Newry Tennis Club

I never thought I would be playing three matches within just over 24 hours and at my state of fitness. But what you do to keep the tournament running and having a chance of winning an event! There was a glorious start to the evening as the reigning Mens Plate champ Sean Pearce was playing the 2018 Mens Open Plate winner Alex Staselovich. Very close and hard fought rallies with very little in it between them. Sean perhaps had slightly more intent on his loopy topspin shots against the flatter hitting Alex. At the same time Brian and Shana bounced back to defeat Carmel and Cormac in the Mixed Plate. Shauna was at her best with consistently good groundies and a game which achieves a lot.

Travelling back directly from Clare (“From Clare to here” which is actually a Ralph McTell song also covered by Nanci Griffith!) Vivienne put her 5 hour journey behind her to help Russell in an intriguing battle against valiant newcomer Denise and the doubles doyen Giby Vettiankal. It started well for Viv and Russ as lobs over Giby seemed to work to win the first set with a bagel. But then the match totally turned and it was Giby and Denise who took a 2-0 lead in the second with impressive volleying and had a point to go further ahead. That would prove the high mark for that team as Vivienne and Russ held on for a famous victory. Well done to Denise who held her own with a fair crowd watching. To end off the evening, there was a tight match to begin the Men’s Doubles tournament, always an event which aims to make teams as fair as possible. The forehand of Neil and retrieval skills of Pat proved slightly too good for the team of Marty and Michael. Nice to see such a loyal spectator as Michael make his debut this year as Irene was as supportive as ever from the sidelines.

Tuesday had just 3 matches and I was in 2 of them! President Tommy and legendary John Woods made their first appearance this year to an engaged crowd. It was nice to see James and Anup, 2 new members watching on. Tommy and John faced Sean and Russell in what was a tough match to go for your shots due to a blustery wind. On Court 2 there was a blistering encounter between two of the best young players in the club. Great to see such a high standard in a highly fought match that could have went either way. Shane with the more forceful topspin won the most important points against our former Junior finalist Christopher who is a formidable opponent who gives nothing away. I stayed on for my second match of the night and it was a Mixed semi. Dorothy and Alex got off to a perfect start with the Dot forehand and Alex basketball dunk shot proving too much. It wasn’t long before Vivienne unleashed her own devastating forehands and these proved crucial. Alex was hitting high loopy shots but Russell lobbed over the Ice hockey player’s head to clinch set one. Vivienne and Russ had a whirlwind start to the second going up 5-0 before Dot and Alex came back into it winning the sixth game with a cross court angled slice from Dot before it ended a few minutes later. Vivienne and I now wait to find out our Mixed opponents for the Sunday final. Phew, now time to put the feet up and listen to more Nanci Griffith!