AVON TENNIS SUMMER LEAGUE – Week 2 match reports
Mens 1sts won 10-0 at Redland Green2
The same 4 of Ashley Ward, Luis Jauregui, Sam Perryman and Pat Lodge travelled to Redland Green Club.
Sam and Pat drew the short straw and played on the oldest and oddest astro court which played slow and low. Even the home players weren't pleased with the court. Winning ugly was the order of the evening - Sam and Pat did that 6-1,7-6 and 6-1,6-2
Luis and Ashley on the nice new astros played well again and had similar success 6-1,6-3 and 6-3,7-6, with Luis's down-the-line shots being a highlight.
Mens 2nds lost 10-0 home to Almonsbury2
Chris Cox, Steve Handoll and James Brocksopp were joined by Tony Honeker for the first home match of the season for the 2nds against Almondsbury 2nds. Chris and Steve came off court after their first rubber indicating disappointment in how they played in their 4-6, 2-6 loss. James and Tony had several chances in both their rubbers but either didn’t take them or were quick to gift games back to our opponents after a successful break of serve. 3-6, 4-6 losses in both rubbers. Chris and Steve’s second match was similar to their first in both score and thinking they probably should have done better in that rubber as well. A 2-6, 4-6 loss.
Mens 3rds won 10-0 at Congresbury1
The team of Andy Jeffery, Darren Thompson and “youngsters” Felix Burt and Sam Bodmam-Whetham arrived early for an expected very tough match – Congresbury were new to the league and have had successive promotions. However both SVT pairings made fairly short work of their rubbers – Darren and Andy won 6-1, 7-6 then 6-0, 6-1. Felix and Sam won 6-0, 7-6 and then showed great maturity in overcoming the A pair 7-6, 6-1. The watching WAGS brought home-made after-match sausage rolls and biscuits, and we were also treated to a drink at the bar – a perfect evening!!
Mens 4ths lost 8-2 home to Henleaze
Somer Valley 4 (Chris Ashwin, Mike Cox, Oli Bell and Payman) hosted Henleaze2 on a dry and sunny day.
Chris and Mike won their first rubber in a tight championship tiebreak (12-10), with both playing some great points in decisive moments! However, they weren’t able to carry that momentum onto their second rubber, losing in 2 sets (however, not without a fight!).
Oli and Payman lost a very tight 1st set in their first rubber and subsequently lost it - Oli was playing some brilliant volleys and smashes throughout the game and I’m confident it would have been a different story if we had won that first set!
Same story in the 2nd rubber as Oli and Payman lost the 1st set, again in a tiebreak, and the match in straight sets!
2 points on the board with more to follow!
Mens 5ths lost 10-0 at Redland Green6
This was the first match of the season for Alan Gammon, Andy Durose, Lee Wood and Mike Hogg, at a venue with a new lively surface. Andy and Alan were the only two of us who had played there before. Lee and Mike were both surprised just how fast the balls were on these courts - not what we're used to.
Each of Redland Green's pairings had a strong and experienced net player, quickly taking control with wide angled returns. Andy and Alan couldn't take a game away from the A pair of Nick and Ian. We had a number of deuces but didn't convert a single one. The heavy downpour didn't help but everyone played on and the courts remained perfectly playable – in any case, there was no shelter. The Redland Green B pair only conceded a single game against Lee and Mike with Steve strong at the net supported by Rich on the baseline. Our second rubbers showed signs of improvement with Lee and Mike taking a game off Nick and Ian, and Andy and Alan lost their rubber 2-6, 4-6. Each set started 2-2, but too many double faults and unforced errors let them slip away.... this time.
Ladies 1st v Clifton I won 8-2
First home match for the Ladies 1sts. We played against last years league winners Clifton. Both pairs won their first rubbers. Mandy Baldwin and Ces Beg won their 2nd rubber. Sarah Dawe and Alex Hull had a hard fought but enjoyable match but came 2nd.
Ladies 2nd v Cleeve Hill II Won 8-2
This was the first drive to Bristol for the seconds this season, playing on some lovely courts at Collegiate School, Tina Lindley and Christine Hunt started against C & J- C who were not very mobile so they took advantage using short or wide shots, both playing consistently on the whole but occasionally caught out with some good interceptions from J.
A win in less than an hour 6-2 6-1. Second up against V & A found the young V hitting well, some well fought rallies but alas not in their favour. At 5-1 Tina ran back to get a lob, going over on her ankle. Even after a rest, a few points were only possible to finish the game to lose the set 1-6 and retire from the rubber.
Pretty straightforward straight sets wins for Louise Derrick and Janie Bullus. Managed to lose a bit of concentration at 4-1 in both sets hence the score line. But good spirited friendly match on a lovely summer evening with beautiful views of Bristol.
Ladies 3rd v Bath III Lost 4-6
A rare perfect evening for tennis at Writhlington, no wind and we avoided the torrential downpours suffered by some teams in Bristol. Annette Day and Jane Benney paired up and we enjoyed some good rallies in both rubbers but sadly the unforced errors meant we never really got into the game against the very consistent Bath first pair Lou and Angela and
didn't fare much better against Katie and Laura.
Happily on the other court Mandy Stonier and Pauline Medhurst enjoyed some excellent tennis and won with solid, consistent play against Katie and Laura and then both played
brilliantly in a three set battle to finally win the tie break 12-10 just as the light was fading. A very well earned 4 points by them and good natured tennis all round.
Ladies 4th v Knowle IV Lost 2-8
On a lovely evening Tracey Stephens, Naomi Perryman, Sally Rawlings and Jenny Barton went up the A37 for a meeting with Knowle Ladies IV. Their 2nd ground is now St Bernadette’s school, and the courts were very new and very nice. One game into the first rubber the heavens opened and we had 10 minutes of torrential rain!!
We restarted and Tracey and Naomi took on the second pair, who were clearly out of sorts and we won the rubber 6-1,6-1. Naomi and Sue had some great rallies with some hard hitting shots, but Naomi mostly got the better of her.
The second rubber against their first pair was a different story. One of their ladies wasn’t happy that there was some good-natured chat going on the other court and got distracted, allowing us to win 3 games, but I’m afraid they were the only 3 we got!! 0-6, 3-6 was the final score there.
Sally and Jenny also took 3 games off the first pair but the second rubber was a bit of a humdinger! They lost the first set 4-6, won the second 6-1 and went 8 all in the tie break 3rd set before losing it 8-10.