TAYLOR Greechan produced the most remarkable comeback of Jersey’s Commonwealth Games campaign so far to claim his first singles victory after recovering from a crushing opening set defeat against Botswana’s Diza Mphotho.
The 20-year-old looked destined for a third successive loss after being blown away 10-1 in the opening set, with Mphotho racing into a 10-0 lead before Greechan finally got on the board with the final bowl.
However, the Jerseyman responded in sensational fashion. After edging ahead early in the second set, Greechan found his rhythm to reel off a string of shots, opening up an 11-0 advantage before sealing the set 13-0 to force a tie-break.
With momentum firmly on his side, Greechan won the deciding tie-break 2-0 to complete an impressive turnaround and get his Commonwealth Games campaign up and running.
“It was difficult to come back because I’m easily frustrated, but when I’m positive, I’m so positive,” Greechan said.
“There’s no middle ground unfortunately.
“He helped me out once or twice in the second set and I managed to build on that. Luckily I picked up 11 shots in five ends after that, so it was good.”
Earlier in the evening, Sara Douglas and Fiona Archibald were unable to build on their opening-day victory over hosts Scotland as they were beaten 7-1, 7-2 by Norfolk Island’s Ellie Dixon and Christine Jones.
The Jersey pair struggled to adapt after Norfolk Island repeatedly changed the length of the jack, with the opposition’s consistency proving decisive across both five-end sets.
“I felt good going into the game and I think we played well,” said skip Archibald.
“The opposition were very, very accurate, very consistent. When you’ve only got five ends and they suddenly change the length, it’s really hard to adjust, but I think we coped with it well.”
Douglas added: “Their lead was very consistent and on this surface it’s all about getting the weight right. They were excellent at changing the length and adapting.”
Despite the defeat, the pair remain upbeat after already proving they can compete with some of the strongest nations in the competition.
“Beating Scotland yesterday and Malaysia as well really encourages us to keep improving,” Archibald added.
Greechan returns to the green on Sunday morning against Bolivia at 9.55am, while Douglas and Archibald face the Cook Islands in the women’s pairs at 2.45pm.
