Enthusiastic return to courts

Forty-eight rusty, yet excited tennis players made their return to the courts at the weekend, as the Stawell Tennis Club Friday Night Competition resumed.

There were plenty of new faces, a swag of balls going over the fences and one hotly contested battle which wasn’t decided until the final match of the evening.

The contest between Mitre 10 and Stawell Goldmine on paper shaped as a mouth-watering clash, and lived up to the hype, with just two games separating the two sides at night’s end.

It was Jemima Harney and returning player Jordan Austin who were the heroes for Mitre 10, dragging their side across the line, winning all their matches.

They were well supported by the ever-reliable Leon Monaghan, with the fruits of a laborious off-season full of regular hits with his kids on display.

Jamie Bach and Sue Blakey also featured prominently in the victory.

Stawell Goldmine was paced by a couple of youngsters, in Isabella Browne and Luke Monaghan, with the latter following his old man’s lead through the break, doing the hard yards in the gym, before getting the better of young gun D’artagnan Walls on opening night. However, expect Walls to bounce back in a big way next week.

Another teen on the rise, Molly Orr, had no issues making the step up to number two, providing valuable support, as did veteran Howard Dunn.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough in the 12-140 to 12-142 loss.

The last time Stevie Johnstone picked up a racquet, Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister, yet despite a 38-year hiatus from the game, the adrenaline was pumping enough to get a win at his first outing.

Unfortunately for his Carey Covers team-mates, that was the highlight of the night and it all went downhill from there in a 14-154 to 10-133 loss to Stawell Toyota, which assumed the mantle of ladder leader at this early stage.

Stawell Toyota was led brilliantly by skipper Blair Hart, with the club coach’s mere presence looming large over the competition.

Paul Summers put his powerful forehand to work all night, while Jen Stevens and a host of others made their competitors look second rate.

Hugh Carey, Sophie Hutton and Emily Davis were the best performers for Carey Covers on a night that promised so much early yet turned out to be a disappointing one.

On another note, it was great seeing all four young Reading brothers suit up on the same night in a senior tennis competition, with mum and dad looking on proudly.

All four potential future stars of the club.

– Joel Freeland