Both Flavia and Maria strike the ball well and hit consistently good length shots from the back of the court. They are also very mobile. The major factor in this match was Flavia’s front court play. Her smashes and volleys made the difference and she came out the winner, 6-2, 6-2.
The Men’s Singles final saw Club Coach Joe Revelle take on Graeme Ellis. They have played many times before, sharing the spoils. The ball striking was powerful and you will not see a more stylish double handed backhand than Graeme’s.
This was a see -sawing match. Joe took the first set, but Graeme hit back to take the second. The deciding championship tie break was tense and tight. Joe took this, winning the title in an entertaining match. 6-2, 6-1, 10-7
The Mixed Title went to Ant Brown and Claire Reid as their opponents had to default because of illness. They had shown their Champion’s form in an epic semi-final against Graeme Ellis and Jennie Pope.
The Ladies Doubles was contested between Jennie Pope and Ros Hursell and Flavia Zamfir and Elena Clarke. The opening rallies were thoughtful and the consistency of Jennie and Ros seemed to be the main factor until Flavia used her athleticism to intercept rallies and finish points at the net, often set up by strong driving from Elena. This changed the dynamic of the match and Flavia and Elena won 6-3, 6-2.
The Men’s Doubles was always going to be a good match with last year’s winners, Ant Brown and Andrew Winnett playing the winner and runner up in last year’s singles final, Kyrill Kennett and Gregor Corcoran.
All four players started well, hitting with power and accuracy and covering the court with great speed. Ant was the dominant player to begin with and a tight first set went to him and Andrew.
Kyrill and Gregor were not downcast, however as they knew they were playing well. There was no drop off and the high standard continued as Ant and Andrew showed why they have won this title several times before. Ant has seven titles and Andrew an incredible twenty, three of them with Ant.
The younger pair, however, were determined and upped their effort, moving to another level. Kyrill made some incredible gets and along with awesome power, executed winning lobs and touch volleys, which left even speedy Ant unable to retrieve. Gregor matched Kyrill and in spite of pressing hard, Ant and Andrew were unable to stop the youngsters taking the set, the deciding tie break and the Title, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7.
Andrew was back on court after a short break to play the Senior men’s Final against last year’s winner, Martyn Isherwood.
He was very relaxed in his game after the doubles and was more consistent than Martyn, taking the first set. In the second, Martyn showed his wonderful hand skills and deft volleying in some games but it was Andrew’s steady play that won him the match and the title, 6-2, 6-2.
A great day was enjoyed by many spectators and a lot of helpers. The club thanks them all. In the end it was not the weather that won, but tennis.
Trevor Blake
12.09.23
