RICHARD BROOKS has revealed his delight at guiding the Team GB men’s side through to the semi-finals of the World Championship European Qualifiers after he was forced to stand in for Head Coach John Leach who had developed COVID.
Brooks, at 41 the doyen of the team is held in the highest regard by his youthful team mates, and as revealed in a Padel Paper exclusive last week will shortly re-launch his own professional career despite enter his fifth decade.
But after seeing his side hand out a pasting to Hungary in which Team GB won 3-0 and failed to drop a set, Brooks was also delighted to see his temporary charges administer another 3-0 victory over the Austrians, although this time they were made to battle all the way, to progress to the semi-final stage of the qualifiers.
The Brit Boys will almost certainly play the winner of Group E, the tournament’s Group of Death, which hosts favourites Portugal and a very strong Swedish side who meet later tonight.
But right now Brooks was savouring his success and a job well done and he said: “I found out on Wednesday that John (Leach) wouldn’t make it due to him coming down with COVID and it was an honour to be asked to fill in for him. I am very proud to have led my country in John’s stead while he recovers.
“But to be honest I am still surprised at it all. That said this is my first time doing this for the national team and I am just proud that John trusted me with this job.
“In terms of the selection for the opening game with Hungary obviously John and I spoke about this before the match and I also discussed it with the team as I always include my team and listen to their thoughts.
“So, it was important to get off to the best possible start against Hungary and we did that with a very strong performance.
“On a personal level I enjoyed both the coaching and still clearly enjoy playing and believe I have a lot still to contribute in that respect. “
The hammering of Hungary saw the three pairings of Christian Medina Murphy and Sam Jones, Brooks and Chris Salisbury, Louie Harris and Sandy Farquharson drop just five games between them.
While delighted at the emphatic nature of the opening victory Brooks admitted it had been vital to lift his charges again ahead of the second Group B match with Austria which saw Team GB enjoy another shutout.
Brooks also showed he wasn’t scared to make changes to freshen things up with Nikhil Mohindra coming in at third couple to partner the experienced Farquharson while the acting player coach partnered up with Louie Harris with whom he had just annexed the HOP PRO Tour title at Hampton Court last weekend.
Immediately the tone was set for another impressive British victory with Murphy and Jones once again decisive in their margin of victory by 6-1, 6-0 and the GB No.1 in particular shining with some crisp volleying and vicious overheads.
With Brooks and Harris similarly decisive in a 6-1, 6-1 victory it appeared an early night was on the cards for the GB’s ‘Goodfellas’ however there was to be a late twist after Nikhil Mohindra and Sandy Farquharson took a routine opening set 6-3 the Brits found themselves down a break in the second set.
With the volume level going up with every point as Farquharson’s soft hands delivered a series of apparently laser-guided lobs and with his young apprentice Mohindra administering some blistering smashes and Brooks cajoling new depths of commitment from his men on the side-lines, the no.3 GB pairing roared back to take a dramatic tie-break 9-7 and wrap up a 3-0 win.
Afterwards the LTA’S Head of Padel Tom Murray, who had been watching enthralled, hailed the opening day as a great success for both Team GB and the We Are Padel hosted tournament as a whole.
Murray said: “It was a great way to finish off the match with Austria which was a high-level encounter all the way though and the tie-break took things to another level.
“In terms of the tournament the quality of the matches and the excitement they have generated have created a superb spectacle and it’s great to see so many people enjoying themselves watching padel.”
