Dentist denied brace as paramedic wins league
Pair swap studs for strings to contest tennis league
A pair of footballing health professionals swapped studs for strings to contest a Campbeltown tennis league final. Last Saturday, paramedic Jamie Morris played 90 minutes for Carradale against Westerlands GG. In the match before, the other tennis finalist dentist Sary Rahma, in his last Campbeltown Pupils’ match, put two past Neilston’s keeper. Sunday, the day after the clocks went back, was bright and windless, for a repeat of the thrilling Campbeltown Lawn Tennis Club singles match, on August 4, when Rahma beat Morris to the trophy and title. En-route to the final, Morris had turned up to play Donald Mackay, in a semi-final, with broken strings in his racquet and had to borrow Valerie MacKay’s. Back in August the first set had gone to a nail biting tiebreak with Morris emerging the winner. Again on Sunday, as the pair sweltered on the sheltered, sunbathed court, Morris proved triumphant taking the first set 6-3. Morris seemed to take a break in the quick second set going down 6-0. Really it was just a breather. The first game of the third set went to deuce before Rahma broke Morris’ serve, only for Morris to break back in the second game. Rahma took the third and fourth games which hardened Morris’ resolve and he pulled one back in the fifth. Rahma did not score a point in the sixth game as Morris drew level, holding his serve to go 4-3 up in the seventh. Rahma held his serve in the eighth game and at 4-4 it looked like anyone’s match. Morris held his serve in the ninth and at 4-5 in the tenth Rahma dissolved with a final curse as Morris gained his revenge. Morris’ Fitbit revealed that in two hours’ play he had covered 4.9 miles in 9,828 steps, but Rahma seemed to dance round much more, as Morris pushed him from side to side, so he probably stepped a bit further too. Taking the singles and the league was a step too far though and Morris, the court’s autumn king, was the deserving winner.