26 Aug 2024
Bialokoz and Batrane clinch BPT Futures title in Canada
The London-based duo won in straight sets 21-14, 21-19 to dash the hopes of the home crowd who were right behind the home players.
With coach Freddie Fairbairn watching on, Freddie and Issa stormed into an early 4-0 lead in the first set and never looked back, closing it out with an ace from the former.
The second set proved to be closer, with the English pair trailing 10-8 at one point before turning it around to lead 20-17 and eventually finish the match with a crunching spike from Freddie, who was delighted to beat a team they had lost to in three sets earlier in the week.
He said afterwards: “We played them before in the pools and lost, but we were glad to make it right in the final when it counts.
“You prepare, warm up and get everything right mentally and see where it goes.
“It took us two goes to get over the line, but we got there in the end.
“We were not exactly the favourites here, playing a home team in Canada, but it’s been a great week for us.”
Issa extended Freddie's views on the competion saying, "everything went really well in the competition. I think, for us, things just improved as the event progressed. As a team, we’re collectively proud of our performance. Apart from maybe one game, we stayed quite consistent, and the numbers back that up—we played well throughout the tournament."
He also went on to thank all the individuals supporting them both and their hopes for Poland next week.
We're grateful for everyone who helped us along the way; it really does take a village, and we’re fortunate to have that support behind us. Now, we’re just looking ahead to Warsaw this week, aiming for the best result possible.
Freddie and Issa are in action again this week as they fly to Warsaw to play in the qualifiers of another BPT Futures event in Warsaw, Poland.
