Johannesburg
North West’s Christo Potgieter scored a double at the finals of the Tswalu SA National Doubles Championship played at the Johannesburg Country Club at the weekend, when he won both the men’s doubles title with JP Brits and the mixed doubles with the 2016 SA National Individual Champion, Milnay Louw.
In the men’s final, second seeded Potgieter and Brits, runners-up in 2015 and 2016, trailed 4-9 in the first game against three times winners, Justin Gouweloos and Alan McGuigan of Midlands but fought back to 8-9 and pocketed the next 3 consecutive points to win the game at 11-9. The second game saw points seesawing until when leading 7-6, Potgieter and Brits turned up the pressure forcing the top seeds, Gouweloos and McGuigan into making mistakes. The second seeds took the game 11-7. Points seesawed 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, 7 times winners of the title, in four games.
Tucker and Fuller 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 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 games to one 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 2014 Women’s World Team championships, gained control and won the fourth game and the match at 11-7.
Five times 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 emerged victorious 5-11 11-8 11-9 3-11 11-6.
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
C Section: Men: 1st : V Djurak/H Claasen: 2nd: E Upton/M Farry
Masters: 1st : D Venter/E Bruchhausen; 2nd A Wallers/D Hector
