BRACKNELL LAWN TENNIS CLUB
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS DAY
SATURDAY, JULY 18th 2015
(www.bracknelltennis.com)
Azure skies, a packed balcony and pulsating action – let me guess – it was the annual Bracknell Club Championships finals day again! Yet again, we were blessed with superb conditions to play out the season’s finale and with it lots of fantastic tennis action. All the results are added as a footnote to this report.
The highlights undoubtedly were the Singles finals which came to a thrilling climax and saw Tom Mawby retain his singles title and Rebecca Kent claim her first Singles title. The doubles finals too saw some amazing action and – in the case of the Mens doubles – witnessed a massive shift of momentum. The Ladies Doubles proved a close contest but – as is often the way in tennis - the scoring system can suggest otherwise on paper. The Mixed Final was a tense affair but Gavin and Amanda emerged victorious.
‘Becca Howard and Rebecca Kent knew each other well growing up from their junior days, so there were ‘no secrets’ as to how each other would play in the Ladies Final. They were both quickly into their stride and there were some ‘like-for-like’ shot-making as each set out to impose their game style. There were a few momentum swings as expected and at one set all it was anyone’s match. Rebecca K managed to win the crucial points in the 3rd set to edge victory in a very closely contested affair. Both, as expected, ‘went for their shots’ and it was refreshing to see such superb winners from both ladies.
The Mens Singles final was a thrilling, down-to-the-wire contest. The billing beforehand might have been: the ‘rock solid baseliner’ against the ‘classic netrusher’ – so: all we needed was a bit of grass? Coming into the tournament, Amit was seen more so as a ‘doubles specialist’ (on account of not having much time to play singles!) but soon dispelled that theory in dispatching Gavin Burrows and Kuki Juric (from match points down) in the quarters and semis respectively. So indeed Tom knew exactly what he was facing when they faced each other across the net – and he would not be entirely comfortable seeing a netrusher on the other side! Things started well for Tom as he dominated the baseline rallies, established an early lead and began forcing the play with some excellent groundstrokes - in particular with his forehand - while Amit battled to match his level, no little fatigue from his late night semi-final and forging a strategy to cope with what was coming at him. Tom took the first set 6-1 and he was applying more pressure early in the second. Amit kept his composure in the face of a confident opponent and he began to take the game to Tom, taking more risks and make more forays to the net. His serve – and in particular forehand - began to cause damage and soon he took the second set with some searing winners. The standard of tennis was now very high, and Tom established the ascendancy in the 3rd set only to be pegged back by Amit. Tom looked on the cusp of winning, but Amit turned the match on its head and indeed he served for the match at 5-4. Closing out brought its own pressures and soon we ended up in a tiebreaker. Tom had the edge, managing his shots better to get to match points and he duly closed it out. Gripping tennis indeed - and onlookers duly captivated!
The Ladies Doubles saw Rachel and Clare see off the challenge of ‘Becca Howard and Amanda Cook - the former pair seemed to come up with the goods on the important points in what was a competitive affair. Some days are like that J
Kuki Juric and Gavin Burrows had claimed the Mens Doubles title (with Kuki Juric) in 2014 and now looked to break the stranglehold that Amit Bhave and Tom Gordon had in the years preceding. They started really well and early on established a 4-1 lead – all seemed well when they took the 1st set 6-4. They also led 4-1 in the 2nd set, with victory seemingly in sight - but Tom and Amit hung around ‘hyena style’ – the scraps became a feast, and soon they feasted on a break of serve and it gave them the chance make Gavin/Kuki pay. Indeed it proved fatal for Gavin and Kuki as Tom/Amit claimed the second set and turned the match around – so much so, they closed out a comfortable 3rd set 6-2 to re-claim the title.
The Main draw Mixed final was a tense affair and saw some long cross-court rallies and counter-thrusts to take the net. In the end, holding serve proved decisive, with Gavin Burrows and Amanda Cook triumphing over Kuki Juric and Rachel Speight 6-1, 7-5 - an enthralling and engaging match nonetheless!
In the Mens over 55 Singles final, John Richman gained some revenge by toppling Adrian Draffin for the over 55 mens title – two heart-breaking losses in 2 years for our Club Captain (that’s Adrian by the way), maybe 3rd time lucky next year – the good news is you’ll still be over 55 Adrian J
The Consolation Mens Singles final saw some excellent all-round skills from Stuart Wetherall while in contrast the cumulative effect of matches from two club championships at two clubs was the main factor for Tom Gordon having to choose to retire after the 1st set. Marta Sebestyen claimed her first title at Bracknell winning the Ladies Plate singles title, beating Kirsten Miller in a nicely contested match. Kevin Cushenan beat Chairman Nigel Hayward in the mens over 55 plate final – in what was an epic encounter, closing it out 7-6 in the 3rd – it could have gone either way J
Nick Proffitt and Andy Speight dominated the Mens Plate doubles against John Pascoe and Tim Kingcott while Noreen Bedford and Val Ratcliffe played some great tennis to win the Ladies Plate doubles against the Miller sisters, Daniella and Kirsten. In one of the final events, Lesley Walton and Paul O’Mahony defeated Andy Fryatt and Marta Sebestyen in the Mixed Plate final, a hard fought contest with great doubles play.
By 8pm - end of finals day play – there was enough energy left to order some cold beers, wine and see what you could garner from the BBQ before the food was devoured by hungry hyenas - the chillers were simultaneously being emptied….
Bracknell Tennis ran 12 finals on the day, and once again the weather came up trumps – it capped a truly superb day’s action. The food and presentations all went down well and it was great for everyone to enjoy good company and talk about some great tennis and the ‘might-have-beens’ – it’s all good!!
A slideshow of all of the photos will be shown on the club website www.bracknelltennis.com under the ‘News’ page and a link posted on their BLTC Facebook page.
Special thanks to the Match & Tournament Committee for their organisation and patience and also to the club members, friends and family who came along and supported our event. We also would like to thank all our umpires (too many to mention) for volunteering their time, well done!
We look forward to more of the same next year!
Regards, Paul O’Mahony
Bracknell Lawn Tennis Club
RESULTS (FINALS DAY 2015) – 18th July 2015
Club Championships - Main Draw Finals Events:
Mens Singles:
Tom Mawby beat Amit Bhave 6-1, 3-6, 7-6
Ladies Singles:
Rebecca Kent beat Rebecca Howard 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Mens Doubles:
Amit Bhave & Tom Gordon beat Gavin Burrows & Kuki Juric 4-6, 7-5,6-2
Ladies Doubles:
Rachel Speight & Claire Anwyl beat Rebecca Howard & Amanda Cook 6-1, 6-2
Mixed Doubles:
Amanda Cook & Gavin Burrows beat Rachel Speight & Kuki Juric 6-1, 7-5
Mens 55&O Singles:
John Richman beat Adrian Draffin 7-5, 6-3
Consolation Finals:
Mens Plate Singles:
Stuart Wetherall beat Tom Gordon beat 6-1 ret
Ladies Plate Singles:
Marta Sebestyen beat Kirsten Miller 6-0, 6-4
Mens Over 55 Plate Singles:
Kevin Cushenan beat Nigel Hayward 6-4, 4-6, 7-6
Mens Plate Doubles:
Nick Proffitt & Andy Speight beat John Pascoe & Tim Kingcott 6-1, 6-3
Ladies Plate Doubles:
Noreen Bedford & Val Ratcliffe beat Kirsten and Danielle Miller 6-0, 6-1
Mixed Plate Doubles:
Lesley Walton & Paul O'Mahony beat Marta Sebestyen & Andy Fryatt 6-2, 6-3