2019 Finals Day, 1 September
The Finals Day for the Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles tournaments was held on the afternoon of Sunday 1st September with a good attendance by members and non members. As usual there was an excellent barbeque provided by Nick and Merriss Ratliff which enhanced the viewing of some tight tennis matches in gusty wind.
First up was the Men’s Singles Cup which saw Rob Garvey take on Paul Olney. Rob settled to the conditions more quickly and won the first set 6-3. Paul dug deep and won the second 6-2. The resultant Championship tie break was an edgy affair with both players missing opportunities but Paul prevailed in the end 10-8.
The Men’s Singles Plate was next with Nick Ratliff taking on Dan Haynes. The tennis was better than the Cup final and both played well but Nick ran out the winner 6-3, 6-3.
The Men’s Doubles Cup saw Andy Coote and Colin Adams take on Mike Rogers and Paul Olney. The Coote/Adams pairing struggled in the swirling wind and lost the first set 1-6. The second set was very tight and could have gone either way but was won by the Rogers/Olney pairing on a tie break, 7-6, thus securing them the Cup.
Finally, Nick and Merriss Ratliff (relieved from BBQ cooking and food preparation) took on Mike Rogers and Jo Horwood for the Mixed Doubles Cup. The rallies were long and there was a good deal of “aerial” tennis (or lobbing) which was highly effective in the conditions. The Rogers/Horwood pairing were perhaps more adept at this shot and ran out deserved winners 6-3, 6-4.
All matches were played in an excellent spirit (with no broken racquets or arguments with the umpire) and were expertly umpired by Nick Turner. Richard Roberts presented the trophies with support from Andy Coote. A special thank you was given to Nick and Merriss for all of their work in providing the BBQ.
Report by Paul Olney. Photographs by Dan Haynes