Tim Wilkins won the Ranelagh Gold Cup

[<<] [>>] by Kevin Carter at Roehampton
15th July 2002 (AC)

This weekend event was played on three very good quality courts with an easy surface and challenging hoops. The weather was warm and dry and there were sixteen competitors. The format was KO (Bo3 SF & F) + consolation flexible swiss. The winner was Tim Wilkins, runner-up Gary Bennett and consolation event winner Tom Browne.

The Ranelagh Gold Cup is certainly one of the most attractive (and valuable) trophies available for a CA calendar event. In an attempt to boost its entry and restore its prestige, the Roehampton Club has taken it out of its annual week tournament and devoted a separate weekend to it alone.

This year there were sixteen contestants to enjoy Roehampton's very fine quality courts. The hoops (cast iron to replace last year's unpopular Omega experiment) were challenging.

The second, third and fourth seeds all tumbled in the first round, leaving last year's winner, Tim Wilkins, an apparently easy passage. And so it proved. Oozing class, Tim was unbeaten, including four triples. The runner-up was Gary Bennett, who produced a typically gritty performance throughout and, indeed, gave a scare to Wilkins in the first game of the final.

The consolation event was eventually decided an hour after the main prize giving in favour of Tom Browne, after all three main contenders lost their final matches.