The first Round Robin of the Club Championships took place last weekend - Ladies Doubles . The Ladies opted to play indoors so that they were out of the sun but the conditions were still hot and they did well to complete the event. Plenty of cooling breaks and lots of water helped. Short sets were played to speed up proceedings.
The first round saw wins for Claire and Flavia against Martha and Clare 4-3, 4-1 and Sophie and Christine against Kriszti and Louise 4-1, 4-0.
Second round matches saw determination come into play and both matches were hard fought. Kriszti and Louise covered the court well but were not quite as consistently accurate as Martha and Clare, who won 4-1, 4-2. Claire and Flavia met stern resistance from Sophie and Christine. After winning the first set 4-0, they were beaten 4-3 in the second and had to win a tie break to win the round.
That meant two wins for Claire and Flavia and one for Sophie and Christine and Martha and Clare. With only two pairs going forward, the last round was crucial.
Claire and Flavia sealed their place with a win against Kriszti and Louise, 4-1, 4-0.
Martha and Clare will join them after they proved too powerful for Sophie and Christine on this occasion, winning 4-0, 4-2.
A place in the semi Final beckoned for the winner of this Mixed Round Robin played at Balksbury in great tennis weather, warm and light with a slight breeze and no glaring sun.
In the first round Clare and Mark took on Martha and Gregor. This was a very competitive match with a lot of close fought games. Clare was striking the ball well and Mark was active at the net but it was Martha and Gregor who had a little more consistency and came out on top. Kriszti and Ben won through against Lynne and Rob though it was not easy with Rob using his athleticism to prolong the rallies.
In the Second round Martha and Gregor had too much power for Lynne and Rob but there were pleasing rallies and Lynne particularly enjoyed passing Gregor down the line. Kriszti and Ben had a close match with Clare and Mark. This time it was Clare and Mark who had a little more consistency and in spite of patches of really good tennis from Kriszti and Ben, Clare and Mark came out on top.
Martha and Gregor were in the lead at this point with two wins, one each for Clare and Mark and Kriszti and Ben. The third round put Clare and Mark against Lynne and Rob. The determination of Clare and Mark saw them win this one to have two wins overall. Martha and George played Kriszti and Ben. This match had moments of excellence when all four played well. Kriszti raised her game and showed her potential with lovely ground strokes and sharp volleying. Once again, Martha and Gregor had more consistency, however, and they made it three wins to ensure their place in a semi final.
