On the weekend of February 10th, the club celebrated 25yrs of the courts existence by hosting a National Team Doubles tournament which was a sell out at 32 pairs. Bristol teams from Bristol were paired up with a visiting team to create an overall team of 4 players. Everybody was split into round robin groups with each doubles pair recruiting points for their team in order to qualify from their group and move onto the knockout stages.
A special mention in the group stage should go to Giles Watkins, Elliot Watkins (Bristol), James Scott and Philip Wilson (Hatfield) for getting through their group with a perfect record of nine points, a flawless group stage!
Sunday’s knockout stages followed a superb dinner on Saturday evening at The Clifton Club, with over £9000 raised to go towards the thriving junior development fund at the club, so well done to everybody for their contributions.
Two of the Quarter Finals were straightforward with 2-0 victories, with the other two being tied 1-1 and going on games countback to determine the winners.
The first semi final saw the young gun Bristol team of Felix Wigzell and Thea Berry taking on Reggie Williams & Charlie Grubb, also Bristol. The youngsters came flying out of the blocks, winning the early games. Poor Reg & Charlie had too much work to do and couldn’t get back into the match. The final score was 6-0, putting Felix & Thea’s team in pole position for the match. Their partners, Charlie Wells & Rachel Hollington (Leamington) knew that all they had to do was get one game against their local rivals Henry Bryan & Rob Stewart (also Leamington). They did win the first game, so the tie was over. However the four of them then played out a superb match which went game for game, all the way to 5-5 before Henry & Rob were able to get over the line and take the moral victory! Felix, The, Charlie & Rachel progressed to the final.
In the bottom half of the draw, the undefeated father/son pairing of Giles & Elliot Watkins (Bristol) took to the court to face Ian Hawkey & Brian Muir (Prested). The Watkins pair had been invincible so far in the tournament, and showed that yet again with Elliott in particular playing well beyond his years at 16yrs old and playing superbly. He was able to be the running legs for the father/son pairing and retrieved very well for the team. Ian & Brian were doing their best to break down the wall, but unfortunately to no avail and went down 6-2. The Watkins’ teammates James Scott & Philip Wilson then took to the court knowing 2 games would be enough to win the tie. They were up against Simon Berry & Nigel Pendrigh (Petworth). A wonderful battle of styles versus handicap took place, with Nigel able to dominate proceedings and open up a lead for them. As well all know with handicap, games can flash past you. James & Philip were able to get to 3-5, meaning the tie was over, and then reeled off two very quick games to get us deadlocked at 5-5. Nigel refocussed and put in a flawless game, beating two chases of better than 2 within that game to win the rubber 6-5, but it was Watkins x 2, Scott & Wilson that progressed through to the final.
Felix and Thea were first up to play Giles & Elliot Watkins. The Watkins’ used their handicap advantage to open up a 2-0 lead. Felix & Thea were then able to find their feet and dig in, getting a game on the board, and then a second. At 2-2, the momentum shifted towards Felix & Thea. This was the first time during the tournament that the Watkins pair had been under sustained pressure, with Felix playing near faultless tennis. The rallies were plentiful, but Felix just had that one extra shot in his back pocket, and was able to grind down Giles & Elliott. First blood to the university students 6-3.
Their teammates Charlie & Rachel then played James & Philip. Another great match with plentiful rallies and an entertained dedans took place. Charlie was able to stamp his authority as the lowest handicap player on court and dictate the points. They opened up a lead and were able to keep their noses in front by a game or two throughout the set. A resurgent James & Philip were then able to dig in, and force a few errors. It had looked like Charlie & Rachel were going to get the set with a 6-3 scoreline but James & Philip forced us to a 5-5 grand finale, a fitting way to end the tournament. Charlie & Rachel dug in, and got the job finished, winning 6-5, giving their team a 2-0 win the in the final.
A huge thank you goes to so many people for making the tournament go ahead, and were kindly thanked at various points over the course of the weekend, and again, thank you from the Pro Shop for all of your hard work. Thank you to all of you who played. Without the enthusiasm of you players, the tournament wouldn’t be played, let alone successful as it was. We really enjoyed hosting you all, the club was busy all weekend, and to all of the visiting players, thank you and we really hope you enjoyed your weekend at the club.
The Bens!