Over the weekend the Isle of Man men’s county team competed in division 6 of the annual winter county cup this year hosted at Nuffield Health Centre in Hull.

On the first day the IOM came up against a tough side in Oxfordshire. Whilst the team battled hard Oxfordshire proved too strong taking the tie 8-1, with the teams only win coming from Orry as he battled through a gruelling 3 setter 5-7 6-3 6-3 in two and a half hours. Some notable performances on the day came from Chris and Adam fighting well in a close 7-5 6-3 loss, and Orry and Sean pushing a world ranked opponent in Alexis Canter in the doubles 6-4 7-5.

The second day the IOM took on Northumberland. The team really got stuck in there and there was plenty of passion on show. After the 6 singles matches each team had notched up 3 wins each, the IOM’s victories coming from Sean, Orry and Adam 6-4 7-5, 6-4 6-2 and 6-2 6-3 respectively. This meant the IOM needed two out of the three doubles rubbers to take the victory. First up was Adam and Neri who fought back from a set down to take it to a third set which is settled by a 10 point match tie break in the doubles. A nail biter ensued where little could separate the pairs, but with some clutch serving and a passionate bench behind them the IOM team took the tie break 14-12 in dramatic fashion. Northumberland pegged the Manx side back with a 6-1 6-3 win in the 2nd pair doubles. This meant the whole tie would be decided by each team’s top doubles pairs clashing. The IOM’s Orry and Sean took the first set 6-4, the second set had to be decided by a 7 point tie break which turned into a saga in its own right with neither team being able to get 2 points ahead, coming up with some high quality tennis to deny each other the set. Finally, the Northumberland team snook it 17-15. The Manx team were left to regroup ready for the third set match tie break that would decide the overall victor. Boosted by the support of all their teammates Orry and Sean were able to clinch the tie break 10-7 and thus giving the days victory to the Isle of Man! 

The third and final day saw an island derby where the IOM took on the Channel Islands, with the opportunity for the Manx side to take second place in the division if they won the tie. It was as tough start to the day as Nick and Neri lost two hard fought battles 7-5 6-3, 6-3 6-1 respectively. The IOM then showed their passion and desire to win as they took the rest of the 4 singles rubbers, including some great comebacks from Adam and Will as they won in three sets, each taking the third set in emphatic style 6-0 and 6-2. This meant the IOM just needed 1 rubber from the three upcoming doubles matches. The first saw another 3 set bout from Neri and Adam, this time they were unable to recreate their fairytale comeback from the day before, eventually being defeated 6-2 3-6 10-7. After 2 days of partnering each other Jos and Will found their form together to make a great comeback win 1-6 6-1 10-8 to secure the teams second place in the group, a feat that hasn’t been achieved by a Manx men’s side in over a decade! As the cherry on top Orry and Sean put on a doubles clinic to take their match 6-0 6-1, therefore concluding the tie as a 6-3 win for the Isle of Man 🇮🇲. 

A great weekend which saw the Manx team really pull together and turn up the energy to bring out the best in each other, in turn generating some great wins. Roll on 2025 🎾🇮🇲💪