Exhausted Price and Leach celebrate title feat after 152 minute marathon
By MICHAEL CATLING – Squash Mad Reporter
Paul Price and Clive Leach produced a stunning fightback to overcome top seeds Damien Mudge and Ben Gould in a two and a half hour marathon and win the SDA Briggs Cup.
It was a incredible conclusion to the $100,000 biannual event at the Apawamis Club in New York, as spectators were treated to one of the longest finals in doubles history.
The duo of Mudge and Gould were seemingly cruising with a 2-0 lead but despite taking the fourth game to a sudden-death tie-break, they were unable to capitalise as Price and Leach completed their astonishing comeback with a 12-15, 10-15, 15-7, 15-14, 15-12 victory.
The number two seeds won their first-ever US Open Doubles Championship last week and breezed through their quarter-final and semi-final encounters with minimum fuss.
However, they were pushed to the limit against three-time winner Mudge and 2007 champion Gould, as the pair began the final in the same ruthless fashion that ended Manek Mathur and Yvain Badan’s challenge the day previous.
But despite forging a 2-0 advantage, Price and Leach quickly halved the deficit and with the momentum behind them, the number two seeds edged a tight fourth game 15-14 before finally claiming the decider with their second-match ball.
Final Result:
[2] Clive Leach/Paul Price 3-2 [1] Damien Mudge/Ben Gould 12-15, 10-15, 15-7, 15-14, 15-12 (152m)
Semi-Final Result:
[2] Clive Leach/Paul Price 3-0 [3] Matt Jenson/Preston B. Quick 15-14, 15-8, 15-14
[1] Damien Mudge/Ben Gould 3-0 [4] Manek Mathur/Yvain Badan 15-9, 15-5, 15-7