An anticipated nail biting match between the mother daughter combination, Nicola and Shelly Ramdyhan taking on the currently topped ladies in the doubles division, Afruica Gentle and Cristy Campbell ended in favour of the latter, who won the Trophy Stall Tennis Doubles, Ladies Doubles title.
Cristy Campbell serves during the ladies doubles final featuring Campbell/ Afruica Gentle and Shell Ramdyhan/ Nicola Ramdyhan
They played neck and neck in the most intense ladies doubles of the year. Campbell with her calm demeanor and consistent strokes were back by Gentle’s furious forehands. The first set had a dash of drama, ups and downs for both pairs. Campbell/Gentle saw an opportunity while serving 6/5 in the first set but the Ramdyhans were not going to let the match slip out of their reach. They battled to break Campbell serve and throw the set into sudden death. While in the tiebreaker, Campbell/Gentle stormed through with a 7-1 win. First set in hand, left spectators shocked and at the edge of their seats.
Second set provided more rewarding tennis. An under the weather Campbell and a visibly pained Shelly threw caution to the wind in an effort to secure the title.
With a quick race to a 4/2 lead, It was clear that the momentum was on Gentle/Campbell’s side. However, the Ramdyhans etched their way to tie the set at four games apiece. In a grueling game that racked up three deuces and two game points to the Ramdyhans, the set was either teams to grab. Focus and tenacity herald Gentle/Campbell with the success of a 5/4 lead.
The Ramdyhans’ service game now held the last line of defence in the team’s chance to stay in the match. But, the prospect of a win came as Gentle/Campbell earned two match points. One match point saved. Next point, an acute cross court angle generated by Campbell pushed Nicola off court to set Gentle up for an easy steal.
Elation flooded Gentle/Campbell’s faces as they now stand undefeated for the season and claim the spot on the pinnacle of women’s doubles. A proud mother and father watched Gentle celebrated the moment of joy as she now resettles in form.
In an invited comment, Campbell stated “Winning always feels good whether it’s a big win or not. We’ve had a jittery start due to lack of communication, nevertheless my partner and I got momentum going and maintained composure at crucial points; thankfully we came out on the winning side. Altogether it was a grueling match.
The men’s double was a one sided affair in the first set. Anthony Downes and Jason Andrews served, volleyed and pushed the young juniors HeimrajResaul and Jordan Beaton to the breaking point. Downes/Andrews held a five love lead and a shaky pair. A bagel was fast approaching the juniors when a slight open was made. Resaul/Beaton flat forehands penetrated the net play of the agile seniors, rewarding them with two games. The seniors cleaned their games and took the first set 6/2.
“I think we settled in and we were able to play better. We started to apply more pressure and started our offensive strategy and stopped playing defense,” Resaul expressed.
This was evident in second set where Resaul/Beaton, found their rhythm and challenged the seniors. It proved fruitful with the game neck and neck at 5/5. Downes was able to dig the team out with focused serves and took a 6/5 lead. Resaul was forced to serve to take the match into a tie breaker, after they saved two match points but was unable to deliver. Downes/Andrews clenched the Trophy Stall Doubles with their 6/2, 7/5 win.
