October League Roundup

With a month of the Winter League completed we’ve had two rounds of Men’s and Ladies’ matches and a round of Mixed.

In the first round of the Men’s Doubles at the beginning of the month Men’s 1 came up against a strong Wargrave 1 in Division 2 and lost their home tie 0-4.  All matches were lost in straight sets, although Russell Finch and David Smith were unlucky not to get one rubber, losing 6-7 6-7 to Colin Johnson and Paolo Pederoda.  James Brennan and Matt Paxton got to 4-6 in both of their rubbers, so it was far from a walkover, but it shows that there are some strong teams in this Division.

In Division 5W, Men’s 2 had a close match against Windsor 5 away from home, which they could have won 4-0.  With a tricky surface to get used to, Chris Torkington and Jim Hawes narrowly lost 6-4 5-7 0-1 against Brian Paddon and Nigel Truphet while Richard McCully and David Stone suffered similarly at the hands of Stephen Long and Peter Brogan, going down 4-6 7-6 0-1.  However, in the second round, the Crows pairs fought back well with McCully and Stone beating Paddon and Truphet in straight sets and Torkington and Hawes clinching the deciding tiebreak against Long and Brogan to win the match on sets and games.

Men’s 3 in Division 6E were at home against Maidenhead 6 and they finished with a point from a losing draw.  Vince Brooks and Andy Stone did well to win both of their rubbers, the first on a deciding tiebreak, but Hamish McCarthy and Joe Forrester, in their first match together,  struggled and were well beaten.

In the second round of the Men’s Doubles, we had one of our strongest squads out and Men’s 1 found it easy against Maidenhead 3 in Division 2. Jon Blatchford and John Phillips beat Roscoe Warren and Tim Lattimer 1 and 1 while James Brennan and Andy Sayer were winning by the same score against Alejandro Torbaruela and Bruce Greenwood.  In the second round Blatchford and Phillips didn’t drop a game although Brennan and Sayer did slip up a bit, winning 6-1 6-2.

In Division 5W, Men’s 2 also had a 4-0 win, away against Wargrave 4, Chris Torkington and David Smith won both of their matches 6-0 6-3 while Matt Paxton and David Stone beat Alexander Mileman and John Buekers 6-1 6-1 but were pushed a bit harder in the second set, beating Arthur Stankijwkz and Sam Johnson 6-4 5-7 1-0.

Men’s 3, however, came up against a strong team away Slough in Division 6E.  Jim Hawes and Hamish McCarthy lost their first rubber 1-6 2-6 against Andy Wilson and Mohammed Basith Awan but Vince Brooks and Steve Stow levelled the match against Robert Meah and Ryan Vittles, winning 6-2 6-4.   They also had no answer against the very strong Awan and his partner but Hawes and McCarthy, in a topsy turvy match, couldn’t quite get over the finish line, losing 6-2 0-6 0-1.

In the first round of the Ladies’ Doubles, Ladies’ 1 faced Caversham 3 in Division 3.  Ravinder Norman and Tina Stern put in a steady performance to win both rubbers in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 against Cecile Mallett and Shashi Gadgil and 6-2 6-4 against Susan Gold and Tracey Hart.  Pauline Snell and Alison Nicholson were unlucky to miss out in their rubber against Gold and Hart, losing 6-7 6-7 but they were well beaten 6-1 6-0 by the Caversham first pair to make the result a loss by 2 games.  Ladies’ 2’s first match was postponed at Shiplake’s request.

In the second round last weekend, Ladies’ 1  again gained a point from a losing draw, this time away against Wargrave 2.  Tina Stern and Emma Knowles faced tough opponents in Fiona Traill and Janice Dobbin, but won 6-3 6-3 and they had similar success in the second round, winning 6-4 6-3 against Clare Belton and Elizabeth Hindley.  However, they were too good for Ravinder Norman and Maddie Dunckley who lost 2-6 0-6 against Belton and Hindley and 2-6 1-6 against Traill and Dobbin.

Ladies’ 2 were unlucky not to get a point from their match in Division 7 at Bradfield.  Alison Nicholson and Pauline Snell went close in the first set against Joanne Jones and Helen Townsend, losing 5-7 but lost the second 1-6.  In the second round they won the first set 7-5 against Claire Moor and Nicola Horton but lost the second 3-6 and then lost the deciding tie-break.  Sarah Mayhew and Linda Diessner gained useful experience but were not really in contention, losing both rubbers in straight sets to make the result 4-0 to Bradfield.

In the first round of the Mixed Doubles, Mixed 1 faced a strong Windsor 2 side who were too strong for Matt Paxton / Emma Knowles and Richard McCully / Tina Stern, winning all rubbers in straight sets.

Mixed 2 fared no better in Division 4 away against a very strong Basildon 1.  Hamish McCarthy and Ravinder Norman had no answers against Jerry Sinden and Gerry Westermann, losing 1-6 0-6 and Mark Callaghan and Alison Nicholson did no better in the second round, losing 0 and 1.  Both pairs did better aganst Michael Baker and Tracey Hodson, however, Callaghan and Nicholson losing 3-6 1-6 while McCarthy and Norman lost by a creditable 4-6 4-6.

Mixed 3, however, did win a point from their losing draw against Bracknell 3 in Division 5E.  Jenny Sheppard and Simon Usher won both of their rubbers, winning against Maria Allen and Mark O’Donnell in a deciding tie-break and 6-1 6-4 against Noreen Bedford and Tony Montana.  However, both visiting pairs were too good for Sarah Mayhew and Andy Lewis, who battled gamely but were unable to get close to the set needed to gain a second point.

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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