the indestructible Colin Sinclair once again in the doubles final!

Despite his success in New Caledonia, Colin Sinclar and his partner Blake Bayldon were not guaranteed to make it through to the final four on Thursday January 2. Facing them, a formidable team, dressed all in black and yellow, made up of Frenchman Théo Arribagé, 64^e world, and the Portuguese Francisco Cabral, 76^e to the ATP.

The gap is very significant in their ranking and their rivals are real doubles specialists. Arguments which ultimately did not hold up in front of a packed audience at Ouen Toro. If the wind blows hard on the tennis league facilities, Arribagé’s quality of service and his excellent communication with Cabral allow the two men to take the lead 3-1, then 4-2. When the first balls of one are placed outside the square, the other easily ends the rally on the fly. When they are more central, it is difficult for their Oceanian opponents to put them back on the court.

“The conditions were very tricky because of the wind. It was blowing behind us on one side of the court and we had to face it head on on the other side. It was really hard to serve or return in these conditions”testified Sinclair after the meeting. The latter, more comfortable in the game than his teammate, notably through his ability to play long and keep his rivals in the baseline, still manages to keep his team in the game. She only lost 6-4 in the first set.

In the second, the longer exchanges seem better managed by Bayldon. The Australian is more aggressive in his shots and plays more on his opponents rather than trying to pass or lob them. Théo Arribagé shows some signs of irritation on balls that he considers poorly judged by the chair umpire, and while his pair is trailing 5-4 on his serve, he commits two double faults.

The second loses the game and the set. “I think that staying positive was decisive for us. We played point after point and we knew how to keep good energy”analyzed Bayldon, born in Sydney. Direction le super tie break. Trailing 2-0, the outsiders turned the tide and came back to 3 all, before Arribagé, unhappy with the judgment of a service flagged as a fault, lost his cool. He hits two balls in anger off the court and leaves his match.

Sinclair and Bayldon ended up winning 10-6 and qualifying for the final, the third in a row for the Mariannais. He had won the last two with another partner, the New Zealander Statham. “We always had the impression of being behind them, of fighting to come back. And to the end, Blake played so well. We knew how to stay hooked enough a long time”.

In the singles table, bad weather continues to hit the top seeds. In the quarter-final yesterday, the Hungarian Fucsovics (n°2) could not resist the Australian Bouzige (3-6, 3-6). Valentin Vacherot (No. 4) lost in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, against Frenchman Constant Lestienne (seeded No. 8).

The others qualified for the last four: the Japanese Mochizuki and the Austrian Rodionov. In the singles semi-final, this Friday, follow the Lestienne – Bouziges match from 6 p.m., then Rodionov against Mochizuki.