MIXED 1 LOSE AGAIN
23-7-2005 -- MS

Crowthorne’s 1st mixed team arrived at Bisham Abbey looking for their first win of the season. Following a 4 game defeat against Maidenhead and a thrashing by Twyford, Crowthorne’s Mike Smith and Pauline Snell were finding life tough in Division 4 after playing in Division 7 last season. But with Jim Hawes returning after injury and teaming up with his regular partner Ravinder Norman the team was confident. Hawes and Norman had a good start against Mark Jenner and Nicola Whittle winning the first set 6-4 and leading in the second but on the other court Smith and Snell lost their first 5 games against Norman Bhargava and Suzannah Shaw. Fortunes then changed; Smith and Snell rallied well just losing the first set 4-6 and taking the second 7-5 while Jenner and Whittle came back to win their second set 7-5 for Bisham. At this point the match was all square even on a games count and things looked good for Crowthorne as Hawes and Norman broke serve early in the third set. Smith and Snell were holding their own against Bhargava and Shaw but were unable to sustain their challenge and eventually lost the set 2-6. On the other court, the Bisham pair again made a comeback and the Crowthorne pair were devastated to find their lead slip away again as the set went to the home side 6-4. The second round was a much more straightforward affair with Hawes and Norman winning 6-2 6-2 against Bhargava and Shaw and Smith and Snell losing 2-6 3-6 to Jenner and Whittle. So a 3-1 win for the home side but the game score of 50-45 shows how close the match had been.

MIXED FORTUNES FOR THE MIXED TEAMS
9-7-2005 -- MS

Having just lost in a close encounter in their last outing, Crowthorne’s first mixed team found themselves totally outclassed on Saturday in Wilson Berkshire Mixed League Division 4B against Twyford 1. Crowthorne’s Pauline Snell and Mike Smith battled hard against Twyford’s John Anderson and Becky Goold but failed to convert any of their break points against the heavy Anderson serve and from 4-4 the rubber rapidly went Twyford’s way 6-4 6-1. Meanwhile Lorraine Fowler and Andy Becher were finding it just as difficult against the visiting Nigel and Keren Bailey losing 6-3 6-1. There was no respite in the second round for the home team who could just not match the consistently powerful play of the visiting pairs, Snell and Smith losing 6-3 6-1 just as Fowler and Becher were shaking hands on the other court following a 6-2 6-1 loss.

Crowthorne’s second team, however, were enjoying a better afternoon in division 6B against a team from Shinfield. Two new members, David Stone and Mark Callaghan, joined Caroline Atkinson and Alison Nicholson in the team and it was good to see them both having some real success. Atkinson and Stone won both their rubbers in straight sets while Nicholson and Callaghan were on court for four hours losing their first rubber but winning their second both in three sets to secure a 3-1 victory for Crowthorne.

LADIES' VETS JUST LOSE
07-07-2005 -- Moira Macbeth

On a wet Thursday evening, Crowthorne’s Ladies met a team from Royal Ascot in the Veterans League Division 5. After the first round, Ascot were ahead by a set following a 3-6 4-6 defeat for Crowthorne’s Alison Nicholson and Kathy Cockburn-Smith at the hands of Rosemary Anderson and Chris Norman and a win for Moira Macbeth and Jackie Castell against Chris Thomas and Gilly Clark of Ascot 6-2 4-6 with the rubber decided by a tie-break. A 6-0 6-2 win for the visiting Anderson and Norman over Macbeth and Nicholson and a 6-1 6-1 win for Crowthorne’s Nicholson and Cockburn-Smith over Thomas and Clark meant that the visitors maintained their lead to win the match by a set.

LADIES' VETS WIN LOCAL DERBY!
27-6-2005 -- Moira Macbeth

Warm sultry evenings are best spent on the patio with a cooling drink of Pimms but 8 ladies, perfumed with anti-midge spray, forsook all this on Thursday evening to play a veterans tennis match. In the match against local rivals TRL A, Crowthorne's number one pair Ravinder Norman and Kathy Cockburn-Smith took the first set easily at 6-1. But TRL's first pair Jenny Sheppard and Sandra Gomez got their measure and, although they did not win the set, they only just missed forcing a tie break by losing 5-7. On the other court the second team of Alison Nicholson and Moira Macbeth against Pep Brinkworth and Carole Hewitt were closely matched but the Crowthorne no 2 pair just managed to win each set 7-5.

Ravinder and Kathy closed their second rubber against Pep and Carole 6-1, 6-0 before the other court had finished their first set although the games were not as one sided as the score suggested with several good rallies. Alison and Moira were not able to contain Jenny and Sandra who won their rubber 7-5, 3-6, but the match had by then already been won by Crowthorne.

MEN'S 1 & 2 BOTH WIN!
24-6-2005 -- Richard McCully/Rob Hughes
Wilson Berkshire Mens Doubles League Divisions 5A and 5B

Crowthorne's men’s doubles teams both achieved victories in Saturday's matches despite the sweltering conditions.

At home against Windsor 4, Crowthorne 1's Rupert Sanderson and James Brennan won a tightly contested first set 6-4 against Mark Watson and Deeps Bart only to lose the second 1-6 and eventually winning the 3rd in a tie-break. Meanwhile, Richard McCully and Andy Stone were losing their first set 5-7 against Mike Ward and Richard Foley having led 5-4, but won the next two to give Crowthorne a 2-0 lead in at the halfway stage. Sanderson and Brennan wrapped up the match with a 6-3 6-2 win over Ward and Foley leaving Watson and Bart to salvage some pride by beating McCully and Stone 2 and 3.

Away to Royal Ascot 2, Crowthorne 21's first pair Vince Brooks and Russell Finch had a great start against the home team's Glynn Hopkins and Kevin Boakes, winning the first set 6-1. But then the home pair changed their game plan, slowing the game down by use of the lob and coming back to take the 2nd and 3rd sets 6-1 6-2. With Rob Hughes and Andy Becher winning 6-4 6-3 against Tony Motton and James Watt, the away side were a set up at the halfway stage. Hughes and Becher were then outplayed by Hopkins and Boakes, losing 6-0 6-2 and leaving Brooks and Finch having beat Motton and Watt in straight sets to win the match. This they did, winning a close first set 7-6 in a tie-break and the second 6-2 to make the match all square on rubbers but 5-4 to Crowthorne on sets.

MIXED TEAMS JUST MISS OUT
13-6-2005 -- Mike Smith/Pauline Snell/Stuart Fowler

Berkshire Wilson Mixed Doubles League Division 4B
Crowthorne 1 v Maidenhead 4 Saturday 11th June 2005
On Saturday, both of Crowthorne's newly promoted mixed doubles teams were playing their first matches of the 2005 season. The first team were at home to Maidenhead's 4th team; however, Maidenhead are the Real Madrid of Berkshire Tennis and Crowthorne more the equivalent of Reading FC, so this was likely to be a very competitive match. Last season, Mike Smith & Pauline Snell had been playing for the 2nd team in division 7 so, with the 1st team now in division 4B, this was a jump of 3 divisions for the Crowthorne pair. With Ravinder Norman's regular partner out injured, Pauline's husband Nick stepped into the breach and the captain decided to shuffle the pairs, Smith playing with Norman at pair 1 and the Snells playing together at 2.

Smith and Norman had an excellent start against Maidenhead's Chris Warren and Fiona Jackson, taking the first set 6-2. The second set went with serve up to 4-4 but the visitors then broke the home serve and held their own to take the second set 6-4. At this point, on the other court, Maidenhead's Roy Childs and Marie Hammon had recovered from a 1-5 deficit to reach 6-all against Crowthorne's Nick and Pauline Snell and were just starting their tie-break. The home 2nd pair had made a feisty start against the Maidenhead pair, Nick Snell's left-handed swerving serve proving more than a challenge, while his partner's forehand topspin took the opposition by surprise. The Crowthorne couple were on fire, and with a 5-1 lead, felt confident that the first set was their's for the taking. Not so! Serving for the set brought the Snell nerves flooding back and the Maidenhead pair took advantage. The Snells made unforced errors and lost the game. Childs then served with confidence, throwing in an ace or two for good measure, and after a brief battle cross-court with forehands flying, he won his serve to make it 5-3. With the tension rising, Snell's normally reliable serve started swerving into the net, and the teams were soon changing sides at 5-4. The Maidenhead pair were creeping back at an alarming rate and their confidence was growing. Hammon served fast and low and despatched the Snell returns to take the score to 5 games all. Panic-stricken but nonetheless determined, the Crowthorne couple had to breathe deeply and focus more intently. The next two games were ablaze with impossibly retrieved base-line lobs and bravely defended smashes, both teams now testing each other to the limits. At 6 games all it was tie-break time and Snell and Snell had to dig deep to win it and the set they should have clinched long before.

Back on the other court where the two 1st pairs were doing battle, it was, once again, neck and neck until Smith dropped his serve to leave Warren to serve for the rubber. A combination of good returns from Smith and Norman plus, maybe, a touch of nerves which led to a couple of missed volleys from Warren and Jackson, and it was back to 5-5. Norman and Jackson then both held serve and the result of the rubber was now down to a tie-break. Smith and Norman continued to fight for every point, but the Maidenhead pair just had the edge, winning the tie-break to clinch the first rubber of the match.

Meanwhile, on court 2, the next set had produced a steadier exchange, with most games going with service. Having now recovered completely from their hasty motorway journey to the match, Childs and Hammon were really on form. Serving with strength and depth, they took control back from the Snells to win the second set 6-4, and take this rubber also the full distance into a third set. Facing the final set with a quiet sense of competition, both pairs were focused on winning a victory for their respective teams. Snell and Snell did well to hold their nerves and reverse the score in the final set, winning it 6-4 in much less dramatic fashion than the first set and squaring the match at a rubber apiece. In fact, Crowthorne now had a lead of just 2 games at the halfway stage in a match which had already lasted over two hours!

The second round matches were quite different. Smith and Norman had an awful start against Childs and Hammon, losing the first four games and having little to offer against the soft angled shots of Hammon and the power of Childs. But, just as the Maidenhead pair had done against their previous opponents, the Crowthorne pair dug deep and a succession of long games with a whole lot of deuces went one by one to the home side and the score was squared at 4-4. The run continued for the home side when Norman held her serve so Childs now had to hold his to save the rubber. This he did, although it was yet another long game, and the pressure now switched to Smith to hold serve at 5-5. By now it was the visitors who were hanging on as Smith and Norman were playing some of their best tennis of the afternoon at this point, but Childs and Hammon were still presenting problems and Smith was pleased to see Hammon fumble a return to make the score 6-5 to Crowthorne. Once again the pressure was on the server, this time Hammon, and following the loss of her previous service game, she did well to hold on and take the set to a tie-break. But it wasn't enough to save the set as Smith and Norman continued their impressive revival and powered their way to a convincing win in the tie-break to win the first set 7-6.

On the other court, Nick and Pauline Snell found Warren and Jackson to be in imperious form having come to a peak of performance during the course of their first round rubber and, although 6-0 6-2 to the visiting pair was a slightly flattering score, it was a well deserved victory for the Maidenhead duo. The four players shook hands and walked off court just as the tie-break was finishing at the end of the first set in the other rubber and they prepared themselves for a long wait as the second set started. This time the roles were reversed as Smith and Norman immediately broke the Hammon serve and gained the advantage. Smith held his serve impressively but Childs held on to his and with Norman producing one of her best service games of the rubber, the visiting pair were always playing catch up and the Crowthorne pair were determined to keep it that way. Another service break for Crowthorne meant that it was going to take a tremendous effort from Childs and Hammon to get back into the set and it duly went to the home pair 6-3.

At 2 rubbers all and 5 sets all the result came down to counting games and, in a match of exactly 100 games, disappointingly for Crowthorne, Maidenhead won by 52 games to 48, a margin of 4 games after more than 4 hours play. So a consolation point to Crowthorne and just two for a 2-2 win to Maidenhead; a loss for Crowthorne but a thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable match for all 8 players.

Berkshire Wilson Mixed Doubles League Division 6B
Yattendon & Frilsham 2 v Crowthorne 2 Saturday 11th June 2005
Crowthorne's 2nd Mixed team won division 7B in 2004 and it was good to see the team escaping from the bottom division of the league for the first time in many years. Their first match in division 6B was an away fixture to Yatendon & Frilsham so this meant a long journey to the west of the county to their club just outside the village of Hampstead Norreys. (Play tennis and see the world!). Andy Johns and Caroline Atkinson were first pair for Crowthorne and they found their opponents, Les Zerfals and Wendy Willoughby-Paul in fine form. The Crowthorne pair had no answer as the first set slipped away 6-3 and the second 6-2 to give the home side the first rubber. Husband and wife pair Stuart and Lorraine Fowler were putting up a better performance against Yattendon's Peter Clements and Heather Boyle, despite losing their first set 6-4 in a rubber which was to turn out to be an epic. With the Crowthorne team still looking for their first set in division 6B, the away pair were finally rewarded for their perseverance, getting on the scorecard at last with a 6-3 second set and an opportunity to win the rubber by taking the third set. Clements and Boyle were never going to be an easy pair to beat but the Fowlers maintained their level of play to reach 6-6 and clinched the set by winning the tie-break 7-5 and the rubber by 2 sets to 1.

In the second round. Johns and Atkinson turned on the class and scored a really impressive 6-1 6-1 victory against Clements and Boyle. So this left the result in the hands of Stuart and Lorraine Fowler, who had to win a set to give Crowthorne a chance of winning the match. This was going to be really tough following Zerfals and Willoughby-Paul's impressive win against Crowthorne's first pair but the visiting pair so nearly made it, only losing the first set in a tie-break. Despite the disappointment of losing the tie-break, the Crowthorne pair stuck doggedly to their task holding on to 4-4. But, although victory was just a couple of games away, it was not going to happen and the home pair broke to win the second set 6-4.

So it was another 2 rubbers all result for Crowthorne but this time the result was 5 sets to 4 in Yattendon's favour. In fact, the game score was 44-42 to Crowthorne, but Yattendon got the two points for a 2-2 win leaving Crowthorne, at least, with the consolation of their first point in division 6B.

Two matches and both of them were 2-2 defeats, but the manner and closeness of the defeats is heartening for the rest of the season. There should be more exciting matches to come for Crowthorne's mixed teams and with performances like these, they both deserve to maintain their positions in their new divisions.

NCL 'A' CRASH TO HEAVY DEFEAT
12-6-2005 -- Andy Johns

Kia NCL Berkshire League Division 1 - Crowthorne 'A' v Greenacre
After a succession of good results in the 3rd division of the Berkshire National Clubs League, Crowthorne Men’s 1st team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Greenacre at Crowthorne on Sunday. Both teams were promoted from Division 4 last season, Greenacre as winners of the division, and Crowthorne were again unable to turn the tables on their opponents.

Conditions were again perfect for the match, and the singles round saw Crowthorne gain their one solitary success of the morning. Playing with a heavily strapped thigh to protect a pulled muscle, Crowthorne number 1 Kevin Breadman overcame Rob Sim 6-1 4-6 7-6 in a titanic duel. Kevin got of to a great start and won the first set comfortably but as the match wore on his injury was taking its toll. In the second set Rob got back into the match with some telling drop shots and lobs that Kevin couldn’t chase down. However Kevin stuck at the task and his opponent couldn’t shake him off, and the match was decided by a tie break in the final set. Kevin managed to put his injury to the back of his mind as he focussed completely on getting the win, which he achieved after some two hours of play. It was a really gutsy performance from Kevin!

David Walter, playing his first match for the first team this season, was unlucky to find himself up against a class player in Graham Lockyear. Graham was a late addition to Greanacre’s team and he struggled to get to the club to meet the start time but he had to concede the first set. However this was a minor setback because he ran out a 0-6 6-2 6-1 winner. Andy Johns playing at 3 had a closer encounter with Alex Gatward. Both players were playing attacking tennis and the match was closely contested until early in the second set, after which Alex ran away with the final few games. On court 4, Andy Becher and Sandy Balfour were engaged in a marathon two and a half hour battle, Sandy eventually overcoming Andy’s resistance to win 6-7 6-2 6-4. After the match was over Sandy was heard to say “he gets everything back!” . He’s not the first of Andy’s opponents to utter that remark, and Andy is a fine singles player.

The doubles round saw Kevin and David pair up against Rob and Graham. The first set was close, Crowthorne going down 7-5, but Greenacre ran away with the second set 6-1. Andy Johns and Andy Becher went down 6-0 6-3 in the final rubber to leave the match score 5-1 to Greenacre.

NCL 'B' CRUSH ASCOT!
12-6-2005 -- MS

Kia NCL Berkshire League Division 4 - Crowthorne 'B' v Royal Ascot 'B'
With the doubles scheduled to be played first because of the other match in progress still occupying two of the four courts, Mike Smith and Jim Hawes as pair one were up against Kevin Boaken and David Franklin from the Royal Ascot club. The home pair were quickly into their stride and their experience as a partnership quickly yielded results as they powered their way to a 6-0 first set. Having lost the first set dramatically, the visitors decided to change their tactics and this they did to stunning effect, lobbing frequently to within inches of the line and forcing the home pair back from the net. The rallies became longer and as they did, so the visitors gained in confidence with Boaken continuing with lobs on almost every service return and Franklin volleying two successive smashes from Hawes for winners. Smith and Hawes both found Boaken's soft service difficult to put away and, although they broke to level at 4-4, Boaken and Franklin broke straight back to lead 5-4 and serve out to take the set 6-4. Unlike in the Wilson Berkshire Leagues, the NCL matches are all best of three sets so there was no sudden death tie-break to finish this match but another set to get to a result; just what the veteran Crowthorne pair didn't want before the singles round! However, Smith and Hawes had been improving against the difficult tactics presented by Boaken and Franklin and, even though they had lost the second set, they felt that they were regaining their authority in the match. They started to combine percentage play with more measured aggression and this paid off as they broke service and maintained their lead to win the set 6-2 and the rubber 2-1 after nearly two hours of tennis.

On the adjacent court, Vince Brooks and Rowan Barrow were teaming up together, probably for the first time ever in a match. This was in contrast with their team mates Smith and Hawes who had been playing as a pair since the year dot! Their opponents Tony Motton and James Watt were a dogged and determined pair who were not making it easy for the home pair but Barrow's speed around the court and Brooks' whipped crosscourt forehands were starting to give then the edge and they inched ahead to take the first set 7-5. The home pair were more settled in the second set, having got to know each others' game a bit better and they played out a relatively straightforward 6-3 set to win the rubber 2-1.

With a 2-0 lead in the match, Crowthorne now had to win just two of the singles matches to ensure a win. However, every rubber won is 2 points gained in this league so the home now four needed to adjust mentally to the singles game and try for a clean sweep. Rowan Barrow, being by far the youngest and fittest in the team was selected to play Kevin Boaken at number one, with Jim Hawes, Vince Brooks and Mike Smith filling positions two, three and four against David Franklin, James Watt and Tony Motton. Boaken was obviously a singles expert and by some margin the best in the Ascot side and he did not take long to beat Barrow 6-2 6-2 and be first off court. Smith at four tracked Motton to 3-3 then broke to take the lead and the first set 6-3, while in the second set the break came earlier and the second was won by the same score. Third off court was Brooks who was able to keep pace with the younger, less experienced Watt and take points seemingly at will, the score of 6-2 6-1 reflecting his superiority. The last match was Hawes at two against Franklin, who having spent the previous two hours against him in the doubles, was having to deal with the same sweeping backhands and dinked volleys in the singles. Although it looked tighter from a distance, Hawes won the match 6-1 6-3 to make the final result a 5-1