Sun, serves and proper sausage rolls!

Supported by enthusiastic members, family and friends, the Club finalists provided us with an exhibition of exciting, close and good- spirited matches.

Encouraged by the display of trophies and medals, both the Juniors and Adults battled hard, displaying skills and determination that were duly rewarded with appreciative applause.

The day was made extra special through the support of local businesses and members that had contributed to the raffle. This raised £145.50 towards the trophies and the Club is very grateful to  Sportsmedeast, Kesgrave Tesco, Tonic Hairdressers, Little Luxeries, House of Hair, Mickelsen’s Butchers, Williams Stores Grundisburgh, Milsoms, Coaches Ben Coupe and Martin Denny,  Ash Jordan, Alison Leech, Mary Gregson, Debbie Hammond, Sam Mardell and Julie Pilcher.

The buffet table was heaving with generously donated food, including ‘proper sausage rolls’, thank you Carla Mickelsen. There were also artistically decorated tennis themed cupcakes from Katherine Midwinter and as we can reliably expect, delicious cakes from Alison Leech.

The matches began at 9.30 and amongst the first on court were Jason Dove and Matt Johnson vying for the Mens Singles title.  After a gladiatorial battle Matt retained his title after losing the first set, Jason leaving the court at the end in search of an ice bath as he had another match to play in what was becoming a very warm day.

The Junior Final was contested by Jasper Mardell and Daniel Roberts. At first it looked as if the David and Goliath story was to be played out on court. Smaller in stature but big on placement Jasper dominated the first few games. Daniel then found his form and his powerful serving and penetrating forehands gradually dominated as he went on to win comfortably. The match was played in great spirit and both are great prospects for the future.

On the adjacent court, in the Men’s Plate Singles Final, Ashley Jordan found his younger, very talented opponent Mark Smee, giving him no easy points and a good runaround. The wise and wily was thwarted by powerful precision and youth!

Similarly Debbie Hammond found her young opponent Amber Harding more experienced in Singles play but the score in the Ladies Plate Singles Final didn’t reflect the dual the match was. Debbie is a stalwart of the Club and her experience showed whilst Amber demonstrated that she is an exciting young talent who we will watch with anticipation of her developing into a great player.

At 11. 30 the second round of matches began - for those not tucking into the delicious buffet. In the Plate Junior Singles Final Bart Lewandowski and Joel Thomson showed great enthusiasm and in the case of Joel court coverage in the extreme. Joel made up for what he lacked in size, in heart and determination. Strong groundstrokes and serving from Bart, along with more experience, gave him the edge and he came through comfortably in the end despite Joel’s continuous scampering and effort.

Playing his second consecutive match Mark Smee partnered Paul Mickelsen in the Plate Men’s Doubles Final and secured a second dominant win. Peter Howard and Graham Buddle tried many ways to foil the solid pair over the net but the combination of Paul’s ‘lefty’ jinks and Mark’s all round quality play was too strong on the day.

It was great to see Jan Hazell and Judith Emerson competing in the Plate Ladies Doubles Final as both are keen non-team players whose love of the game is infectious. They were up against two young pretenders, and current team players, Amber Harding and Katherine Midwinter. Whilst Amber and Katherine won the match, Jan and Judith shared the plaudits of the spectators and will hopefully be part of next years Championships along with many other non-team players.

Proving to be the longest match of the day was the Ladies Doubles between Annie Brown and Lea Denley and Alison Leech and Debbie Hammond. Debbie was playing her second match of the day and had one more to go! All players gave their all and the result was in doubt to the end. Initially Annie and Lea looked stronger but Alison and Debbie then gained the upper hand as the rallies got longer and the mistakes fewer. Winning in three sets Annie and Lea won their first title together having contested the Singles earlier in the week. In the Ladies Singles Final Lea had beaten Annie playing more deftly and with more attack. Lea is new to the Club and is a talented young player who we hope will be defending her titles for a few years to come.

At 2 pm the Championships’ final matches were played, the Mixed Doubles and the Plate Mixed Doubles. Debbie Hammond was back on court with Steve Pilcher in the Plate Mixed Doubles playing against another three match player, Mark Smee and his partner Katherine Midwinter. Mark continued his rich seam of form and despite strong resistance from Debbie and Steve he and Katherine managed to overcome the experience and quality court craft they faced. 

Equally well matched were the protagonists on the adjacent court who were in the Mixed Doubles Final. Lea Denley and Ben Coupe fought hard against seasoned doubles partners Alison Leech and Jason Dove. Alison, Jason and Lea had already been involved in testing matches but still competed hard and provided those watching with a high quality match.

The day was a great success and so many people contributed to what we hope can be repeated next year with equally good outcomes. Special mention must go to Mark Smee and Debbie Hammond who played three consecutive matches and were still standing!

The speed serve competition was keenly contested with the following winners - Men – Matthew Johnson 109 mph, Ladies – Katherine Midwinter 70 mph, Juniors – Jasper Mardell 53 mph.

Championship results

Mens Singles: Matt Johnson bt Jason Dove 3-6 6-2 6-3

Ladies Singles: Lea Denley bt Annie Brown 6-4 6-3

Plate Men’s Singles: Mark Smee bt Ashley Jordan 6-2 6-0

Plate Ladies Singles: Amber Harding bt Debbie Hammond  6-3 6-0

Plate Men’s Doubles: Mark Smee and Paul Mickelsen bt Graham Buddle and Peter Howard 6-0 6-0

Ladies Doubles: Annie Brown and Lea Denley bt Alison Leech and Debbie Hammond 7-5 4-6 6-4

Plate Ladies Doubles: Amber Harding and Katherine Midwinter bt Jan Hazell and Judith Emerson 6-0 6-1

Mixed Doubles: Alison Leech and Jason Dove bt Lea Denley and Ben Coupe 6-3 6-3

Plate Mixed Doubles: Katherine Midwinter and Mark Smee bt Debbie Hammond and Steve Pilcher 7-6 6-3

Junior Singles: Daniel Roberts bt Jasper Mardell 8-3 (best of 11 games)

Plate Junior Singles: Bart Lewandowski bt Joel Thomson 6-2 (1 set)

And finally, a very big thanks to the Championship organiser, Mary Gregson, ably assisted by Annie Brown.  The day ran very smoothly, belying  the huge amount of time and effort involved to make it happen.  Well done too to everybody who completed their matches, win or lose!