Warwickshire Men’s tennis team suffered their second agonisingly tight 4-5 defeat in a row on a rain-sodden Day 4 of County Week Group 2 at Roehampton. They trailed unbeaten South Wales, the hot favourites, 1-5 after the first two rounds of matches, Warwick Boat Club coach Cameron Malik from Stratford  and former national junior champion Luca Pow from Solihull scoring the only point with a fighting victory over the South Wales Seconds Callum Findlay and Matthew Story 10-8 after a nerve-shredding Championship tiebreak. Although the match was lost, the Midlanders kept fighting throughout the final round, well aware that their rubbers tally might prove decisive if they managed to beat second-placed Buckinghamshire on the final day. Urged on by captain Gavin Henderson, the Warwick Boat Club Rackets Manager and their vociferous supporters, the Midlanders powered through to win all three of the final round of rubbers. Their Third pair, former national junior champion Harry Lazell from Warwick Boat Club and Coventry’s big-serving Richard Partridge even beat the Welsh Firsts 10-8 on a sudden death tiebreak, while Malik and Pow continued their winning ways with a fine straight sets victory over the Thirds, Hugo Cochlin and Wil Jenkins. [It is spelt Wil, not Will.]

With South Wales already certain of promotion, the result leaves Warwickshire in third place but with a better rubbers tally than second-placed Buckinghamshire, and with all to play for, as victory over Bucks will assure them of a coveted return to the elite Group 1 for the first time in decades.

Sadly the Warwickshire women’s side slipped closer to relegation with an 8-1 loss to second-placed Kent on Day 4 of County Week, Group 3 at Raynes Park, and with only one win to their names, over stragglers Norfolk, they now have only a slight mathematical chance of staying up. Lianne Candappa’s young side fought valiantly on a rain-affected day with matches shortened to 4-game sets and sudden death deuces but the extra experience of their opponents proved decisive. The Midlanders’ first pair Holly Reid and Lois Porter took the only point of the day, beating the Kent Thirds Eloise Newberry and Olivia Parson after a hard-found Championship tiebreak 10-7. Mary Hoggard from Edgbaston Priory and Giorgie Jones from Sutton Coldfield were edged out by Newberry and Parson  in another sudden death tiebreak 10-5, then with Porter partnering Leamington’s Lucie Butler, as Jones was rested, she suffered the same fate at the hands of the Kent Seconds Chloe Cleaver and Sarah Wray. Needing an unlikely 8-1 victory over the strong Gloucestershire side on the final day, their chances of survival look remote but for new captain Lianne Candappa from Warwick, it has provided the chance to bring several talented juniors into the squad, for vital experience at senior level, including 14-year-old T’Nae Diamond Paisley and Isabella Taylor, 17, both from Edgbaston Priory Club. Holly Reid and Giorgie Jones, playing first pair for much of the week looked a class partnership, while Mary Hoggard, Lois Porter from Balsall Common and Elizabeth Massie from Rugby battled valiantly while partnering less experienced players and Candappa will look to build on their encouraging performances next season.

County Tennis Week Results:

Roehampton, Men’s Group 2

Warwickshire lost to South Wales 5-4

Raynes Park, London, Women’s Group 3

Warwickshire lost to Kent 1-8