After brushing aside defending champions Benny Lin and Stephen So, 6-2, 6-3, in their final round robin match, Yu Hiu Tung and Wayne Wong then followed that with a dominating semifinal win over Andrew Town and Adrian Montesinos to power into the final of the 2004 Clearwater Bay Indoor Doubles Classic sponsored by Maserati. The local boys, however, could not reproduce nearly enough of the crisp hitting they displayed in earlier matches, as they went down to the Aussie pair of Jamie Holmes and Jason Lijewski, 7-6(4), 6-4, in the title decider last Sunday.
[Full Results]
Needless to say, those who were fortunate enough to experience the tournament at first hand were treated to another weekend of spectacular tennis at the Clearwater Bay Indoor Doubles Classic 2004 sponsored by Maserati. This unique format of three round robin matches on the first day, coupled with a super-tiebreak format to decide the third set instead, saw the unlikely result of reigning SCAA Doubles Champions Sean Cooper and Malcolm Swan miss out on the semifinals after losing three straight round robin matches via the super-tiebreak.
As the only two current touring pros in the field, in-form youngsters Wayne Wong and Yu Hiu Tung negotiated their way to the final with the loss of only one set and were hot favourites to take the title. However in a thrilling final, the doubles experience of Jason Lijewski and former world No. 289 (doubles No. 116), Jamie Holmes, proved to be the difference, as the Aussies denied Wayne his second title in many weeks after he took out Peter Clarke the week before in the CRC Open Men's Singles final. Holmes' active net play and Lijewski's improving consistency over the days were enough to keep the Hong Kong Davis Cuppers at bay in the final with the Australians winning it, 7-6(4), 6-4, in front of a packed house.
In the opening set, Lijewski was the first to lose serve, with Wayne and Tung breaking in the fourth game for an early 3-1 lead. However, the former Berkeley number one failed to consolidate after holding a 30-0 lead in the next game to allow the Aussies to peg the score back to 3-2. Following a Holmes hold, Tung was to lose serve even though the local boys saved a break point at 30-40 and holding a game point after the first deuce.
With Lijewski serving for a 5-3 lead, he got broke for a second time, as Wayne and Tung forced a 4-4 tie before games went with serves to bring proceedings to a breaker, with Lijewski finally holding for the first time in the twelfth game for 6-6.
The ensuing tiebreak was a cat-and-mouse game with mini spurts by both teams, first with Holmes and Lijewski winning the opening two points, followed by Wayne and Tung answering with the next two. The Aussies then managed to make the crucial mini-break to win the next three points before the local boys managed to reply with the next two to bring the score to 5-4 in favour of the Aussies. As if to complete the pattern of you two and us two, Holmes and Lijewski duly won the next two points for a deserved 7-4 first set.
The second set was a completely different affair, as servers dominated with easy holds, apart from Tung's service game in the fourth game when he was taken to deuce. Games went with serve, with neither side coming up with a break point opportunity until the tenth game when, serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down, Wayne was broken uncharacteristically at 15 to lose game, set and match.
Holmes actually went one better this year after finishing as a losing finalist in 2003 at the hands of Benny Lin and Stephen So, after he and his partner Andrew Town had won the match of last year's tournament by getting past Melvin Tong and John Hui 15-13 in the deciding super-tiebreak in the semifinals.
As a side note, in their junior heydays, Holmes lost to current HKTA Head Coach, Benny Lin, 6-1, 0-6, 2-6, at the ITF Grade 1 New South Wales Championships in January 1991, but gained revenge later that year at the Junior Championships of Wimbledon, where he exacted his revenge in the round of 32 with a titanic, 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-4, victory.
Tournament Director, Joelle Ho, said afterwards, "We had a great tournament this year and attendances were even better than we expected. A lot of the spectators were rooting for local boys Wayne and Tung in the final but Jamie and Jason both played some wonderful tennis to walk away with the title in the end. It was really such a closely-contested final with only a few points here and there separating the winners and runners-up. Hopefully, we can continue to bring more exciting tennis to our tennis public and to our club members at the same time. With any luck, see you all next year!"
CWB Tennis Director, Stephen So, added, "Title sponsors Maserati were extremely pleased with the way the event turned out and the support we received, and have hinted at returning next year with the possibility of increased prize money for the winners."
Check out The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club's official website: www.cwbgolf.org