February Match Reports

On Saturday 9th, Ladies 2 faced a trip to Maidenhead in Division 7 to play their 6th team.  They came away with 2 points from a 2-2 winning draw by 1 game to keep their hopes alive of avoiding relegation with a match to play.  Alison Nicholson & Cath Sillitoe were unlucky to lose a close match against the home first pair, Hazel Adams & Claire Castignetti, losing 2-6 7-5 0-1.   But Jenny Partridge & Pauline Snell kept the Crows in the match with a convincing 6-1 6-4 win over Sandr Rogerson & Fiona Jackson.  Partidge & Snell lost a close first set 6-7 against Adams & Castignetti but fell away 1-6 in the second.  Nicholson & Sillitoe faced another close battle against Rogerson & Jackson, but this time it was they who won the deciding tie-break, winning 4-6 6-2 1-0.

After a succession of losing draws, Men’s 3 doubled their points tally on Sunday 10th with a dominant 4-0 away win against bottom of the table Wargrave 5. The win moves them out of the relegation slots into 6th place in Division 6E.  Vince Brooks & Steve Stow set the ball rolling with a straight sets 6-3 6-1 win over home number one pair Graeme Walker & Richard Etheridge.  Meanwhile Andy Johns & Nathan Osborn were doing a similar job against David Smith & Greg Bello, winning 6-2 6-3.   Both pairs were even more dominant in the second round, Johns & Osborn winning 6-2 6-1 against Walker & Etheridge while Brooks & Stow demolished Smith & Bello 6-1 6-0.  Although a win against second placed Bracknell 4in the last match of the season will be difficult, it is at home and the team below the Crows is also facing higher placed opposition and need a win to overtake them.

The following week Ladies’ 2 played another postponed away match, this time against Royal Ascot 2.   This time Alison Nicholson & Cath Sillitoe won both of their rubbers in straight sets but Wendy Miles & Sarah Mayhew, still finding their way in the league, were unable to much of an impact.  Although the team lost by 5 games, it was another valuable point won for the team.

The next weekend was the last round in the Men’s Leagues and Men’s 1 were at home against Division 2 leaders Peppard 1 who had only dropped one point all season.  Jon Blatchford & John Phillips had a good start against Dominic Cusk & Simon Thorpe, winning the first set 6-4, but they lost the next 1-6 and lost the deciding tie-break.  David Smith & James Brennan lost their opening set 2-6 against Andrew Lee & James Franklin, but came back well to take the second 7-5 only to lose the second deciding tie-break of the match.In the second round, Blatchford & Phillips were beaten 7-5 6-3 by Lee & Franklin but Smith & Brennan agains took their opponents to a deciding tie-break, the third of the match, before losing 7-6 1-6 0-1 to Cusk & Thorpe.  So a disappointing result after a very close match, but, with Maidenhead 3 being held 2-2 by bottom of the table Bisham Abbey 1, they finish a point clear of relegation.

Men’s 2 were playing Peppard’s 2nd team in Division 5W and they won 3-1 to cement their position as champions of the division losing only 2 points all season.  Matt Paxton & Russell Finch thrashed the visitors’ first pair Anthony l’Anson & Vic Fry 6-2 6-1 but Jim Hawes & Peter Lindholm had to work a lot harder in winning 4-6 7-5 1-0 against Rob Woodthorpe-Brown & Nigel Sheldon.  In the second round Hawes & Lindholm lost 5-7 2-6 to l’Andon & Fry but Paxton & Finch continued to dominate, winning their second rubber 6-1 6-1.

Men’s 3 had a trip to Bracknell to play their 4th team in Division 6E and,  as usual, Bracknell put out a strong team aaginst their local rivals and won 4-0.  However, our team remain in the division by virtue of Caversham Park 4 doing us a favour and beating Maidenhead 6 4-0 to avoid them swapping places and putting our team into the relegation zone.

 

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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