Charnwood Tennis Club's mixed seniors team faced a big challenge on Sunday in the semi-final of the National League Seniors 45 (men)/40 (women) age group knockout event.
The opposition was provided by Westside club from Wimbledon, who were among the favourites to lift the trophy when the event began.
Charnwood had home advantage, but their opponents were significantly younger than some of the home team, so it was always going to be a tough ask.
The Charnwood lineup consisted of captain Kevin Leck playing alongside legendary club coach Caroline Wilkinson, with the resurgent Paul Maguire partnering the crafty Caroline King at second pair.
Westside featured Surrey over-45s player Juan England, partnering Somerset over-35 stalwart Alex Venter, backed up by Surrey over-50 player Caroline Joy playing alongside the dynamic Simon Mason.
The match began with Leck and Wilkinson facing England and Venter. The Charnwood pair were giving away a few years here, but Wilkinson's timeless skills still caused problems for Westside.
In the end, however, England's powerful hitting and Venter's range of shots gave them the edge as they earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
On the other court, Maguire and King were giving it everything they had against Mason and Joy, but despite some outstanding points from the Charnwood pair, games proved hard to come by. Mason and Joy eventually eased to a 6-0, 6-2 win.
In the second round, Leck and Wilkinson took on Mason and Joy. In the early stages the Charnwood pair struggled to find their rhythm, with Mason seemingly everywhere at the net.
The first set went to Westside 6-1, but after that, Leck and Wilkinson began to find their range. Some judicious use of Leck's infamous underarm serve, alongside some magical shots from Wilkinson made the second set extremely close, but in the end Westside just edged it 7-5.
On the adjacent court, Maguire and King put in another wholehearted performance against England and Venter, with Maguire's powerful and creative hitting well supported by King's intelligence and athleticism. Ultimately, the Westside pair had a little too much and earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
Overall, a 4-0 win for Westside took them to November's national finals.
This was a well-deserved triumph, but Charnwood can nonetheless look back on their performance with pride.