Maccabi tennis players rule Fiji Open

COMPETITORS from Maccabi Tennis Club have returned from their first Fiji Open with new pieces of hardware for the trophy cabinet.

Peter Sheridan, Steve Loeffler, Lucy Wood, Haim Gale at the Fiji Open.

COMPETITORS from Maccabi Tennis Club have returned from their first Fiji Open with new pieces of hardware for the trophy cabinet.

Led by Maccabi Tennis Professional Steve Loeffler, the team including Haim Gale, Peter Sheridan and Lucy Wood had a successful trip bringing home four titles and four runners-up trophies between them, making the Maccabi Team the most successful international group at the tournament.

Loeffler took out the Open Singles and over-35 Singles events along with the Open Mixed Doubles with partner Lucy Wood.

Wood was runner-up in the Women’s Open Singles.

Haim Gale just missed out in the finals of the over-55 singles while Peter Sheridan won the over-65 singles event.

Haim and Peter teamed up for the Men’s Masters Doubles but lost in the final to a New Zealand pair.

In the Mixed Doubles Masters event Peter Sheridan partnered with a player from outside the eastern suburbs-based club to come runner up.

“Peter and Haim displayed tremendous spirit and fitness to reach four finals between them in extremely humid and hot conditions against tough competition,” said Leoffler.

The Fiji Open tournament dates back to 1907 and has been running longer than the Australian Open and attracts competitors from all over Oceania including tennis players form New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Australia.