Match Report by Ian kemble.

Promptly at 2pm on Saturday, 2nd August, 4 Southsea Scoundrels met 4 Raynes Park Rascals for a friendly game of senior men’s tennis.

The meeting followed a request from Raynes Park a few weeks earlier who were planning a ‘boys outing’ to the seaside and wanted to include some tennis. The Rascals were all regular players in the Surrey Men’s Masters League and knew each other’s game intimately.

This difference in the two team’s background inevitably found articulation in the scores with a comprehensive win for Raynes Park but, as we like to point out in Southsea, it was no walkover with many games going to deuce. And, indeed, the longer we played the better it got with one win to Southsea’s credit at the end of the match.

We played a total of 6 sets with a 5:1 win for RaynesPark. The format agreed at the start of the match was for each of the four players in the two teams to play a set with each other in turn. This was one of the key factors which made for a very enjoyable afternoon with a group of friendly people from Sarf London (or should we say West Wimbledon?). The others included the spirit of Gemütlichkeit which pervaded the entire event. The sun shone (from time to time) – this was Southsea, after all!– and the post-match beverage at a local tavern rounded off the tennis part of the event nicely before our visitors headed off for the traditional curry in Osborne Road.

We look forward to a return visit from Raynes Park next year.

The photograph below shows the garçons: Gary – Ross – Greg – Mark M – Tony – Ian – Mike - Mark T