Lumley and Virgona to challenge Riviere and Chisholm for World Doubles Championship
Both pairs secured 5-1 victories in their semis
John Lumley and Steve Virgona have secured a third consecutive World Doubles championship final against defending champions Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm, as both pairs secured victories in their semi-finals on Thursday at Moreton Morrell, with each saving set points against them during their respective proceedings.
John Lumley and Steve Virgona entered the second day of their match needing just the single set to ensure progression, while Rob Fahey and Nick Howell faced the daunting task of needing to find five sets on the bounce. After Lumley and Virgona won the first game of the day and had two game points for the second, the sense among the crowd was that the proceedings would be rather brief. So when Howell served a railroad nick to win the second game, they roared into life, urging their favoured pair to push on. They duly obliged, with Fahey and Howell playing more positively than on the first day and looking to hit hard at the targets. Fahey was also having success with his high serve, landing a good length and getting them into the rallies quickly. Virgona and Lumley managed to float and slide the ball into the dedans in response: the pace of the respective pair’s final balls couldn’t have been more different. Fahey and Howell earned themselves a slight advantage in the set, much to the enjoyment of the crowd, who registered plenty of applause for every point they won. The best applause came after Fahey struck a cut-volley into the winning gallery — one of four in the set having not hit any on the first day. They maintained their edge throughout, winning the set with a grille off the racket of Howell, and joining together for a high-five.
Virgona switched to receiving Fahey’s serve for the sixth set, having been receiving from Howell for the fifth. Fahey and Howell still had the initiative, pulling out to a three-game lead and with the prospect of a fairytale starting to enter the back of the minds of the onlookers. Fahey’s ability to find the gallery even despite how high Virgona was playing helped them along that path. For Virgona and Lumley, they needed to regroup and return to the dominating strokeplay they had struck so well the previous day. They were within half a yard of facing down a four-game deficit, but slowly clawed their way back into the contest, with Fahey and Howell unable to convert their game points. The rallies were long, and the games tight, with the set stretching over an hour — the longest of the tournament. Virgona and Lumley wrestled back the initiative, cancelling out the deficit to find themselves level on games.
A few beats later, and the players reached a deciding game, with Lumley and Virgona on serve. Virgona struck a hazard gallery, then Howell opted to leave a ball for a hazard on the floor — despite being 30-15 up and already due a change of ends. Virgona then hit the ball out of court to set up set point to Fahey and Howell. Virgona tickled Fahey’s next railroad as tight as possible to the battery wall, with Fahey unable to get more than a frame on it. Still on set point, Howell put a ball into hazard second. Now at deuce, Fahey couldn’t put away several balls off the back penthouse, with Virgona slipping a winner down the forehand side instead. With match point to Virgona and Lumley, Howell put the next ball into the net to seal his and Fahey’s fate; Virgona and Lumley move on to the final for the third straight edition.
In the other semi-final, Camden Riviere and Tim Chisholm led Bryn Sayer and Ben Taylor-Matthews 3-1 after the first day of play. The defending champions needed two further sets to ensure their progression to the final after having dropped the third set on Wednesday — a fact that hadn’t sat well with them overnight. They came out looking to take points quickly, uninterested in playing out long rallies. But Sayers and Taylor-Matthews had other ideas, being defensively solid and avoiding errors at all costs. They picked off the galleries well — from both ends of the court. They also kept their unforced errors as low as possible while Riviere and Chisholm were more erratic — yet often effective. Neither pair broke more than a game’s advantage throughout the set, culminating in a final, deciding game.
Two unforced errors from Sayers opened the final game, before Taylor-Matthews threaded a ball through the perfect angle to chase a yard that saw both Riviere and Chisholm look at each other assuming the other would take it. Sayers, repeated the same trick — this time hitting the dedans. Sayers’s next shot hit the top of the net tape, sat for a moment before deciding to fall back on his side of the net to groans from the crowd. After the change of ends, the Brits saved both set points to bring it back to deuce. Sayers’s next shot at the winning gallery was long, giving Riviere the chance to lay another chase. Taylor-Matthews’s backhand at the winning gallery was on target, as they marched down to the hazard end with a set point in their pocket, rallying the crowd behind them as they did. Facing down set point, Riviere found himself defending a tight ball off the back penthouse, which he boasted onto the battery wall and into the grille. Taylor-Matthews could only clap his racket in appreciation in response. Riviere took the next two points by peppering the ball at Sayers in the grille, sealing the set and the Brit’s fate in the match.
Riviere and Chisholm were ascendant in the sixth set, while Sayers and Taylor-Matthews’s fight seemed to abandon them. In a flash, they had a big lead in the set, hitting their targets well while Sayers and Taylor-Matthews error count grew. The Brits managed a token game midway through the set, but it was clear to all watching that the Americans weren’t going to let it get away from them. They easily qualified for their eighth career World Doubles Championship final.
The players have a rest day on Friday where they will have an opportunity to refine their plans and tactics for the final, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday in a best-of-9 set format.
Match results:
Robert Fahey & Nick Howell (3) lost John Lumley & Steve Virgona (2) 1-5
Day 1: 4/6 3/6 3/6 0/6
Day 2: 6/3 5/6
Camden Riviere & Tim Chisholm (1) def Ben Taylor-Matthews & Bryn Sayers (4) 5-1
Day 1: 6/2 6/2 5/6 6/3
Day 2: 6/5 6/1
Order of play for Saturday:
1:30 PM: Camden Riviere & Tim Chisholm (1) vs John Lumley & Steve Virgona (2)