Steve Virgona defeated Rob Fahey in the finals of the 2011 Links Pump Australian Open. The Final Score was 6/5 6/5 6/4. Virgona then teamed up with Fahey to win the Doubles title! Comments from the RTO Forum page following the day-to-day action can be found below.
Link Pumps Australian Open
The first day of competition mostly followed the form guide. The highlight was Ben Matthews’s match against our Frank Filippelli. Frank did his best to wind back the clock but could not quite close out a set. Tomorrow is doubles quarter finals day with the following two matches being the best picks for those thinking of coming in:
1PM (3) B. Matthews/J. Snow versus M. Happell/B. Richardson; and
3.30PM (2) B. Sayers/K. Booth versus F. Filippelli/A. Fowler
Day 1 results:
R. Fahey def. C. White 6/0 6/0 6/0
M. Happell def. A. Fowler 6/2 6/3 6/1
B. Matthews def. F. Filippelli 6/4 6/4 6/4
R. Gunn def. M. Benkemoun 6/0 6/1 6/2
B. Sayers def. B. Richardson 6/3 6/1 6/0
K. Booth def. C. Greenhalph 6/1 6/1 6/3
C. Chapman def. D. Williams 6/1 6/2 6/1
S. Virgona def. J. Gould 6/0 6/1 6/0
Link Pumps Australian Open
Day 2 has seen some fabulous quarter final doubles action. The show piece match between Matthews/Snow and Happell/Richardson lived up to all expectations. Matthews and Snow looked like taking the match in straight sets before the other pair levelled it at 2 sets apiece. Only in the fifth set were Snow and Matthews able to pull away thanks largely to the steadiness of Ben Matthews at the net – whilst the other three players made the occasional error Ben was able to dictate play which proved the difference. Tomorrow is singles quarter finals day with the schedule as follows (please see the RMTC website for the full draw):
12AM (3) B. Sayers versus K. Booth;
2PM (2) S. Virgona versus C. Chapman;
5PM (1) R. Fahey versus M. Happell; and
7PM (4) R. Gunn versus B. Matthews
Day 2 results:
Fahey/Virgona def. Greenhalph/Williams 6/0 6/0 6/0
Chapman/Gunn def. Howell/Tabley 6/1 6/1 6/3
Matthews/Snow def. Happell/Richardson 6/1 6/3 3/6 3/6 6/2
Sayers/Booth 6/1 6/2 6/1
Link Pumps Australian Open
Yesterday was Singles Quarter Finals day.
Day 3 results:
Sayers def. Booth 6/3 6/2 6/2
Virgona def. Chapman 6/3 6/1 6/1
Fahey def. Happell 6/2 6/1 6/1
Matthews def. Gunn 6/0 5/6 6/3 6/2
Link Pumps Australian Open
Unfortunately Bryn Sayers had to pull out of his Doubles Semi Final match leaving only one match played.
Day 4 results:
Fahey/Virgona def. Gunn/Chapman 6/1 6/2 6/0
Matthews/Snow def. Sayers/Booth w/o
Link Pumps Australian Open
Saturday 29 January, we have seen the two top seeds move through to Monday night’s Final. In the first Semi Final Rob Fahey accounted for Ben Matthews with more efficiency than Ben would have liked. And in the second Semi Final Steve Virgona was made to work by Bryn Sayers and his soft hands. Bryn fell two sets to love down but then put the pressure right back on Steve by winning the third set and taking a 4/3 lead in the fourth. It is a shame that Bryn had to pull out of yesterday’s doubles as he clearly has hands that can withstand the ball at top pace.
Day 5 results:
1st Singles Semi Final
Rob Fahey def. Ben Matthews 6/2 6/1 6/2
2nd Singles Semi Final
Steve Virgona def. Bryn Sayers 6/2 6/2 4/6 6/5
Link Pumps Australian Open
Steve Virgona playing with his sidekick Rob Fahey was too strong for Ben Matthews and Julian Snow. Steve’s forehand is both intimidating and effective with the only real upside for those playing at the opposite end being that it gives them multiple opportunities to hit the shot-of-the-match! Ben Matthews won this award when he successfully volleyed a Virgona forehand smash (remember the shot from last May if you can’t envisage it) over the net! Julian and Ben played with courage and much skill in their own right but on this occasion were not able to trade blows with the World’s No.1 pairing.
Day 6 results:
Link Pumps Australian Open Doubles Final
Fahey/Virgona def. Matthews/Snow 6/1 6/1 6/1
Link Pumps Australian Open
Day 7 results:
Link Pumps Australian Open Singles
Steve Virgona def. Rob Fahey 6/5 6/4 6/4
Steve Virgona became a three time winner of the Australian Open Singles title last night when he defeated World Champion Rob Fahey. The match resembled an arm wrestle between two burly prize fighters. In the first set Steve ground to a 3-1 lead only for Rob to up the ante with a series of winners to the Grille, Winning Gallery and Dedan to move to 5-4 up and looking set to take the first set – a similar pattern to last May in the WC. However, Steve was then able to take it up a further notch using his amazing forehand to both retrieve at the service end and when opportunity arose to force beneath the Grille. First set to Steve 6/5.
Steve’s service game throughout was similar to last May in that he complemented his variety of Railroads with the Caterpillar (designed to make Rob hit to Steve’s forehand). This time however, Steve mixed them up more effectively and as the match progressed Steve was able to prevent the Champ from sustaining any momentum for long. Rob made a fight of each of the final two sets but each time Steve weathered the storm and finished the stronger player.
The power hitting from both players was outstanding but the most memorable rally was finished off by a delicate lob by Rob after he had successfully brought and stranded Steve at the net. It was a tremendous final and as well as being a replay of the World Championship match hopefully it will also be a precursor to the next one.
Don’t miss your final opportunity to watch these players in the Doubles World Championship over the next few days (Today, Wednesday with the Final on Friday and Saturday). A sign-up sheet is up in the club for Friday and Saturd
