Wonderful win ends 30 years of tennis hurt

LAST Saturday, Greystones Lawn Tennis Club, Mill Road, held a celebration party for the victorious Class 1 Mens Summer League team.

Dublin League Summer Tennis results go back 115 years and during that time Greystones Lawn Tennis Club have contested numerous Class 1 finals and in particular the last 30 years have seen the club play and lose in nine finals, bringing the English soccer song “30 years of hurt” to mind!

Saturday, June 24, was finally a day of joy and not hurt and the door finally opened with Greystones’ first team winning Dublin Leagues Class 1 versus Fitzwilliam Tennis Club held in Naas Tennis Club.

In 2016, the club lost 3/2 against Malahide so this was GLTCs year.

The club played a semi-final during the week away to Malahide and reversed the 2016 result that saw GLTC into another final against Fitzwilliam.

The team, captained by Colm Og Molloy and Garbhan O’Nuallain (playing partners for too many years to even consider!), who between them had lost nine finals in the past 30 years and with a squad for the campaign of Ciaran Fitzgerald and his older brother Niall Fitzgerald, Ordhan O’Sullivan Hamill, Davis Cup stalwarts Tom Hamilton and Stewart Doyle, Nicholas Malone and Shane O’Donnell produced the goods to win the tie 3/1.

Congratulations flooded in from many other clubs and club members via social channels further reflecting the goodwill that this victory means to the team and club.

It is testament to the club that over the years the team has maintained its ‘club’ ethos in that each player in the main is a local from the Greystones area.

So each player knew the importance of what this win means to the club.

Many past players in the club have also tasted the loses and many of them were present to see history being made.

This victory was as much for those players of years gone by as for those who took to the court but mostly this was a victory for a local club consisting of local players.