As with the singles, the doubles semi-finals were also delayed by the persistent rain and eventually played on Sunday. Greg and Rajeev faced the also unseeded pair of Aussie Matt Ebden and Andre Begemann. Having disposed of the No.1 seeds in the previous round Greg and Rajeev were confident of a good result going into this match and matched that confidence with some good play to start. However they were unable to convert their opportunities and it was their opponents which drew first blood and broke Greg and Raj for a surprise lead in the first set, going on to win the first set 6-3.
Greg and Raj rose to the challenge and took an early lead in the second set, only to see Ebden and Begemann fight back and take the 2nd set into a tie-break at 6-6. It was a tight tie-break and Greg and Raj had the opportunity to take the match into the match tie-break with a set point opportunity. Ebden and Begemann again responded and saved the set point, bringing up their own match point and converting to win the tie-break 8-6 and a close fought match 6-3, 7-6.
Greg was bitterly disappointed, as a final had beckoned in both semi-final matches but he had come up empty handed, and had also missed the first day of his planned trip to the game park in Botswana. On the positive side he had performed beyond expectation, whilst carrying a leg injury and now had the prospect of at least 10 days holiday at Chobe River and in Benoni, attending the wedding of his cousin Gary and Lara as one of the groomsmen.
No comments:
Post a Comment