Our Summer Tournament Finals’ Day took place on 7th September and was a day to remember for many reasons.
The finals were a culmination of three months play of our Summer Tournament which saw the most entries we’ve ever had with 57 different matches being played. Finals’ Day itself saw 21 different people taking part in the seven finals of men’s and ladies singles and doubles, mixed doubles, handicap men’s and ladies doubles and for the first time in some years, a round robin tournament for our top three junior players.
Our superb Tournament Secretary, Del Salter, organised the tournament, ably supported by Jane Reap and luckily for everyone the day was mainly dry and wind free, almost perfect for tennis.
Our record breaking, best male player, Jamie Thomas, yet again made it three out of three victories, winning the men’s singles 6-2,6-4 against Marcus Robertson, who put up a valiant effort winning four games in the second set. Then with partner Andrew Merryfield, Jamie won the men’s doubles beating the pairing of brothers Marcus and James Robertson who very nearly won the second set but just lost in the tie-break 6-3, 7-6.
In the mixed doubles final, Penny Luke and Marcus Robertson put up a spirited fight gaining four match points against mother and son duo of Lynne and Jamie Thomas but to no avail. The family pairing eventually won out with a score of 0-6, 6-2,7-6 winning the final tie-break.
The Ladies Singles saw a great new winner in Jemma Marais who played a strong and solid game with some excellent hard serving and managed to beat Bev Cleaver 6-3, 6-2.
Bev then gathered herself to play in the Ladies Doubles final with partner Sandie Benham. They proved a formidable pair, beating a new partnership of Jayne Crowley and Lynne Thomas 6-2, 6-1.
Two exciting matches to watch due to the slightly different scoring system were the Handicap Ladies and Men’s Doubles finals, were pairs chosen at random start with different scores in order to even up their abilities and create a close and fun game. In the Ladies match, Alison Cruickshanks and Caz Lomax beat Julia Wright and Jen Boyd 6-3, 6-3, whilst Graeme Robertson and Gary Baker beat Matthew Savastano and Gary Smallbone in a very close game with long rallies, 7-6, 6-2.
The last event was the Junior Round Robin, where three juniors, Bailey, Matt and Sophia, who have been having coaching with our coach Eduardo, played each other in the first round and then the two players with the most games played in a final with Matt ending up the deserved winner. Everyone watching the Juniors was very impressed with their impeccable tennis etiquette and it was a delight to see them playing a competitive, friendly and supportive spirit. We hope to see more Juniors at the event next year.
Club Chairman, Nigel Hatt, presented trophies to the delighted winners after an amazing day of great play by everyone who took part. He thanked all the participants for playing so well and the 40 or so spectators for coming to support all the players and enjoy a great day of tennis.
The last trophy presentation was of the Betty Holmes Cup, awarded to the person made a significant contribution to the club, and voted for by other members. This year's winner was Mike Chamberlain who has run the Club’s very successful Men’s A and B teams for many years, allowing our players to represent the club to a high standard against other tennis clubs in the area.
A BBQ rounded off the event with people eating, drinking and chatting until long after dark.
Well done to everyone who took part in the Summer Tournament including its early rounds and congratulations to the eventual winners.
Good luck to everyone for next year!