The sun was shining on Sunday as York Tennis Club played host to the Quorn Family Doubles tournament. The 10 pairs were split into 2 groups with a round robin type format, playing tiebreaks up to ten points. The top 2 pairs from each group would then progress into the semi-finals.

Group 1 saw Douglas Brewer and dad Stephen battle hard and pick up a number of points helped by the booming serve of young Douglas. Also competing well and picking up a couple of nice wins was Ben McWalter and mum Rachel. Both played some lovely groundstrokes, a pairing to watch out for at future events. This tournament saw a great debut performance for Ruby Morton and her dad Richard. There was some clever doubles play on display as they narrowly missed out on the top two places in their group. The runners up place in the group went to Finlay and Paul Richardson. Finley continued the strong form that has seen him through to the next round of ‘The Road to Wimbledon’ in Hull, ably assisted by dad Paul who has been working hard on his tennis over past few weeks. Going through to the next round top of the group and unbeaten were George Dadvar and his dad Paul. It’s safe to say nobody wanted to come up against this formidable pair in the semi-finals.

Group 2 was very tight from start to finish. Benedict and Alex Nightingale acquitted themselves very well with some long rallies taking place in all their matches, another pair to watch out for at future events. A late addition to this group was Alice McWalter who for some reason agreed to partner up with coach Bradley Austin. Alice carried this pairing to a decent points total with some lovely net play along the way. Second and third place in this group could not have been any closer with two pairs tied on 31 points. Just missing out were Georgina and dad Gareth Edwards. This pair played some lovely tennis and it was clear to see Georgina had confidence in her shots having recently made her debut for the York ladies 3rd team. Possibly the surprise package of the group but a credit to their recent hard work on the tennis court was David Lloyd-Moliner and his dad Nick. This duo showed some great doubles tactics on their way into the semi-finals. Topping the group were the youthful pairing of brothers Harry and Joe Hall. This pair was seen flying around the court on their way to going through to the next round unbeaten.

For the semi-finals the stakes were upped and the format changed to a fast four mini set. The first semi-final saw high fliers George and Paul Dadvar take on the impressive David and Nick Lloyd-Moliner. The match was close as David was able to hold serve however eventually George and Paul were just too strong and pulled away to take a 4-1 victory and book their place in the final. The other semi-final was neck and neck the whole way between Finley Richardson and dad Paul and the Hall brothers. This match was decided with a nerve-racking tiebreak which Harry and Joe Hall clinched to scrape through to the final. The final was a very entertaining affair with some big serving, long baseline rallies, clinical volleying, and just all round impressive tennis. It was the more consistent pair of George and Paul Dadvar who ultimately came out victorious taking the win 4-1!

Thanks to all the pairs who played, especially the parents who blew the dust off their tennis rackets to support their children. Thanks also to York Ladies 1st team who provided refreshments to keep the energy levels up. I look forward to seeing you all on court again very soon!