The men’s Super Series got underway at the New York Athletic Club with the $30,000 Will Hartigan Memorial Big Apple Open, the first stop in the race to qualify for the inaugural SDA Super Series Finals in St. Louis.

James Stout and Cameron Pilley arrived as second seeds for their much-anticipated first outing as a pair and left with the title after a 15–11, 15–7, 15–14 victory over third seeds Daelum Mawji and Charles Culhane in Monday’s final. The headline result of the week, however, came a day earlier, when Mawji and Culhane beat defending champions Sam Khalifa and Chris Callis to end their 33-match unbeaten run.

Khalifa and Callis had looked in control through the early rounds, beating Marcus Sim Wei Jie and Devin McLaughlin and then seventh seeds Ashley Davies and Tor Christoffersen without dropping a game. Mawji, a local favorite playing on home court, and Culhane picked up where they left off last season as the tour’s form team. In their semifinal against the top seeds, the opening two games went to 15–14 and 15–13, and Mawji and Culhane won both before closing out a 15–11 third to complete one of the biggest results in recent seasons.

Stout and Pilley lived up to the anticipation around their new partnership. After cruising past Maine Challenger finalists Henry Parkhurst and Jacob Bassil, they were tested in the quarterfinals by Khamal Cumberbatch and Abhishek Agarwal, who took the third game before Stout and Pilley closed it out in four. In the semifinals they met another new partnership in fourth seeds Scott Arnold and Josh Hughes. Arnold and Hughes took the opening game 15–7 and the second went 15–13 to Stout and Pilley, but from there the second seeds pulled away, winning 15–6, 15–3.

Stout and Pilley started the final slowly, but from the middle of the first game through the end of the second they dominated. The match became a cross-court battle between Stout on the left wall and Culhane on the right, with Stout working Culhane relentlessly and attacking with ease. Pilley was steady and smart with his ball placement, made no errors, and repeatedly exposed the middle of the court, a weak spot for Mawji and Culhane. As the second game slipped away, Mawji, who like Stout is a left-hander on the left wall, was visibly frustrated. Mawji and Culhane started the third the way they had started the match, at a very high pace, and as Stout began to tire, errors crept in. Stout and Pilley lifted the ball to regain control of the pace, and Pilley sealed the title at 15–14 with a well-executed straight kill.

As expected, wildcards George Crowne and TJ Dembinski, who earned their place by winning the wildcard playoff, delivered one of the most exciting matches of the first round. They beat sixth seeds Elroy Leong and Kyle Martino in four games, closing out the fourth 15–13, before taking a game off Mawji and Culhane in the quarterfinals. Cumberbatch and Agarwal, with Agarwal stepping in for the injured Adham Madi, also caused an upset, beating ninth seeds Andrew Muran and Sergio Martin in straight games.

Elsewhere in the draw, with NYAC head pro Clinton Leeuw sitting out injured, club pro Jaymie Haycocks and John Russell carried the home hopes. They survived two tight games against Josh and Jackson Kay to win 15–14, 15–8, 15–14, before their run ended against Arnold and Hughes in the quarterfinals. Maine champions Greg Crane and Ryan Mullaney fell in the opening round to Davies and Christoffersen.

With a title in their first event together, Stout and Pilley have made the ideal start to the race to St. Louis. Mawji and Culhane’s win over Khalifa and Callis suggests the men’s season is wide open.

Results

Round of 16

  • [1] Khalifa / Callis d. Sim Wei Jie / McLaughlin 15–5, 15–8, 15–8
  • [7] Davies / Christoffersen d. [12] Crane / Mullaney 15–12, 15–3, 15–9
  • [WC] Crowne / Dembinski d. [6] Leong / Martino 15–6, 13–15, 15–6, 15–13
  • [3] Culhane / Mawji d. [15] Fenwick / Van der Pluijm 15–7, 15–10, 15–4
  • [4] Hughes / Arnold d. [8] Osborne / Todd 15–12, 15–6, 15–6
  • [5] Russell / Haycocks d. [10] Kay / Kay 15–14, 15–8, 15–14
  • Cumberbatch / Agarwal d. [9] Muran / Martin 15–13, 15–12, 15–13
  • [2] Stout / Pilley d. [14] Parkhurst / Bassil 15–3, 15–6, 15–12

Quarterfinals

  • [1] Khalifa / Callis d. [7] Davies / Christoffersen 15–6, 15–10, 15–9
  • [3] Culhane / Mawji d. [WC] Crowne / Dembinski 15–12, 10–15, 15–3, 15–8
  • [4] Hughes / Arnold d. [5] Russell / Haycocks 15–12, 15–3, 15–13
  • [2] Stout / Pilley d. Cumberbatch / Agarwal 15–12, 15–14, 13–15, 15–12

Semifinals

  • [3] Culhane / Mawji d. [1] Khalifa / Callis 15–14, 15–13, 15–11
  • [2] Stout / Pilley d. [4] Hughes / Arnold 7–15, 15–13, 15–6, 15–3

Final

  • [2] Stout / Pilley d. [3] Culhane / Mawji 15–11, 15–7, 15–14