by Simon Daish
Gavin Rumgay began his Men’s Singles campaign in Düsseldorf with qualifying group stage action and the Scot successfully progressed through to the next round, following victories over Sherwin Remata of the Philippines and Indonesia’s Deepesh Bhagwani.
Then in his final qualifying match, Gavin Rumgay produced a strong performance to see off Hungarian opponent Nandor Ecseki, sealing his spot in the main draw.
“It was important for me to try to unsettle him from the start, he was more powerful than me and was stronger on both wings. My serves were a huge problem for him and my variation in the rallies kept him guessing throughout, allowing me to take the win”, Gavin Rumgay.
Reaching the main draw was a solid achievement for Rumgay, but it was the calibre of his opponent in the Round of 128 which pleased the Scottish representative the most.
Eighth seed Timo Boll emerged from the match against Rumgay with a straight games victory over the Scot (11-4, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4). However, despite exiting the competition, Rumgay stated that the encounter with the former world no.1 will live long in his memory.
“Playing Timo was a completely different level up from Ecseki, playing Timo on centre court in Germany is something I won’t forget”, Gavin Rumgay.
Rumgay also assisted the commentary team at the Liebherr 2017 World Championships, partnering up with Adam Bobrow, Don Parker and Errol Creary to provide match analysis at the event.
Commentating on some of the world’s top players, Rumgay was also drafted in for the thrilling Men’s Singles final which saw Ma Long defend his title in dramatic style.
“That was a huge honour for me to be trusted and respected by the team to commentate on the pinnacle match of the tournament. Partnering up with Adam Bobrow for the final was great, we were working well with each other throughout the tournament, as well as the other lead commentators. The whole team have been a delight to work with and I hope to work with them again soon”, Gavin Rumgay.
