WIMBLEDON and strawberries and cream are on the horizon, and local tennis players have been getting in the spirit by hosting their own annual doubles tournament, reports CHRIS ADAMS.
The Penallt & District Tennis Club doubles were completed over the last two weekends and provided excellent entertainment for participants and spectators alike.
The mixed doubles was won by 17-year-old Emily Blair who had wisely teamed up with club coach Sean Jones.
They had to overcome both last year’s runners up, Bev Leaf and Peter Dimmock, and winners, Lizelle de Jager and John Howells, to take the title, with the score in both matches being 6-2, 6-2.
As to be expected, coach Sean was rock solid throughout, but Emily also played some excellent attacking tennis at times.
And her net play in the final was particularly admired by the spectators.
The men’s doubles was won by John Howells and Ed Hollick who beat last year’s winners, Josh Griffiths and Henry Francis 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
There were rather more ebbs and flows in the match than the scoreline suggests, with players unexpectedly dropping their service games at various points.
The ladies’ doubles final between Bev Leaf and Ginny Higgins and Lizelle de Jager and Nicky Amery kept the spectators well entertained with attractive rallies throughout the match and some strong volleying.
Having lost the first set 6-2, Lizelle and Nicky managed to hold on in the second set and eventually break serve to take the set 6-4 to make it one set apiece.
They then played nearly error free tennis to take the deciding tie-break 10-5.
It was the second three-set match of the day for Bev and Ginny having come through a tough semi-final against Steph Howell and Caroline Peters.
As usual losers in the first round competed in a plate competition.
The mixed final was a very closely contested game between Bozena and James Tytko and Caroline Peters and Adam Clarke.
At various times throughout the match, the Tytkos seemed to have the upper hand only to be immediately pegged back by Caroline and Adam who eventually took the title 7-6, 6-4.
Adam made it a double by winning the men’s doubles plate with new member Tim Davies, defeating Chris Adams and Chris Hollick in another close match decided by a tie-break third set.
The latter had earlier lost their first round match against William Hedley-Miller and Paul Roderick in the club’s record longest tie-break 18-16.
The ladies plate was won somewhat more straightforwardly by Alison O’Doherty and Cheryl Blair who beat Juliet Bucknall and Rosie Adams in the final.
Penallt & District are a friendly club with three floodlit artificial grass courts set in an attractive rural setting in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Anyone interested in joining can direct message them at www.facebook.com/PenalltTennisClub/