Champions dominate again

Defending champions Tawa-Lyndhurst (men) and Paraparaumu Beach (women) continued their dominance of the Wellington premier tennis competition with solid wins on Saturday.

For the second straight year, they have a stranglehold on the competition, with both teams assured of a place in the grand final.

Thorndon beat Wellington 5-1 with the only upset from an in-form Isaac Becroft against George Stoupe on Saturday 6-2 6-2.

It was Becroft’s third consecutive win as he continues to hold his own in the No 1 spot left vacant by Rio Minakata’s departure.

Becroft put his recent wins down to being in a team. ‘‘I play better in a team environment, not only playing for myself but for my team. It helps me fire up a bit. I knew I had to play well to beat George, serve good to get some free points and keep it deep. That formula seemed to work pretty well.’’

Khandallah have had a strong start, beating Wellington and Thorndon in previous weeks on countbacks but found it tougher against Tawa-Lyndhurst. Finley Hall picked up their only point over Rob Reynolds 7-6 7-5. No 1 Joshua Snowdon-Poole retiring with injury after losing the first set to Olly Sadler in a tiebreak.

Miramar beat Waikanae Beach on countback.

Thorndon women have had a better start to their post-Christmas matches, chalking up wins over Lower Hutt and Tawa-Lyndhurst assisting them to second place on the ladder.

Nina Paripovic from Waikato made an appearance as No 1, beating Maggie Dai 6-4 6-2.

Khandallah are back in the running after beating a depleted Lower Hutt side with a solid 6-0 win.

Wellington went up against Paraparaumu Beach, winning only the bottom doubles.

It will come down to the last two rounds of play, with Khandallah, Lower Hutt and Wellington all in with a shot of taking on Paraparaumu Beach in the grand final.