Results of Club Championships 2009

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   FINALS DAY MARKET HARBOROUGH LAWN TENNIS CLUB 13TH SEPT. 2009

In cold and windy conditions the afternoon started with the ladies’ and men’s singles.

The finalists in the men’s singles were Tom Bradshaw and Sacha Richardson. Although the more experienced player Richardson defended soundly and played steadily covering the court well and negotiating long rallies, he found Bradshaw’s serve and volley and down-the-line winners too testing and Bradshaw won in two straight sets 6-2, 6-2 finishing the match with a hard drive to the back line.

At the same time on the next court former contestant and last year’s winner of the ladies' singles Philippa Bradshaw, sister of Tom, suffered a very different fate from her brother as she struggled to find her feet against the experienced Lesley Paris and former winner of both the doubles and singles on several occasions, to go down in two straight sets.

Although at the start of the match things were even with Lesley losing her serve in the first game going 1-2 down, she soon got into her stride as she made accurate and well-executed cross-court drives to take the 4th game of the set to 2-2. She then won her serve to bring it to 3-2 and from there on sailed to a 5-2 lead as she used the wind to her advantage and floated the ball. At 2-5 down Philippa was serving but was unable to turn it round giving Lesley a 6-2 win.

Thereafter Philippa struggled to find a way to combat her opponent and Lesley  took the set 6-1 to win the match. 

The next two matches played in parallel were the ladies’ and men's doubles.

The contestants in the men’s event were Alex Fry and Eric van Diepen versus Joe van Diepen Jr. and Sacha Richardson. Alex Fry, who had been away from tennis for several years, had just returned to the game in the last four weeks. He served and volleyed consistently well and his partner covered the court playing some powerful shots to clinch some vital points and win the set 6-2.  Sacha Richardson and Joe van Diepen in spite of covering the court well and playing some excellent shots were always on the back foot in a set in which they could only defend.

The second set however was a tighter affair. At 5-5 it was neck and neck with Richardson running well to cover the back of the court to pick up some deep angled volleys from Fry at the net. At 6-5 a well-directed stop volley from van Diepen Sr. won the match.

The ladies’ finals saw four of last year’s finalists come onto court again. Lesley Paris and Susan Roberts played opponents Philippa Bradshaw and Janice Glover in a closely contested match.

In the first set Lesley and Susan quickly took the lead to bring it to 4-1. From this point on the opposition only won one more game (Janice’s serve at 4-1) and Susan finished the set with a well-executed volley for a 6-2 win.

It looked as if the pair would not encounter strong opposition but they found the second set a different story as their opponents got into their stride. Janice’s drop shots and powerful serve (including several aces) and Philippa’s volleys proved much more trying as they went ahead quite quickly to a 5-2 lead. At 2-5 down Lesley held serve and from there on she and her partner did well to pull back to 4-5. At this point Janice served and held for a 6-4 win.   
This took the match into a third set.

Lesley and Susan went ahead quickly to a 3-0 lead and everything looked set to continue until at 4-1 up Susan lost her serve and the tide turned. Philippa held bravely at 2-5 down and at 5-3 up Lesley lost her serve when Janice hit a clean volley down the centre of the court. At 4-5 down and serving at 0-40 down it looked like the end of the road for Janice and Philippa but they persevered and brought the score to deuce and then game. At 5-5 Susan served and held leaving Philippa with the task of serving to stay in the match. This she succeeded in doing with powerful serves and top spin shots bringing the score to 6-6 and from there into a long set. Lesley served and held to gain a 7-6 lead. It was then Janice who had to serve to stay in the match, but the opposition finally broke through to win the match in a set which had involved a total of 12 match points. 

The final event of the afternoon was the mixed doubles. The participants were 15-year old Joe van Diepen and Janice Glover versus Steve Draycott and Lesley Paris.

The first set was over quickly with Joe and Janice winning 6-0. The second set started with Joe serving and the longest game of the match. Again Joe and Janice took the lead and at 2-5 down Lesley served to stay in the match. She held her serve to go to 5-3 but in the final game of the match and with Joe serving the vital winning point was won on a back-hand volley from Janice in a two-set match where she and her partner had clearly had the upper hand.

A thank you to all who took part to make it a successful afternoon and a special thank you to the Winch family for providing tea and coffee and a great selection of home-made cakes.  

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mikemorrison Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 02 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Post Options Post Reply Quote mikemorrison Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Results of Club Championships 2009 Posted: 24 Oct 2009 at 10:07am
	FINALS DAY MARKET HARBOROUGH LAWN TENNIS CLUB 13TH SEPT. 2009 In cold and windy conditions the afternoon started with the ladies’ and men’s singles. The finalists in the men’s singles were Tom Bradshaw and Sacha Richardson. Although the more experienced player Richardson defended soundly and played steadily covering the court well and negotiating long rallies, he found Bradshaw’s serve and volley and down-the-line winners too testing and Bradshaw won in two straight sets 6-2, 6-2 finishing the match with a hard drive to the back line. At the same time on the next court former contestant and last year’s winner of the ladies' singles Philippa Bradshaw, sister of Tom, suffered a very different fate from her brother as she struggled to find her feet against the experienced Lesley Paris and former winner of both the doubles and singles on several occasions, to go down in two straight sets. Although at the start of the match things were even with Lesley losing her serve in the first game going 1-2 down, she soon got into her stride as she made accurate and well-executed cross-court drives to take the 4th game of the set to 2-2. She then won her serve to bring it to 3-2 and from there on sailed to a 5-2 lead as she used the wind to her advantage and floated the ball. At 2-5 down Philippa was serving but was unable to turn it round giving Lesley a 6-2 win. Thereafter Philippa struggled to find a way to combat her opponent and Lesley took the set 6-1 to win the match. The next two matches played in parallel were the ladies’ and men's doubles. The contestants in the men’s event were Alex Fry and Eric van Diepen versus Joe van Diepen Jr. and Sacha Richardson. Alex Fry, who had been away from tennis for several years, had just returned to the game in the last four weeks. He served and volleyed consistently well and his partner covered the court playing some powerful shots to clinch some vital points and win the set 6-2. Sacha Richardson and Joe van Diepen in spite of covering the court well and playing some excellent shots were always on the back foot in a set in which they could only defend. The second set however was a tighter affair. At 5-5 it was neck and neck with Richardson running well to cover the back of the court to pick up some deep angled volleys from Fry at the net. At 6-5 a well-directed stop volley from van Diepen Sr. won the match. The ladies’ finals saw four of last year’s finalists come onto court again. Lesley Paris and Susan Roberts played opponents Philippa Bradshaw and Janice Glover in a closely contested match. In the first set Lesley and Susan quickly took the lead to bring it to 4-1. From this point on the opposition only won one more game (Janice’s serve at 4-1) and Susan finished the set with a well-executed volley for a 6-2 win. It looked as if the pair would not encounter strong opposition but they found the second set a different story as their opponents got into their stride. Janice’s drop shots and powerful serve (including several aces) and Philippa’s volleys proved much more trying as they went ahead quite quickly to a 5-2 lead. At 2-5 down Lesley held serve and from there on she and her partner did well to pull back to 4-5. At this point Janice served and held for a 6-4 win. This took the match into a third set. Lesley and Susan went ahead quickly to a 3-0 lead and everything looked set to continue until at 4-1 up Susan lost her serve and the tide turned. Philippa held bravely at 2-5 down and at 5-3 up Lesley lost her serve when Janice hit a clean volley down the centre of the court. At 4-5 down and serving at 0-40 down it looked like the end of the road for Janice and Philippa but they persevered and brought the score to deuce and then game. At 5-5 Susan served and held leaving Philippa with the task of serving to stay in the match. This she succeeded in doing with powerful serves and top spin shots bringing the score to 6-6 and from there into a long set. Lesley served and held to gain a 7-6 lead. It was then Janice who had to serve to stay in the match, but the opposition finally broke through to win the match in a set which had involved a total of 12 match points. The final event of the afternoon was the mixed doubles. The participants were 15-year old Joe van Diepen and Janice Glover versus Steve Draycott and Lesley Paris. The first set was over quickly with Joe and Janice winning 6-0. The second set started with Joe serving and the longest game of the match. Again Joe and Janice took the lead and at 2-5 down Lesley served to stay in the match. She held her serve to go to 5-3 but in the final game of the match and with Joe serving the vital winning point was won on a back-hand volley from Janice in a two-set match where she and her partner had clearly had the upper hand. A thank you to all who took part to make it a successful afternoon and a special thank you to the Winch family for providing tea and coffee and a great selection of home-made cakes.