Hot on the heels of the President's Day tournament came the finals weekend for the club tournament, played over 4th and 5th September.  Nine finals were scheduled for the weekend, although two of these had to be postponed, due to Covid issues, but all nine finals have now taken place. As well as open events in singles and doubles, there were handicapped events in women's, men's and mixed doubles, and also a veterans men's doubles.

Saturday was chilly, particularly up in the nice, new umpire's chairs (and, for future reference, bringing your own cushion might be a good idea), but things quickly warmed up, with simultaneous matches on courts 4 and 6.  The women's handicapped doubles and the men's open doubles kicked off proceedings.  In a very tight match, Joan Shutt and Janet Robinson edged out Steph Pearson and Helen Ball in the former event, and Chris and Will Sharp overcame Alex Laude and Colin Bentham in the latter event.

There was little rest for the Sharp brothers or for Janet, as both were on court in the next set of matches.  In the men's singles final, an exhausting and high standard duel between Will and Chris saw Chris overcome cramp to sneak it in the third set, and in the mixed open doubles, Janet was once again successful, partnered with Charles Ross against Tracey Gaskill and Paul Johnson.

Presentations were made by two stalwarts of the club, Ruth Crow and George Browell.  Both are going strong in the supervets, with George now into his 67th year as a member of Morpeth Tennis Club, if our calculations are correct.  So, it was a lovely occasion to see them handing out the trophies, marking the continuity of the club as we stride into the future.

Sunday brought warmer weather and three more finals.  First up was the mixed handicapped doubles.  Joan Shutt and Bill Dunn took on Steph Pearson and Steve Watkins.  In a close contest, a tie-break decided the first set in favour of Joan and Bill, and this provided the platform for victory in two sets.

The two concluding matches of the weekend were the men's vets open doubles and the men's handicapped doubles.  Bill Dunn and Steve Watkins were both back on court for the first of these, with Bill and James Chapman taking on Steve and Gary McDonnell.  The match was a thriller, with Gary and Steve edging the first set, Bill and James roaring back to ease through the second set, then Bill and James finally proving too strong in the third set tie-break.  In the men's handicapped doubles, Alex Laude and Ian Robinson gained revenge over Jarek Talarek and Steve McCarrick, who had beaten them in the round robin stages.

Two finals, the women's singles and doubles, unfortunately couldn't take place on the weekend, but have subsequently been played.  In the singles, Jill Taylor put on a commanding performance against Tracey Gaskill to take the title, and in the doubles, the two singles finalists paired up to defeat Rachael Michie and Steph Cox.

So, that concludes the round-up of another successful club tournament, after its resurrection in 2020.  Thanks must go to Janet Robinson and Chris Sharp for organising the competition, from the initial draws to the finals weekend itself, and ensuring that all the events went off smoothly.  I'm sure all the spectators in their viewing positions around the courts thoroughly enjoyed the fine tennis on show.

Full results and selected match reports follow.

Results

Match reports

Men's Doubles Final

The defending champions, Alex Laude and Colin Bentham, took on the young pretenders, Chris Sharp and his brother Will.  On a chilly Saturday afternoon, both pairs warmed the gathering crowds with their energy and some spectacular rallies.

The first set was dominated by the heavy serving and incisive returning of the Sharp brothers, who closed out the set 6-2.  The second set threatened to go the same way, but Alex and Colin fought gamely and came up with some moments of inspiration to claw back an early service break.  As the set wore on, the margins became slimmer, with points decided on fine net winners or frustrating mistakes.  At 4-4, the Sharps managed to snatch the break they were looking for, then served out the match with aplomb, firing down several unreturnable deliveries.

An excellent way to kick off the tournament, with the Sharp brothers having that little bit extra, particularly on serve and mopping up at the net.

Men's Singles Final

Just a few minutes after claiming victory in the doubles, Chris Sharp and Will Sharp came back on court, this time on opposing sides of the net, to contest the men's singles final.

Will, the younger brother, set off in relentless fashion, hammering down heavy serves and dominating with his power top-spin forehand and thundering two-hander.  Will broke early, and almost broke again, Chris courageously holding on from 0-40 down.  But Chris could not prevent the first set going to Will, 6-3.

The beginning of the second set was looking like a carbon copy of the first set, but Chris held on, and his tactic of keeping the ball low with expert pushes, slices and drop shots kept Will's attacking intent at bay.  Perhaps the balls losing their zip had an effect, but as the set wore on, Chris's tactics were increasingly bearing fruit, aided slightly by a few more unforced errors creeping into Will's game.  Two breaks of serve later, and the set belonged to Chris, 6-2.

Things were nip and tuck in the final set, with Chris, serving first, always slightly ahead on the score.  Some long games were taking their toll, added to the exertions of their previous doubles match, and Chris in particular was starting to cramp.  Despite this, and aided by some booming forehands, Chris managed to break for 5-3, so now had the chance to serve for the championship.  Will was going to make Chris work for it, though, and dug in against Chris's cramp-affected serves.  Will secured the break back, and now had to serve to stay in the match.  It was, though, one game too far for Will.  Chris broke again to claim the title that he'd missed out on in the final the previous year.

Well done to both players for a great contest, full of massive serving, deft returning, power hitting and subtle forecourt touches in front of an appreciative crowd.