It was a low key finals day under the circumstances with the evening barbecue cancelled as a mark of respect to HM Queen Elizabeth II whose funeral was the following day. Also, with a injury to one of the Ladies’ Doubles finalists, that final was postponed to a future date.
However, both matches were far from sombre with the first one, the Handicap Singles, going the full distance, 11-10 in the final game. The format was the best of 9 tie-breaks to 11 and featured previous winner Joe Forrester against Mark Catchpole who started each game on +2.
Although both players started tentatively, they both loosened up after the first couple of games which they shared 11-8 10-11, Joe winning the first and Mark the second. The next two were also shared, 11-8 to Joe and 11-6 to Mark, with rallies getting longer and often a battle between Joe’s cultured ground-strokes including a double-handed backhand and Mark’s more instinctive shots and free-flowing single-handed backhand. At 2-2, Joe took a decisive lead winning the next two games 11-9 11-8 to lead 4-2. But it was still close and Joe, seeing the finish line, possibly tightened up and Mark, with nothing to lose, won the next two games 11-8 11-5. At 4-4 it was no surprise when the game score reached 10-10, and, after a long rally, Joe swept away a double-handed winner to take the trophy.
So Joe was champion for the 3rd time with Mark a disappointed runner-up having come top in the points scored by 87 to 84. Tina Stern was on hand to present the trophy she had donated to the club and also gave bottles of bubbly to the two players.
In the Men’s Doubles, the two singles finalists, Guy Smith-Bingham and Jake Griffiths were teaming up against Dave Smith and Luke Tearall. Guy and Jake, having been in a final earlier in the summer, started off relaxed and, with Dave and Luke feeling the tension of the big occasion, they found themselves with a 5-0 lead. But Dave and Luke were playing great tennis at times; they just broke down on critical points. However, they eventually held serve to make the score 5-1 and with a break of serve and another hold, it was 5-3. They couldn’t maintain this momentum, however, as Jake served out to win the set 6-3.
In the second set, the tide turned somewhat as Dave and Luke relaxed and took a 2-0 lead. That soon vanished, however and it was 2-2 but we were starting to get some superb rallies as the score progressed to 4-4. During this time there were gasps from the crowd as we witnessed possibly one of the best points ever seen at Crowthorne Tennis Club! In the end, Guy and Jake managed to keep their composure and, after a break of service, Jake again served out for the set 6-4.