Seacourt suffer a thrilling defeat
Latest from the Portsmouth Winter Tennis League
It was inevitable that having said last week how kind the winter weather had been to tennis players so far this year, the Saturday programme was decimated by wind and rain.
Except for the match between Chichester ladies 3rds and Denmead, where the former recorded a 3-1 success.
Chichester men’s 2nds followed up the ladies’ success in a thriller with Seacourt. The opening rubbers were shared, but Seacourt claimed a slight advantage when Graham Cottle and Vince Venus took a set off Callum Budd and Paul Sheen.
Budd and Sheen then accounted for Hugh Latham and Rich Perkins in straight sets, leaving the match decided by the final rubber. Cottle and Venus won it, after a match tie break, but Chichester took the winning draw points 36-34 on games.
There was another close encounter between CourtX 3rds and JEM Tennis. The opening rubbers were again shared, but Simon Troke and Robin Ellison won a set in their losing rubber to give CourtX the advantage.
The reverse rubbers were also shared, both in straight sets, leaving CourtX as winners of the extra point 5-4 on sets countback.
The mixed doubles match between Avenue and Warsash in Division 1 saw both teams’ top pairs crush the respective second strings. Warsash’s PG Udal and Martin Wilkinson then edged past Viola Masona and Mark Lance before the final high-quality rubber in which Lauren Howard and Ian Udal had to be at their very best to overcome Natalie Denby and James Rosenthal.
Active Academy have entered teams in the men’s and ladies’ competitions for the first time, and are making their presence felt.
The men recorded their second successive win, 3-1 against Southsea, while the ladies scored a 4-0 win over Lee 3rds to continue to press their promotion claim.
Ryde Lawn’s midweek teams have had a busy seven days, with their 1st mixed team playing two matches. With home advantage they beat CourtX, for the loss of just 12 games, but had to fight harder for the points at Lee.
Jon Brown and Helen Peak took the top mixed rubber after winning the second set on a tie break.
Tie breaks featured in the second mixed rubber as well,
Richard Clevely and Jessica Mead needing one to win the first set before Trevor Grant and Sarah Pearse took the second set 7-5.
That meant a match tie break woul decide the rubber, with the experience of Clevely to the fore as Ryde won.
Lee clinched the all-ladies’ rubber but Clevely and Brown were just too strong in the men’s rubber, allowing Ryde to maintain their unbeaten record.
Lee had played Ryde’s mixed masters 2nds just a few days earlier, though with a completely different set of players.
Both Lee’s mixed pairs won their rubbers after match tie breaks, with Ryde taking the all-ladies’ rubber in a similar fashion.
Lee’s men won their rubber in straight sets, giving them an overall 3-1 success.
Carlton Green overcome Southsea 4-0 in Mixed 2, Avenue beat Ryde Lawn by the same score in Ladies 1, while Avenue’s men beat Warsash 2nds 3-1 - Adrian Drummond and Andy Perkins taking the match tie break to beat Syd Quinn and John Bassett.
Glethorn were another team to fit two matches into a week, beating Warsash 1sts 3-1 but crashing 4-0 to CourtX.