May Match Reports

The second round of the Men’s Doubles League saw 2 wins and a losing draw for our teams.  Men’s 1 hosted Windsor 4 in Division 3B and our team of John Phillips/Jon Blatchford and David Smith/Andy Sayer lost just 16 games while winning 4-0.   Men’s 2 were away to Bisham Abbey 2 in Division 4A and they also won 4-0 with Russell Finch/Matt Paxton and David Stone/Michael Harris losing 22 games.  Both pairs had a relatively close second set against the Bisham 2nd pair but won by identical scores, 6-3 7-5.  Men’s 3 were at home against Wokingham 3 in Division 6B and they lost a close match on sets.  Steve Stow/Andy Stone won in 3 sets against the visitors’ 1st pair but lost 3 and 4 against their 2nds who were obviously the better pair on the day.  It was a similar story for Peter Lindholm/Joe Forrester who lost 5-7 4-6 against the 2nd pair but won in 3 sets against the 1sts.

On the same afternoon our Boys 14U A team were away playing Latika A and they won 4-2 in a close match.  Jake Griffiths’ singles was against Robert Newman, who, at 14, was 2 years older than Jake, and he lost 3-6 4-6.  Oskar Wroblewski, however, won 6-3 6-3 against James Parnwell to level the tie and the two went into the doubles with everything to play for.  After sharing the first two sets, 6-3 3-6 it all cam down to a deciding tie-break which the Crowthorne pair won to take the points.

The next day it was the Mixed 10U‘s turn to host Latika  and they won 12-0 in some style.  In the singles, Misha Ordovas won 4-2 4-0 against Niam Notay, Angel Mendel-Idowu won 4-1 4-0 against Max Lewis, Henry Evan-Hart won 4-0 4-0 against Elliot Hily and Jake Walbancke won 4-2 4-1 against Satya Jishnu Grandhi.  In the doubles, Evan-Hart/Mendel-Idowu won 4-0 5-3 against Notay/Lewis while Ordovas/Walbancke had the closest match but still managed to win 4-2 2-4 1-0 against Hily/Jishnu Grandhi.  The picture above shows, from L to R, Henry, Jake in the orange T-shirt, Misha next to Jake, and Angel in the white at the end.

Next weekend it was the Ladies’ turn and both teams recorded wins. Ladies’ 1 were at home to Wokingham 3 in Division 4B and Emma Knowles/Tina Stern got the Crows off to a flying start with a 6-0 6-3 win against Karen Fowler/Kate Mills.  It was less straightforward for Alison Nicholson/Jenny Sheppard but they came back from a set down against Gwen Barrett/Midge Cox, winning 4-6 6-1 1-0.  Knowles/Stern continued their good form to win 6-2 6-2 against Barrett/Cox but Nicholson/Sheppard were unable to make much impact against Fowler/Mills, losing 0-6 3-6, but the tie was already won 3-1.

Ladies’ 2 were away to Bracknell 4 and they had a terrific 4-0 win in Division 7B without losing a set.  Lorraine Fowler, back to great form again after a year nursing an injured achilles tendon, and Ravinder Norman crushed Sarah Gordon/Tracy Barnard 6-1 6-0 while Pauline Snell/Penny Hemingway were winning 6-4 6-4 against Beverley Arnell/Sally Curry.  Snell/Hemingway then disposed of Gordon/Barnard 6-2 6-0 and Fowler/Norman won 6-2 6-2 against Arnell/Curry to complete the 4-0 victory for the loss of 15 games.

Next Sunday morning our 18U Girls were away at David Lloyd Royal Berkshire, winning 4-2, to keep up their challenge for top spot in Division 2A.  In the singles, Stephanie Blaser beat Sophie Perera 6-1 6-1 but Marina Hammond lost 2-6 0-6 to Ella Duke to make it dead even as they went into the deciding doubles.  The Crowthorne pair won a tight first set on a tie-break and then took the second set 6-2 to complete the 4-2 win.

The same morning both Men’s Team Tennis teams were in winning form.  Team Tennis 1 were at home to Twyford and they won 8-4.   It was 2-2 after the singles with Matt Paxton and David Smith both losing their matches against Time Ward and Rupesh Ahluwalia respectively but James Brennan and John Phillips steadied the ship with straight sets wins against Andrew Brandon and Andy Barden.  In the doubles, Paxton/Phillips won in a deciding tie-break against Ward/Ahluwalia to save them going to a deciding shootout after Brennan/Smith’s decisive win against Bardon/Brandon.

Meanwhile, Team Tennis 2 were away at Bracknell playing their 5th team in Division 5a and they came away with a 10-2 win.  In the singles, Russell Finch, Michael Harris and Steve Stow all won their singles in straight sets but Peter Lindholm lost his.  In the doubles, Finch/Lindholmhad a bit of a battle but won 6-4 7-6 but Harris/Stow found it easy, winning 6-2 6-1 to complete a fine win.

On the same morning the 10U Mixed team were again in action, this time away at Wargrave where they had another 12-0 win.  It was the same team as in their previous match except that Thomas Fewell played instead of Angel.  With two matches to play, the team look well set to win the division.

The following weekend, our 18U Boys A team played against Woodland and they won 4-2.  Dan Rippon lost 3-6 1-6 to Lewis Oke in the singles, but Thomas Opalka won 6-1 6-0 against Roshan Patel.  A 6-3 6-3 doubles win meant the team won the match 4-2 and could win the division if they win their final match against Royal Ascot.

Places must be booked in advance via the Members’ Area and selections will then be confirmed on the morning or evening before the event.  Please do not turn up if you have not been selected as you will be turned away. Players are selected on a first come first serve basis usually in multiples of 4 players.  Note that none of these sessions is suitable for beginners.

  • Note that the Committee tries to accommodate the wishes of members, within the constraints of time and 4 courts, but a session for each ability level is the guiding principle.
    • The Friday session is for recreational and higher players and runs from 6pm to 8pm
    • The Thursday 5:30 session is for intermediate players and runs from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
    • The Thursday 7:30 session is for intermediate and advanced players including potential team players and runs from 7:30 to 9:30pm.
    • The Tuesday session is for advanced players and runs from 7pm to 9pm. 
    • In all cases you must commit to the full two hours.
  • Before the session you will have been told by the organiser your starting court, your partner and your opponents.
    • These will take into account each player’s normal playing standard with the best players starting on court 1 and, with 16 players, the least able players on court 4.  However, the organiser may occasionally decide to organise it differently such as a “lucky dip” for starting court & partner.
    • In addition, for the Thursday 7:30 session, the organiser will take into account any pairings for matches at the coming weekend.
  • Play is split into 3 rounds lasting 40 minutes each.  Play 1 set with normal deuce scoring.  If you finish early either carry on or mix in your 4.
    • If you haven’t finished the set after 40 minutes and the scores are level, play a sudden death point
  • At the end of the 40 minutes the winners of the first set played move up a court, the losers move down a court (court 1 is the top court). Winners on the top court stay, as do the losers on the bottom court. If you didn’t finish your set then the pair winning at the time moves up.
  • Pairs then split partners with the pair joining them and you play a second round.
    • Partners are selected by spinning rackets or using common sense to try to get a balanced 4.
  • Exactly the same happens for the third round.

Drop-In club nights are, as the name implies, more informal sessions than the bookable ones and you can arrive and leave when you like.  Those attending organise themselves, changing who plays with whom after most present have completed a set, although there’s often a more senior member present who  will take charge if needed.

We are currently running 2 Drop-In  sessions for all levels from Starter upwards…

  • The Tuesday session has recently been rebranded for All Levels and runs from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  If you want to sit out and watch, maybe with a drink, you can do that too.  If you’ve arrived early for the 7 o’clock session, you’re also welcome to join in.
  • The Wednesday session is for all levels of player including beginner and usually runs from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.
    • You can expect members attending adult coaching to join in.
  • The Sunday session is for All levels and runs from 3:00 – 5:00pm.

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