Top seeds face battle to retain doubles crown
Three of the four defending champions are again lining up when the 36th annual Drylands Marlborough Rapaura Doubles tournament is held at the Rapaura club this weekend.
There are 23 pairs in the men’s competition and it will come as little surprise to most that the top seeds are highly experienced Grovetown duo Graham Thomas and Scott Woolley. The pair have won five Rapaura titles together, including the last three, while Thomas has lifted the men’s title an unprecedented 13 times and Woolley on six occasions.
Beaten finalists last year and second seeds this time around, Japanese brothers Kenta and Daiki Naka head the list of Thomas and Woolley’s challengers. Hamish Morrow and Andrew Mitchell are seeded third and the pair of James Callaghan and Phil Wright fourth, with Darryl Harper and Jason Flowerday, Brendon Sutherland and Yuichi Ando and the teenage duo of Andrew Forgesson and Lee Harborne other combinations to watch.
Rising Marlborough star Lily O’Fagan claimed her first Rapaura Doubles crown last year, teaming up with Nelson teen Ashley Calder.
This year O’Fagan, 15, has joined forces with experienced figure and fellow representative player Donna Clark to collect the top seed in a women’s field of 14 pairs.
Jane Bay, an 18-time winner, came up one short last year and is the second seed this year in combination with Susan Heagney. Third seeds are Eveline Apthorp and Trisha Bancroft and fourth seeds Ros Suter and Fiona Pidgeon, while Trish Dahlberg and Lorna Linguist and Suzanne Sampson and Loron Hickin are other semifinal contenders.
Rapaura Tennis Club spokesman Barry Doig said the grass courts were in top condition and noted there was a number of visiting players entered, including one each from Britain and Australia.
Play is scheduled to start at 10am tomorrow at the Rapaura club on Rapaura Rd. Finals are set for Sunday and spectators are welcome throughout both days of the event. Tomorrow’s start times 10am: N & J Winter, D Pavey & J Scott, N Fluit & M Gibson, G Tait & R Milne, S Brennan & T Lee, C & R Pigou, C & M Smith, G Barnett & M Mitchell, J-L Hauswirth & C Nott, M George & M Bann, R Marfell & G Moseley, C Mercer & J Watson. 10.45am: B Glover & H Shield, D Ballagh & A Reid, J Tucker & R Taylor, S Stocker & V Scott, S Wilde & S Lee, R Suter & F Pidgeon, S Glover & K Shield, S Sampson & L Hickin, T Dahlberg & L Linquist, G Amaral & K Greenall, E Apthorp & T Bancroft, J Insley & D Simpson, A Coats & J Steel, M Doig & J Swanston. All players not listed above required by 11.30am.