Cedric de la Chaise & Peter Fitzgerald (1) vs Sultan Gangji & Graeme Pearson (2)
Again, under the eagle eye of LTA umpire James McKenzie this year’s final was also the third final in a row that these pairs had contested, Cedric and Peter getting the upper hand in 2013 and 2014. The courts must have dried out considerably by the time of the doubles final, because Peter seemed to have no qualms about throwing himself around the courts with customary abandon when putting his all into getting a shot which might have otherwise been out of reach. From the perspective of Sultan and Graeme, the fact Graeme had clocked up his first loss in the West Heath singles final in the immediately preceding match might have been a little dispiriting.
Another factor may be that Graeme’s solid topspin baseline game has less impact in a doubles match. And while Sultan played very well in the doubles semi-final, he was not on top form right at the start of this match. These factors combined with great play by Cedric and Peter, and some bad bounces, allowed the title holders, Cedric and Peter to increase their winning margin from last year to win the match 6-1 6-1 (last year was 6-4 6-1)
Peter is unlikely to compete and win with Cedric in next year’s tournament, as his company has asked him to go on a prestigious two-year assignment to Japan in early August. We wish him all the best in his new role, and hope he will be returning to play at West Heath at the conclusion.
