North West’s Christo Potgieter squeezed in a double triumph at the Tswalu SA National Doubles Championship played at Johannesburg Country Club at the weekend, when he won the men’s doubles title with JP Brits and the mixed doubles with last year’s national individual champion, Milnay Louw.
In the men’s final, second-seeded Potgieter and Brits, runners-up in both 2015 and 2016, trailed 4-9 in the first game against three-time winners, Justin Gouweloos and Alan McGuigan of Midlands but fought back to 8-9 and pocketed the next three consecutive points to win the game 11-9.
The second game saw the score see-sawing until, when leading 7-6, Potgieter and Brits turned up the pressure forcing the top seeds into making mistakes. The second seeds took the game 11-7. Points swung again in the third game to 6-all before Potgieter and Brits won consecutive points to win the title for the first time.
In the women’s doubles Cheyna Tucker, last year’s winner with Angie Clifton Parks, partnered Capetonian Alex Fuller to defeat second-seeded Clifton-Parks and Diana Haynes, seven-time winners of the title, in four games.
Tucker and Fuller (pictured left and right respectively) completely dominated the first game taking it 11-4, only to see the tables turned as the second seeds won the second game by the same margin. In the third game Tucker/Fuller found themselves trailing 4-7 and 5-8 but by forcing the pace and length, recovered to lead 10-8 and clinch the game on their first game point 11-8 to take a 2-1 game lead.
The third game saw the the top seeds dominate play, leading 5-1 7-2 and 8-3 before Clifton Parks/Haynes fought back to 6-8 but Tucker and Fuller, who represented South Africa in the Women’s World Team championships three years ago, gained control and won the fourth game and the match at 11-7.
Five-time winner of the mixed doubles with Paul Atkinson, Haynes appeared in her second final of the event when they faced Potgieter and Louw. In a 64-minute tussle Potgieter and Louw, a product of De Kuilen High School in Kuils River, Western Cape, emerged victorious 5-11 11-8 1-9 3-11 11-6.
All pictures courtesy of Jeff Schulman
Results:
A Section
Men: 2-C Potgieter/JP Brits bt 1-J Gouweloos/A McGuigan 11-9 11-7 11-6. 3rd: P Atkinson/D Helwick w/o R Olivier/D Groenewald scr.
Women: 1-C Tucker/A Fuller bt 2-A Clifton-Parks/D Haynes 11-4 4-11 11-8 11-7, 3rd: D Helwick/A Sammons bt A Pienaar/ K Dodd 3-2
Mixed: 2-C Potgieter/M Louw bt 1-P Atkinson/D Haynes 11-5 8-11 9-11 11-3 11-6: 3rd: M Wood/C Tucker bt D Helwick/N Helwick 3-2
B Section
Men: 2 P Barrow/J Barrow bt 4- J Lee/C Deakins 3-2: 3rd: C Duncan/K James bt R Hefer/J Wood 3-2: Women: 1-J Fox/C Purchase bt 3- B Potgieter/ M Redelinghuis 3-2: 3rd: N de Fonseca/ M Boshoff bt A Bennett/J Coetzee 3-1: Mixed B: 2 K de Lange/ M Kohne bt 8 M Clayton/ H Coetzee 3-2 11-10 in the 5th: 3rd: J van der Wath/A Clifton Parks bt E Bruchhausen/J Fox 3-0
Men: C Section: 1st : V Djurak/H Claasen: 2nd: E Upton/M Farry
Masters: 1st : D Venter/E Bruchhausen : 2nd A Wallers/D Hector