to manage matches in a row.” He then added: “it isn't the be-all and end-all that we lost this.”

It may though have mattered quite a lot to Wallwork. Only the day before she had admitted that “sometimes I think Gail would have done better,” that she “had a little patch where I thought I am not good enough,” and that “I have to block out that and become my own player.”

This defeat may have made it all a little more difficult and disappointing, especially after she and Robertson played their way out of trouble from a game down and 2-7 and 14-17 down in the second game. They then took an early lead in the third – and still couldn't make it.

Wallwork only started to falter a little at the very end, while Robertson mixed transcendent brilliance with strange mistakes, as though his motivation were in a constant state of ebb and flow.

angridge and Bok, however, both improved significantly in the third game, Langridge producing some brilliant cross court switches which Robertson at his best might have been delighted with, while Bok became tenaciously solid.

“There is no way we have ever played that well before,” she said, while Langridge reckoned it was “great to beat Nathan because he is the English player everyone has heard of.”

He didn't know quite why they were playing well, but knew that when you did “you can get a flow and do all sorts of stuff and it works.”

Bok thought they both defended well and that Chris's smash “was massive”, and that they were “working really well around each other and covering everything.”

That seemed roughly right, but even allowing for all this few people would have guessed that they would go on such a devastating run from 8-8 to 14-8, a sequence which was concluded by Langridge dashing across to the backhand tramline and whipping the shuttle back in the other direction for a winner.

After that Robertson and Walllwork both fought hard to hang on, getting back from 11-17 to 13-17 and from 14-19 to 16-19 to make a tense and exciting finish.

These emotions were heightened by Wallwork becoming more vocal as the contest wore on, by Robertson increasing his ratio of spectacular jump smashes, and by the emboldened body language of the underdogs, as if they had an intruder by the trouser turn-ups and were not going to let go.

At 19-16 Langridge got through with a great smash after a long rally in which Robertson and Wallwork had had to defend from attacks which took a net cord, only for Langridge to deliver a serve at 20-16 which also took a slight net cord, making it impossible for Robertson to return. By then though they deserved their luck.

“These nationals could be the start of something which makes coaches realise that we're actually are quite good,” said Langridge, brimming over with enthusiasm. “And then you can get more trips like the Europeans, the world championships and the Commonwealth Games,” added Bok, and really start doing well.”

Thrilling sentiments, but they may need to be rid of them before the final. The top-seeded titleholders Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg looked formidable during a 21-12, 21-11 win over Chris Adcock and Gabby White and it will may take some very level-headed brilliance to prevent them winning a third time in a row.

The final rallies ...