The 2024 Lisvane Club Championships took place on Sunday 8th September 2024 with a feast of high octane excitement on the courts and high calorie snacks in the fan zone,
An early start to try and beat the weatherman's prediction of rain brought the first matches onto the expertly prepared clay courts.
In the Ladies Singles Final Number 1 seed Christie Heiberg faced the number 3 seed Suzanne Compton with Christie taking the trophy in a hard fought encounter 6-3 and 6-2 to put her name on the Clubhouse Honours Board.
Suzanne and Christie plus Tony Symon-Hicks on presenting duties
In the Ladies Singles Consolation Draw Final Julia Plaut overcame the challenge of Lesley Davies 6-1 and 6-3 to secure the title.
Julia
In the Ladies Doubles Final - Kath James and Jean Rees pitted their wits against Christie Heiberg and Alison De'Ath - once again it was a tight match with both sides taking a set each 7-6 and 3-6 before a titanic struggle in the Match Tie Break with the James/Rees combination taking the tie break and consequently the match 10-6.
Alison and Christie Jean and Kath
The Ladies Doubles Consolation Draw Final brought a battle of youth versus experience with Tracey Atwood and Suzanne Compton overcoming their youthful opponents Erin Matthews and Isabel Porter 6-1 and 6-3. It was great to see Erin and Isabel in a final as a reminder of the great work taking place in the Club Coaching Programme under Club Coach Tony Symons-Hicks.
Suzanne and Tracey ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Mens Singles Final pitted last year's finalist Will Craddock against Diluka Karunanatne. The stakes were high and both players were keen to establish superiority early on but Will played exceptionally well to take the match in two sets 6-1 and 6-1.
Will
The Mens Singles Consolation Draw Final saw Will Lawson take on Nathan Richards. A hotly contested first set went 6-4 to Will before he stepped up a gear in the second set to take the set 6-0 and secure the title.
Will and Nathan
In the Mens Doubles - Will Craddock and Jack Sellers took on the family pairing of David Corne and Nick Proctor - with a tense encounter swinging this way and that with both pairings taking a set - 3-6 and 6-2 leading to a thrilling Match Tie Break - with Will and Jack edging it 10-5 to carry home the silver plated cup.
Jack and Will David
The Mens Doubles Consolation Draw Final came next where players fight for the honour of receiving a fabled shimmering silver plate handed down through the mists of time with every passing year adding to the legend. It's prominence and status being such that it is spoken of within the club in hushed tones. "The Plate" holds an exalted status within the club . This landmark event brought together the energy and intelligence of Andrew Reid-Jones and Alex Yeung against the wisdom and craft of Andrew Atwood and Pete Littlechild. Only one Andrew could come away victorious and on the day it was the Reid-Jones and Yeung pairing that seized the day and a chance to gaze in wonder at the radiance of "The Plate" when it eventually settles on to their respective mantlepieces.
Andrew and Alex The "other" Andrew and Pete wanted no publicity but can you spot them in the crowd?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Mixed Doubles Final is always a treat for the fans and this year it brought together the highly rated Mike Jones and Kath James combination against the father /daughter combination of Andrew Reid-Jones and Liz Reid-Jones. A steady drizzle had started to fall as the match progressed but the players ploughed on through the tempest to the delight of the watching hordes on the balcony sheltering under oversized umbrellas daintily sipping wine or guzzling beer.
The club's clay courts were quick to drain away standing water so the match was able to progress through to a conclusion with the Jones and James duo finishing winners 6-2 and 6-4
Andrew and Liz Mike and Kath
Finally the Mixed Doubles Consolation Draw Final brought together husband and wife Mike and Julia Plaut face to face with Pete Littlechild and Cath Symons-Hicks. Despite Mike bearing a passing resemblance to John McEnroe off the court the first set went the way of Pete and Cath 6-3 but perhaps that McEnroe connection has its merits as it seemed to inspire the Plaut pairing as they took the second set to a nerve shredding tie break. The Littlechild/Symons-Hicks pairing was not to be denied however and they swept to victory to earn the title.
Cath and Pete with Stand in Presenter Alex Julia and probably Mike Plaut
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Championships were organised by Tony Symons-Hicks and Alex Welch - many thanks to them both for another great year.
The catering was facilitated by Emma Reid-Jones with a supporting cast of organisers and active participants -Juliette Sherrard, Cath Lynn , Tracey Atwood, Cath Symons-Hicks, Victoria Morgan and many others who helped by washing up, providing tea and coffees. The event was greatly enjoyed by everyone and many thanks to everyone who helped or turned up to make up the watching crowd.
