GF stumble in Grade 3
MACCABI’s Grade 3 team was valiant in its grand final defeat to a Carmelite side stacked with ex-Grade 1 players on Saturday at Dendy Park.
MACCABI’s Grade 3 team was valiant in its grand final defeat to a Carmelite side stacked with ex-Grade 1 players on Saturday at Dendy Park.
In a gruelling decider consisting of four singles and four doubles fixtures, Maccabi’s hopes looked grim after Jarred Krowtiz and Steven Gostin lost in their singles matches.
But Israeli dynamos Assaf Drori and captain Assaf Nagar — undefeated in singles during the finals — wrested back momentum in their singles clashes, with steely three-set victories against highly ranked opponents.
Joel Fredman partnered with Nagar for the opening doubles fixtures and they won a heroic battle, edging out Carmelite in the third set 7-6, which meant for a brief time Maccabi was ahead.
But the doubles team of Drori and Naveh Dvir-Ovadia suffered defeats in both their rubbers, giving Carmelite an unassailable lead in the overall points and resulting in Nagar and Fredman calling off their second doubles bout.
Despite falling short, reaching the Grade 3 decider was remarkable feat by the Nagar-led team, in a season dedicated to the memory of Maccabi Tennis Club legend, Paul Arber.
AJN STAFF
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