Clyne clocks up national title No 10 as Aitken wins her fourth
Alan Clyne clinched his tenth Scottish title and Lisa Aitken her fourth following two onesided finals at Edinburgh Sports Club yesterday.
Clyne won the first seven points against Perth youngster Rory Stewart, ten years his junior, and the top seed and defending champion never let up as he went on to complete an emphatic 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 victory.
“Rory’s a really great player when his confidence is up, so I wanted to be ‘on it’ from the first point,” revealed the 33-year-old. “7-0 was a great start, but I couldn’t lay off the gas in any of the games.
“A tenth title sounds great, although I’m always proud to win the national title. I’m getting on a bit now, but I still feel fit and I’m still keeping the younger players in check.”
Stewart added: “I was in all of the rallies but Alan just won them all. It was my first Scottish final, but I don’t see it as a step forward really.”
Despite being 11 years older than her final opponent, second seed Georgia Adderley, Aitken’s greater maturity and calmness under pressure helped her to an 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 victory over the highly-strung local teenager.
“Today was the first time for a long while that I felt butterflies in my stomach, but it all went according to plan,” smiled the No 1 seed, pictured. “Georgia is known to implode if it’s not her day. I’d prepared for that because it’s important to keep your concentration for the next rally. I have a psychologist that I work closely with, and I wanted to stick to my own gameplan.
“The older I get [30 last month], the more I appreciate being healthy. I had three years off tour due to illness, so I still feel pretty fresh. I’d love to be here in another ten years, winning another national title. I have no idea when I’ll stop playing, but four titles is definitely not enough for me!”
Adderley admitted:”lisa played really well and put me under a lot of pressure.”
Perth’s Katriona Allen and Aberdeen’s Chris Leiper finished third after beating Claire Gadsby and Jamie Henderson in yesterday’s bronze medal play-offs.