We had a fantastic day of tennis on Sunday, 21 September, where the finalists battled it out for the coveted winners’ trophies, and a further 16 players participated in a fun American doubles competition.
After the American doubles got underway, ladies’ finalists Celeste van der Brink Budgen and Alice Flatman took to the court for an epic encounter lasting two hours. Alice took an early lead, winning the first set 6-2 only for Celeste to come roaring back to win the second set 6-1. Alice led 3-1 in the final set, but after a determined battle, Celeste finally came through to win 6-4.
The men’s singles final was won by Steve Blunden for the fourth year in a row – Steve overcame James Lewis 6-3 6-2 in an entertaining match which was much closer than the score suggested.
The American doubles event concluded at 1.00pm – after four rounds, Graham Fretwell emerged victoriou,s winning a total of 21/28 games.
The ladies doubles finals got underway soon after lunch with Celeste van der Brink Budgen (winning her second trophy of the day) and Anna Brown winning convincingly against Jan Connett and Sarah Cussins.
Next up, the men’s doubles final – this was another close encounter which saw top seeds Steve Blunden and Richard Flatman take on 2nd seeds Chris Palmer and Dean Swift.
Chris and Dean took control early on, winning the first set 6-2 and took an early lead in the second set. It looked as if an upset might be on the cards but Steve and Richard staged a dramatic comeback to take the second set 6-4 and dominated the final set to for a 2-6 6-4 6-2 win.
The last match of the day was the mixed doubles final. Wayne Peberdy and Isobel Chalmers took on Chris Everton and Katie Card, another three set contest where Wayne and Isobel started strongly, taking the first set 7-5. However, momentum changed early in the second set with Chris and Katie closing out the match with a 5-7 6-1 6-3 win.
It’s been great to see some new faces and members taking part this year with real success, many of whom have taken advantage of our extensive group coaching offerings at ISC, as well as individual lessons which are tailored to each player’s standards and focus areas on improving. The hard work on the practice court has paid off! Many thanks to Mel and Bob for all your efforts organising this highly enjoyable event.
Pictures:
- Men’s champion Steve pictured with runner-up James along with Tennis Chair Craig
- Ladies champion Celeste with runner-up Alice.
