Photo by Thomas Butler
Saturday saw the culmination of The Grove's (Saffron Walden) tennis tournament.
The highlight of the day was the Men's Open Singles which pitted 17 year old County High student Joe Lampon against the far more experienced Ben Oakes, who made the final in his first year at the club. Lampon has had to endure 4 years of frustration since his last appearance in the final at the age of 13, due to a chronic knee injury. To the young man's credit he has battled back to fitness and made the final the hard way- beating top seed and defending champion Cliff Humphreys in 3 sets in the Quarter finals.
The match was of an exceptionally high quality with each player having one set where they had the momentum (Lampon the first; Oakes the second). The third set was defined by the exceptional returning quality of both players, leading to several breaks and breaks back, despite the strong serves of both players. The game ended with Lampon breaking Oakes' serve after holding at 5-5. A double fault from Oakes gave Lampon the break- which was the only sign, throughout the match, of nerves combined with the demanding temperature of the day. There was a tremendous atmosphere throughout the match: with a large crowd enjoying the tennis, the Pimms and the refreshments.
Despite losing the singles, Oakes played two further matches; winning both the Men's and Mixed Open Doubles alongside Paul Kent and Julia Westenedge respectively. Thomas Butler had success in the closed tournaments: winning the Men's Closed Singles and Doubles with Adrian Brown while Katie McInnes won the Ladies Singles. Sally Harris also advanced to three finals, winning the Closed Ladies and Mixed Doubles alongside Clare Jackson and John Stone.
Full Scoresheet:
Open Men's Singles: Lampon bt Oakes 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Open Men's Doubles: Oakes & Kent bt Butler & Miller 6-4, 6-4
Open Mixed Doubles: Oakes & Westenedge bt MacKeonnis & Harris 6-1. 6-3
Closed Men's Singles: Butler bt Sharpe 6-1, 6-4
Closed Ladies Singles: McInnes bt Windle 6-1, 6-0
Closed Men's Doubles: Butler & Brown bt Stone & Holley 6-0, 6-0
Closed Ladies Doubles: Jackson & Harris bt Harrington & McInnes 6-4, 6-4
Closed Mixed Doubles: Stone & Harris bt Flynn & Brown 6-1, 6-4