December League Roundup

On 1st December Mixed 1 faced a strong Wargrave 2 side away in Division 3.  Emma Knowles/John Phillips were surprised to find themselves down in their first set against Jennifer Harding/Tim Janisch, losing it 5-7 before winning the next 6-2 and the deciding tie-break.  Tina Stern/Matt Paxton were well beaten 4-6 2-6 by Rebecca Salisbury-Beard/Christopher Brims but they performed better in the second round only just losing 2-6 6-4 1-0 against Harding/Janisch.  Knowles/Phillips, having recovered from  their uncharacteristic hiccup at the beginning of the tie, then swept through 6-0 6-1 against the home second pair to ensure a win on games to the Crowthorne team.

Mixed 3 had a good 3-1 home win against Sonning 1 in Division 5E.  Alison Nicholson/Mark Callaghan dropped their first set 5-7 against Jennifer Taylor/Stephen Edwards but took the second 6-4 and won the deciding tiebreak.  Wendy Miles/Simon Usher won convincingly 6-1 6-2 against Sarah Armitage/Jim Clements before Nicholson/Callaghan won against the same pair even more convincingly. 6-0 6-0.  Miles/Usher were out of it in the first set against Taylor/Stephens but recovered well in the second despite losing it 5-7.  However, by this time the tie was already won.

The following Sunday, Men’s 1 were at home against Caversham Park 1 in Division 2.  Jon Blatchford/ Michael Harris lost their first rubber 1-6 4-6 against a strong looking Alex Swann/Logan Turner but James Brennan/Russell Finch were able to square the tie with a 6-2 2-6 1-0 win against Richard Morgan/Steven Ratcliffe.  They were also unable to make any impression on Swann/Turner, losing 2-6 3-6, but Blatchford/Harris fared better against Morgan Ratcliffe despite losing 6-7 3-6 to make it a 3-1 win for the visitors.

Men’s 2 were away playing Caversham Park’s 2nds in Division 4 and they lost 1-3 in a match of 3 deciding tie-breaks.  Matt Paxton/Hamish McCarthy faced Bejamin and Thomas Silvester-Ratcliffe in the first round and they finished on the losing side of a 6-2 3-6 1-0 score.  Jim Hawes/Chris Torkington lost 6-7 4-6 in a close match they could have won against Howard Willis/Rakesh Bhandari.  Paxton McCarthy had a great start against WIllis/Bhandari, winning the first set 6-0 before conceding the tie-break in the second.  However, they won the deciding tie-break to give the team the chance of salvaging a point or maybe even two.  Hawes/Torkington lost their first set 2-6 against the Silvester-Ratcliffes but they took the second 6-3 and were unlucky to lose the deciding tie-break.

Men’s 3 were at home against Home Park in Division 6E and this was definitely a game of two halves which the Crows side ended up winning by a comfortable margin, despite each pair winning a rubber.  David Stone/Andrew Morrison found Peter Blanshard/Chao Su’s combination of slice from Blanshard and heavy topspin from Su difficult to handle and went down surprisingly 3-6 4-6.  Meanwhile, Andy Stone/Mike Smith won a close first set 6-3 against the hard-hitting Bassem Salemeh/Luke Beckley but slumped badly in the second, losing it 2-6, and then lost the deciding tie-break 9-11.  With a 2-0 lead at the mid-way point, the visitors were full of confidence so it was a surprise when Stone Smith broke away at 4-all to take the next 7 games against Blanshard/Su, eventually winning 6-4 6-2 having volleyed their way to victory against the slice of Blanshard.  On the other court there was another upset as Stone/Morrison found that their opponents’ style of play was much more to their liking and won 6-3 6-1 to make it a 2-2 winning draw to the Crows.

The next weekend, Ladies’ 1 were at home against David Loyyd Berkshire 3 in Division 3 and they nearly finished with a 4-0  win but had to settle for 3-1.  Emma Knowles/Tina Stern were as imperious as usual, sweeping through majestically 6-1 6-1 against Anita Samuel/Noelle Fung while Alison Nicholson/Lorraine Fowler had an even better start, winning the first set 6-0 before having more of a fight in the second and eventually winning it 7-5 against Inna Byles/Donna Leach.  Knowles/Stern then won 6-3 6-0 against Byles/Leach while Nicholson/Fowler just missed out against Byles/Leach, losing 1-6 6-4 0-1.

Ladies’ 2 faced another David Lloyd side, this one away at Newbury in Division 7 and lost 0-4.  Details of the match will be added as soon as the winning team enter the scores.

The following day it was the turn of the juniors with Boys 18U A hosting Shinfield and winning 6-0.  Dan Rippon set the ball rolling with a 6-2 6-3 win over Jack Bragg with James Kempson winning 6-4 6-2 against the visitors’ no.2.  In the doubles it was more of the same with the Crows pair winning 6-2 6-4.

In the same division, Boys 18U B travelled to Woodland where Alex Trill and Matt Bowers were well beaten by the home side 6-0.

Away at Shinfield, Mixed 10U continued their winning form with a 12-0 victory.  Henry Evan-Hart beat Alexandr Revenko 4-1 4-1 and Jake Walbancke beat Alex Race 4-1 5-4.  But the top results came from the girls with Angel Mendel-Idowu and Alice Dyer, playing her first match, both recording 4-0 4-0 victories.  In the doubles, Evan-Hart/Mendel-Idowu won 4-1 4-0 nd Walbancke/Dyer won 4-0 4-0.

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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