Switching this fixture from March to October may have confused some of the regular players, including Andrew Hussey, who found himself in Italy instead of Bristol, but undaunted a trio of Old Etonians arrived for some intense tennis against BRTC.
First up, was Julian Hemming who this time represented the OEs against George Wilson, who had to set his TV to record for the Japan v Scotland rugby, but as it turned out he made the right choice. Julian leaped from the starting block to lead 5-1 in the first set, only for George to take it 6-5. Undeterred, Julian rallied to take the second set, but George triumphed in the third.
This first match set the tone for the match as a whole, with newcomer to the Bristol court Dominic Delaforce (clearly some tennis heritage there) joining Julian to defeat George Wilson and Laurence Brook in straight sets, before Dominic went on to defeat Laurence over another tight 3 setter. Following a very convivial lunch interval, Chris Willows and Denis Mullan held out to win another epic 3 setter against Julian Hemming and Nicholas Boustead. Match drawn.
Thank you to Ben Coleman for scoring and we look forward to next year.
OE's named first:
Hemming (owe 1/2 15) v Wilson-5-6, 6-2, 3-6
Delaforce and Hemming v Wilson and Brook (rec. 1/2 15) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Delaforce v Brook 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Hemming and Boustead v Willows and Mullan 4-6, 6-2, 3-6
