Charnwood Tennis Club's men's second team faced what could have been a very tough challenge on Sunday at home to Oadby Granville's first team. 

Fortunately, Oadby were somewhat below strength and fielded a second pair consisting of Steve Parker and Jon Pratt, who would normally play at a much lower level.

The Oadby first pair featured the heavy-hitting Philip Want, alongside the tall and awkward Andy Binks. The Charnwood lineup saw David Steel partnering Paul Maguire, who was convalescing after a bout of flu, and Kevin Leck playing with Neil Ruikar.

There was some tension at the beginning, as the sickly Maguire had fallen asleep playing chess on his phone and was even later than usual!

Once he arrived, however, he and Steel were able to cruise past Parker and Pratt 6-2, 6-1.

On the other court, Leck and Ruikar started slowly against Want and Binks, losing the first set 6-1. The second set was very tight, with several breaks of serve, but ultimately the Charnwood pair were left to regret failing to take a number of game points, losing the set 7-5.

In the second round, Leck and Ruikar rapidly disposed of Parker and Pratt 6-0, 6-1. Everything now depended on the match between Steel and Maguire and Want and Binks. 

The first set went fairly comfortably to the Oadby pair 6-2, but once again the second set became a close battle. With breaks of serve being regularly exchanged, the outcome was in the balance throughout.

A crucial hold by Steel after 7 deuces at 4-4 put Want under pressure in the 10th game. A brilliant first point from Steel set the tone, and the Charnwood pair were eventually able to break serve to win the set 6-4. 

Overall, this 5 sets to 3 win represented an extremely useful result for Charnwood against a team which could have been vastly stronger. With some vital matches to come, they will be hoping that this was the start of a run of positive results.