Scots reign supreme to secure 1-2-3 in British Open Doubles in Glasgow
The Scotland’s male doubles teams took first, second and third places on the final day of the British Open Doubles event in Glasgow – the last doubles event before national selectors pick their teams for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Scottish number one Alan Clyne and his partner Harry Leitch were forced into a decider after a spirited comeback from Stuart Crawford and Scottish rising star Greg Lobban – but the experienced duo prevailed 11-10 4-11 11-8 to secure the inaugural title at the Commonwealth Games squash venue in Scotstoun Sports Campus.
Clyne and Leitch narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the 2010 Games in Delhi but are expected to represent Scotland again alongside Crawford and Lobban on home soil this summer.
Elsewhere, the Scottish duo of Lyall Paterson and Douglas Kempsell sealed third place after overcoming Peter Creed – Wales’ leading male – and Joel Makin in straight games, while a spirited Gibraltar team of Christian Navas and Anthony Brindle fell to their fifth straight-game loss.
In the women’s event, Welsh National Champion Deon Saffrey and Wales number one Tesni Evans won the best of three series against Frania Gillen-Buchert and Alex Clark after triumphing 11-6, 11-7 in less than 20 minutes.
Gillen-Buchert and Clark had bounced back after losing the opening fixture to tie the scores with a hard-fought 2-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon, but they never looked like repeating the feat 24 hours later as the Welsh pair cruised to victory.Â
In the Mixed event, Scottish duo of Gillen-Buchert and Clyne had to settle for silver following a straight game defeat to the powerful Welsh duo former world number three David Evans and Saffrey.
Kevin Moran and US-based Clark landed third after beating Welsh rivals Tesni Evans and Creed in straight games.
Men’s Doubles Results:
Scott Fitzgerald / David Haley (WAL) 2-0 Anthony Brindle / Christian Navas (GIB) 11-7, 11-0
Lyall Paterson / Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 2-0 Joel Makin / Peter Creed (WAL) 11-8, 11-8
Alan Clyne / Harry Leitch (SCO) 2-0 Stuart Crawford / Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-10 4-11 11-8
Women’s Doubles Results:
Deon Saffery / Tesni Evans (WAL) 2-0 Frania Gillen-Buchert / Alex Clark (SCO) 11-6, 11-7
Mixed Doubles Results
Alex Clark / Kevin Moran (SCO) 2-0 Tesni Evans / Peter Creed (WAL) 11-7, 11-10
Deon Saffery / David Evans (WAL) 2-0 Frania Gillen-Buchert / Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-8, 11-5
 Sterling Trucks British Open Doubles Championship – Final Results
   
   
Thursday Afternoon Session – Finals Replay:
| Tuesday Afternoon Session Replay | Tuesday Evening Session Replay |
| Wednesday Afternoon Session Replay | Wednesday Evening Session Replay |
WEDNESDAY REPORT:
Going into the final day of the event at Scotsoun Sports Campus – which will host the Games squash in the summer – several Welsh teams are in the running for podium places.
Teenager Joel Makin and Wales number one Peter Creed overcame Scotland’s top duo and tournament favourites Alan Clyne and Harry Leitch 2-0 on Wednesday, despite Makin nursing a bloody hand injury mid-contest.
The Welsh pair had earlier lost to compatriots David Haley and Florida-based Scott Fitzgerald on day one of the competition, and gave a competitive performance in losing 2-0 to Scots Stuart Crawford and Greg Lobban in Wednesday’s closing game.
But Welsh star Creed, whose Commonwealth Doubles partner – former world number three David Evans – pulled out last minute with a slight injury, still has a lot to cheer about.
“This tournament is a great chance for all involved to prepare competitively for the Games – the Scots here are very strong and are providing rare and welcomed doubles practice,” revealed Creed.
“I wasn’t quite expecting to be in a position to win this event as me and Joel [Makin] have only played together once before, and he had his first ever game of doubles squash last summer.
“But we’ve both stepped up well after our early hiccup, and have stopped being afraid of losing and gone in with a winning attitude.”
Crawford and Lobben and Clyne and Leitch – who bounced back from their defeat with a conclusive 2-0 victory over Haley and Fitzgerald – now sit in first and second in the round robin setup and will face off in Thursday’s final match.
In the mixed event on Wednesday, both Clyne and Frania Gillen-Buchert for Scotland and Welsh National champion Deon Saffery and David Evans notched 2-0 victories – against Tesni Evans and Creed and Hannah Davies and Makin, respectively – to set up a Thursday showdown.
The Women’s event will also be decided on finals day, after the Scottish duo of Gillen-Buchert and Alex Clark bounced back from an opening day defeat with a 2-1 victory against Wales number one Tesni Evans and Saffery. They will play for a third and final time in Thursday’s opening match.