Finals Day last Sunday turned out to be a great event, despite the restrictions of Covid-19. Everyone tried hard to maintain social distancing, the weather was wonderful and the tennis was first class.
The day started with the Ladies’ Doubles in which last year’s runners-up Ravinder Norman & Jenny Sheppard were facing the new partnership of Penny Hemingway & Maggie Ingham. The first set featured some long rallies but with Norman intervening at the net and putting away some firm volleys a lot of the points went to Norman & Sheppard who won the set 6-1. Hemingway & Ingham gradually worked their way into the match in the 2nd set and their hard work was rewarded when they won the set 6-3. As we went into the third set (and the 3rd hour) both pairs were covering a lot of ground and starting to suffer in the heat. There was no way of telling who would win and it was almost inevitable that the set would be decided on a tie-break which Hemingway and Ingham won to take the championship.
The next match was the Men’s Singles and a lot of members had come along to watch, intrigued to see how 15 year old Jacques Edwards would fare against the hard hitting Jon Blatchford. Within a few points it was clear this was going to be a spectacular match featuring some of the best tennis ever seen on our courts. Blatchford cracked his serve down but Edwards was able to get his racket to the ball and increasingly impressed those watching with his accuracy of shot and speed around the court as his returns skimmed the sideline and passed Blatchford. It was a feast of hard and accurate hitting but it soon became clear that Edwards had the edge and he eventually won by an impressive margin 6-3 6-1. Blatchford was magnanimous in defeat stating that he didn’t mind being beaten by someone as good as Jacques.
Next on was a repeat of last year’s Handicap Singles Final between Russell Finch and Joe Forrester. Joe started on +7, 1 less than last year, and the target for the best of 9 games was 14. The first game was 14-13 to Joe and, incredibly, the next four were 14-13 to Russell. A lot of the spectators were backing Russell, who must have more runners-up trophies than anyone in the club, but Joe also had his supporters and, although Russell came close to getting that deciding 5th game, he couldn’t quite make it as Joe took the final four games 14-11 14-12 14-8 14-11.
The last match was a repeat of last year’s Men’s Doubles final between the champions John Phillips & Jon Blatchford and Russell Finch & James Brennan. Finch and Brennan had a good start with Brennan holding his service after a couple of deuces and Blatchford losing his service to 15. Finch was then broken to 30 and, with Phillips holding serve after two deuces, it was 3-1 to the 2019 champions. Brennan again held his service after a deuce but, with Phillips & Blatchford holding serves and Finch dropping his, the first set went 6-2 to the holders. In the second set serves were held relatively easily to 3-2 when Brennan had a bit more of a struggle to make it 3-3. Phillips held his service crucially after two deuces to make it 4-3 and, with the tiring Finch dropping his service after another close game, Blatchford served out to retain the championship for Phillips & Blatchford.
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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