Tennis title hangs in the balance
Only Ventnor stand between the Hamble men’s team and the top-flight championship
THE destination of the Portsmouth & District League men’s division one title hangs in the balance after JEM Tennis beat Warsash in a thrilling contest.
THE DESTINATION of the Portsmouth & District League men's division one title hangs in the balance after JEM Tennis beat Warsash in a thrilling contest.
A win for the latter would have given them the title but JEM had other ideas.
In atrocious weather the two teams were locked together going into a crucial doubles decider.
There was little to choose between the two pairs but in the end Hynek Paul and Shaun de Jong held their nerve to take the match 8-6 in the final set.
A win against Ventnor in their final game can see JEM take the title.
In the fight to avoid relegation, Ryde Lawn II beat fellow strugglers Avenue II 4-0 and have two games to escape.
Avenue, however, have completed their matches and must sweat on other results.
Ryde Mead threw a spanner in the works of the ladies' division one championship title race when they edged a winning draw against leaders Ryde Lawn.
Mead’s first pair, Millie Coombes and Jikita Davy, won both their rubbers in straight sets, while the second string went down to each of the Lawn pairs.
Mead gained the winning draw on games countback.
In division three, Avenue got the point they needed to lift them out of the relegation zone against Alverstoke.
The first round of rubbers was shared, with Alverstoke up by one game.
Sue Western and Nicky Heyworth then secured a second rubber for Alverstoke, meaning Avenue had to win the final rubber to get their point.
Imogen Karas and Lisa Giles fought all the way to seal it 6-4, 6-4.
In the mixed, Avenue II confirmed their position as champions with a 3-1 win over relegation candidates Warsash II.
Avenue III just failed to overcome Ryde Lawn II in a close match which saw the latter claim the winning draw on games countback.
Avenue's point did, however, lift them out of the relegation zone, making their forthcoming match with Warsash II crucial.
Another championship decider saw Avenue beat Chichester 3-1 in ladies' midweek masters division one.
The former’s top pair, Tracy Manvell and Debbie Berry, notched a double.
Heather Halliday and Jackie Edney edged past Suzanne Troy and Debbie Draper on a championship tie-break but could not prevent Debbie Wigmore and Ileana Melendez netting a consolation.