Newry Tennis Club

It was an extremely busy Wednesday night of the tournament with four fixtures due to be played simultaneously. There was a hive of activity wherever you went around the grounds. Great to see both competitors and spectators alike enjoying such a spectacle together.  The highlight was the women's doubles encounter as the experienced and steady pairing of Bel O'Loughlin and Dorothy Blair came back from a first set loss to turn the tables on their opponents Irene McKnight and Louise Bell. It was nice to see the free flowing shots of Louise back on the club courts but the second and third sets were lost.

The one Men's Singles match of the evening seen 17 year old Shane McAteer win his second match in a row without the loss of a game which must be some kind of record at the club. He overwhelmed the No7 seed Michael Sands in a ruthless display of power tennis. Both sides had support as Michael's son and Shane's girlfriend were watching from the grassy knoll!

In the very excitign Men's Doubles draw it was time for the two men who had reached the final last year, the eventual champ Kieran Campbell and the runner up Cormac Moody. However the score did not move in their direction as they loss four deuce games in the first set which you cannot afford to do as tennis is all about winning the important points. Sean Sloan at the net and Paddy Mckinely using fierce slice proved too adept on this day and won 6-1 6-3.

Finally there was a three hour and three set marathon in the Men's Plate with Pat O'Neill and Gary Hanratty finally prevailing 7-5 in the third in a fluctuating match. Even the lights could not affect them!!

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There wasone match held on Thursday due to the Social and that was a real mind over matter battle between two seeded men in the Quarters. Ronnie Dalzell used a more attacking game to totally dominate in the early stages with a 6-1 3-0 and even point for 4-0 against No4 seed Marty Keenan. However has been through this before and using his B&DL experience found a way back into this match as his serve gradually improved and maybe Ronnie thought about being so close to victory. Marty played to his strengths just in time and eventually won 1-6 6-4 6-1 in a pendulum swinging behemoth.

 

The first Friday of the Champs and we had a Mixed double swin for organiser Kieran Campbell alongside Pauline Meehan as he sought and inacted revenge on Sean Sloan and Bel O'Loughin. It was another tight three setter, I wonde rif the head band was the difference! In the Plate Gary Hanratty came back from 0-3 down to beat Michael McKnight 6-4 6-1. In a floodlit Men's Singles Quarter there was a fabulous match between the holder Giby Vettiankal and the athletic Malachy McAteer. In a brilliant first set Giby crucially edged in a tiebreak which was probably vital to the outcome as he could relax more and win out in the second 6-4.