Senior service

HE may be more than four times the age of Andy Murray, but El-Alamein veteran George Stewart has just triumphed at the world men’s tennis doubles – for the second time.

BIG HITTER George Stewart BIG HITTER: George Stewart

Mr Stewart has just flown back from the tournament in New Zealand after his win at the remarkable age of 87.

He and his English partner Gerry Ells, also 87, beat the favourites in the over-85s doubles final of the Super-Seniors World Championships.

The former lieutenant colonel, who began playing competitive tennis when he was 75, was delighted with the victory, despite crashing out in the first round of the singles competition.

He said at his home in Scone, Perthshire: “I took up tennis in my late 50s after a lifetime involved in skiing, and it is amazing to think I am a world champion. I started competing when I was 75 and was very unsuccessful. But I stuck at it and got better.

“There are veterans’ tournaments all over the world, almost every week of the year, and I play a lot, really using the tournaments as a holiday.”

The Super-Seniors World Championships, which were held in Christchurch, attracted 345 contestants from 24 nations. A year ago, Mr Stewart won the doubles title in Turkey with Mr Ells, but also made the singles final.

The retired forester, a widower, who served with the Royal Artillery in El-Alamein, Sicily, and Italy during the Second World War, said: “This year, I went into the singles with no expectations and promptly got knocked out in the first round.

“But in the doubles, Gerry and I made the final. We played the number one pair and beat them 6-4, 6-4, which was a great win. I was so pleased to defend our title.”

Mr Stewart, who joined the Kinnoull Tennis Club and Perth Tennis Club after taking up the sport, added: “The very fact that the championships are run by the International Tennis Federation, whose other responsibility is the Davis Cup, shows they are a big thing.

New Zealand is a long way away and the flights were hellish but I stayed on for an extra week and did an amazing trip around the South Island.  It’s a beautiful country.”

Mr Stewart, the World No10 in the over-85s, will be cheering on World No9 Andy Murray at the Australian Open in Melbourne later this month.

He said: “I met Andy when he was much younger and I met his brother Jamie last year after he had won the Wimbledon doubles. They are very nice kids, very relaxed.”

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?