This Is Guernsey

By Gareth Le Prevost

Patrick Ogier covers the back court as Dom McLuskey volleys at the net. (0799689)

DOM McLuskey and Patrick Ogier certainly do not like to make life easy for themselves.

It seems that all week at the Idrottsparken, their matches have gone to championship tie breaks. They like to take the first set, only to go off the boil in the second and then win the match on a championship tie break.

And this was the pattern for the Guernsey pair in their doubles final victory over Isle of Man’s Bruce Wagstaff and Johnny Wagstaff yesterday.

‘I don’t know why it happens,’ said McLuskey afterwards.

‘Once we’ve won the first set, we tend to relax and we play some sloppy shots. They capitalised on that today.

‘But we’ve not lost a championship tie break [this week].’

The gold medal went with their first place in the team event at the start of the week and they were keen to win the doubles after they lost the final in Rhodes two years ago.

For the first time in the tournament, the proceedings were overseen by the tournament referee John Treleven in the umpire’s chair. There was a reason why he was there as McLuskey and Ogier have earned themselves the moniker of the ‘Tourette Twins’ for their on court outbursts.

But the pair are cherubs compared to Wagstaff, who is volatile to say the least.

His rackets regularly suffer GBH when flung around in anger.

However, with Treleven in the chair, everyone was on their best behaviour.

The first six games went with the serve before the Sarnians broke Barradell’s serve to put 4-3 ahead. The Manx duo hit back a bit later to break Ogier’s serve, who was not serving at his best, to make it 5-5.

But again, the Guernsey pair broke Barradell’s serve before McLuskey served them to victory in the first set.

While McLuskey and Ogier had their habitual second set nap, Wagstaff carried Barradell to a  6-2 set win so, yet again, a championship tie break was needed.

Wagstaff and Barradell went to a 3-1 advantage and there were a few worried looks in the ‘Green Army’ sat in the stands.

But again the ‘Twins’ hit back, mainly through some fierce serves from McLuskey to make it all square at 6-6 and ultimately take it 10-8 to spark the obligatory fist pumping from McLuskey and Ogier to the Guernsey crowd.

Article posted on 4th July, 2009 - 2.29pm