IT WAS a real ding-dong battle as Guernsey began the defence of their team gold medal with a victory over the hosts. In a sweltering hall at the College of Rhodes yesterday morning, the Sarnians were given quite a fright by what turned out to be a very strong Greek team, much to the surprise of Guernsey captain Phil Hunkin.
‘That was very tough. We thought they might have been our one easy group game, but obviously it did not turn out that way,’ he said.
‘We have been given a very hard draw here. All the teams seem well balanced,’ he added having glanced around the other five tables.
It was no wonder that Hunkin emphasised to his team what a good win it had been after Garry Dodd and Alice Loveridge had wrapped up the decisive mixed doubles rubber to give their side an unbeatable 4-2 lead.
‘I think that they [Rhodes] could go a long way in the competition,’ was the Guernsey captain’s assessment of the opposition.
‘You never know with home teams - they always seem to turn up with players you have never seen before at previous Games.
‘Their number one was a top quality player and their number two was pretty tasty as well. Scott [Romeril] beat him in the first game and that proved crucial.’
It was Romeril who took the first set against Theofanis Avrantinis 11-7, but the home player hit back to take the next 8-11. Romeril’s response was excellent, though, as he came through the next two 11-9, 11-7 against the left-hander to win the rubber.
But in Konstantinos Vatsaklis, Rhodes have an excellent player and he came through in straight sets against Garry Dodd to even the scores.
As Hunkin says regularly of the female contingent: ‘It is our strength.’
Both the doubles pairing of Dawn Morgan and Kay Chivers as well as top individual Loveridge proved him right as they claimed their respective rubbers 3-0.
Romeril then lost out to Vatsaklis in four as Rhodes narrowed the overall to one rubber and it was down to Dodd and Loveridge to come up trumps as they defeated the number one man and Andriani Doumeni 13-11, 11-7, 11-8.
The dead rubber saw Dodd lose out to Avrantinis.
Hunkin felt that the teenagers in his team perhaps needed to show more patience if they were to play to their full ability.
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