The Men’s Doubles campaign went very much to script as Luke and Leon Griffiths ran away with the title in mesmerizing fashion.
The brothers won all three of their matches by more than 30 points and before tennis, marking themselves down as leading contenders ahead of the World Doubles Championship later this year.
Elsewhere, Amke Fischer and Sam Barker edged past top seeds Matilda Parslow and Johnny Bispham in a close Mixed Doubles final from start to finish.
The Griffiths Brothers Success Restarts Fast on Racketlon’s Return
The Griffiths brothers wasted no time in getting back to winning ways post-lockdown as they rolled through a unique Men’s A Doubles field. Chock full of British pairs, the brothers won all nine of their sets, including with a badminton bagel.
The closest they came to losing a set was a 21-16 table tennis win against Matthew Haynes and late-replacement partner Nigel D’Arcy. The other pairs they defeated were Matthew Davidson and Ross Wilson, and debutants Dorian Robinson and Will Rogers-Tizard.
The set of the day came in the shoot-out for silver, as Davidson and Wilson won a remarkable badminton set 26-24 on their way to beating Haynes and D’Arcy and securing themselves a silver medal. Haynes and D’Arcy eventually took the bronze leaving Robinson and Rogers-Tizard just off the podium.
For the Griffiths brothers, this only adds to their collection of trophies. Leon moves to six Men’s Doubles trophies already, moving him level with Thorsten Deck. Luke now moves up to two titles, although there are no doubt many more to come in the years ahead.
Fischer and Barker Beat Top Seeds to Seal Mixed Doubles Crown
Travel restrictions have meant that very few players from outside the UK were able to get to the London Open – with only two making it. One of those was Amke Fischer, who lifted her 9th Mixed Doubles title alongside Great Britain’s Sam Barker.
Playing together for the first time, the pair grew into the day, eventually winning 10 of their 12 sets. Their first loss came against Alexandra Ogram and David Bennett in the form of a 21-18 squash loss.
Their second came in a gripping showdown against top seeds Matilda Parslow and Johnny Bispham. With Fischer/Barker and Parslow/Bispham both winning their matches against Ogram/Bennett, as well as fourth pair Irina Sanderson and James Pope, they met in an effective final.
It was close through the first two sports, with top seeds Parslow and Bispham fighting hard to take the table tennis and a slender +3 lead. A huge second half recovery from Fischer in the badminton lifted her team into a +2 lead into the tennis, a lead they wouldn’t squander. 21-11 in the tennis confirmed the crown for Fischer and Barker and ended a captivating final.
Ogram and Bennett battled past Sanderson and Pope to take the bronze medal.
The full results from the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles events can be found here.
A review for the non-elite doubles events will come on Monday.
Has this motivated you to play racketlon? The full FIR World Tour is available here and anyone can enter.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / Duncan Stahl
