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2023-12-10

CLEARWATER BAY CHAMPIONS CUP 2023

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CLEARWATER BAY CHAMPIONS CUP 2023

The Indian pairing of Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan beat Aussies J.P. Smith and Andrew Harris in a highly entertaining final with a third set super-tiebreak 6-4 1-6 [11-9] to lift this year’s Clearwater Bay Champions Cup title.  The two players with the highest singles rankings, Coleman Wong and Jason Jung, combined to finish in fourth place after a close defeat in the 3rd Place Playoff to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Tsung-Hao and Yi Chu-Huan 2–6 6–2 [10–4].   

Roll of Honour: https://cwb-championscup.hk/roll-of-honour/.

For more, visit https://cwb-championscup.hk.

In a final pitting teams with the two highest-ranked players in the draw – Yuki Bhambri at No. 62 and J.P. Smith at No. 78 – servers dominated the early proceedings in the opening set until Smith found himself serving at 4-4, 30-30 when he dumped an overhead smash into the net to face break point for the first time.  The left-handed Smith went for a body serve but Bhambri was able to drill a low off-forehand return and then backed that up with a well-struck backhand down the centre that forced Harris to volley long.  With a break of serve and a 5-4 lead, Ramanathan produced a love game to hold for the set, 6-4.

In the second set, the Aussies broke Ramanathan early to go up 2-0 before Harris consolidated for a quick-fire 3-0 lead.  At 4-1, Smith/Harris broke Ramanathan again to jump out to a double-break advantage, as Harris suddenly found life with his single-backhand returns.  Smith duly held for the set 6-1 to force a third set super-tiebreak.  

Smith/Harris drew first blood to go up double mini-break 6-2 but the Indian pair fought back to grab the next four points to draw even at 6-6.  At 8-8, Ramanathan belted an ace down the tee to arrive at match point 9-8, but Harris managed to save it with a solid forecourt intercept to force a 9-9 stalemate once again.  However, Harris then mishandled a Ramanathan return of serve at the net and pushed it long to concede a mini-break.  That was all Bhambri needed, as he smacked a forehand crosscourt winner with Smith stranded at the net to hold for a 6-4 1-6 [11-9] victory.

Semifinals

Down 4-2 against J.P. Smith/Andrew Harris, Coleman Wong/Jason Jung broke Harris to go up 5-4 only to see the Aussies break back twice to win the opener 7-5.  In the ensuing set, Wong/Jung broke Smith in the second game and quickly consolidated for a 3-0 lead.  The HK-Taiwanese duo held that one-break advantage to claim the second 6-3 to send proceedings to a third set super-tiebreak. Servers then dominated until 5-4 when Smith/Harris won the next four points, including consecutive mini-breaks against Wong’s serve, to arrive at quadruple match point.  Leading 9-4, the Aussies broke Jung to complete a 7-5 3-6 [10-4] victory to advance to the final.

In the 3rd place playoff, Huang Tsung-Hao/Yi Chu-Huan came from a set down to beat Coleman Wong/Jason Jung 2–6 6–2 [10–4].  When these two teams met earlier on Saturday, it was the Taiwanese pair that also triumphed in two tiebreak sets 4-3 4-3.  Although Wong/Jung had the better start to the match, the mercurial Huang came to life towards the business end with some incredible shoelace pick-ups to frustrate the HK-Taiwanese duo.  Though retired since 2017, former world No. 109 Yi Chu-Huan still managed to show flashes of his previous brilliance at times.

Earlier in the round robins, Coleman Wong/Jason Jung lost the opening set and trailed 5-2 in the second set tiebreak before they mounted a spirited fightback to beat Saketh Myneni/Vijay Sundar 3-4(5) 4-3(5) [10-8] to qualify for the knockout stage.  Myneni was a silver medalist in men’s doubles at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014 and Hangzhou Asian Games in 2022. He was also a champion here at Clearwater Bay in 2016 and was twice a losing finalist in 2014 and 2017.

Prize money at Clearwater Bay has increased significantly over the years.  The winning pair of the inaugural event in 2003 was worth $15,000, while two decades later today, the prize money distribution is as follows (HKD):

Winner $240,000
Finalist $120,000
Third $100,000
Fourth $60,000
Round Robins $20,000


Results
Clearwater Bay Champions Cup
Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club
December 9-10, 2023

Final
Yuki Bhambri/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) d. J.P. Smith/Andrew Harris (AUS) 6-4 1-6 [11-9]

Semifinals
J.P. Smith/Andrew Harris (AUS) d. Coleman Wong/Jason Jung (HKG/TPE) 7-5 3-6 [10-4]
Yuki Bhambri/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) d. Huang Tsung-Hao/Yi Chu-Huan (TPE) 6-4 6-2

3rd-4th Place Playoff
Huang Tsung-Hao/Yi Chu-Huan (TPE) d. Coleman Wong/Jason Jung (HKG/TPE) 2-6 6-2 [10-4].