Newry Tennis Club

It was another 16 days of glory down at the Warrenpoint Road courts for the running of the famous Best Property Services Newry Closed tennis tournament 2016.

In the Men’s Singles, the top 8 seeds reached their allotted positions in the draw. The Quarter final match that caught the eye was 3 times winner of this tournament, Tim Smith against debutant and former Balbriggan resident Gerry Sweetman. Early on Gerry was serving powerfully and following it up with pounding groundstrokes to take the first set 6-4 with an upset in the offing. Tim hits the ball harder than anyone in the Newry region and used his body rotated shots to get back into the match and draw level with a 6-2 set. It was a topsy turvy final set with both men having chances but it was the court craft of Smith who won through in the end. No1 Seed Giby Vettiankal was also having a tough route through as he faced No5 seed Malachy McAteer under the floodlights. Giby was 3-5 down as Malachy used his spirited and intensely athletic game to the max but Giby turned it round using his deft touch at the net and squeaking through on a tiebreak before opening up his shoulders more in the second to win another toughie 6-4. No3 seed Shane McAteer won through to the semis with a record score of not losing one game en route as he was in mesmerising form and would take some beating. The other Quarter saw No4 seed Marty Keenan extricate himself from a massive deficit of a set and point for 0-3 against the plucky Ronnie Dalzell in a match of two halves before finding his form again.

The two semis would prove a delight for thinking men’s tennis. Giby faced regular tennis rival Marty and early on succumbed to his strong forehand but again came back from the brink at 4-5 down to win the first 7-5.  In a late night denouement it was Giby who finished stronger with his trademark volleys to win the second 6-2. These matches were all very close and exciting and none more so than the match of the tournament as our teenage phenomenon Shane faced the awe inspiring Tim.  At 17 Shane is the future of the club and his all round speed and technique around the court opened up a 5-2 lead. He was hitting winners from all parts of the court but Tim is nothing but a fighter and upped his level when he needed it most to reel off 5 games in a row and clinch set one against the youngster. Shane showed mettle and came right back reasserting his punchy shots to sail through the second 6-3. They were now both playing tennis that had to be seen to be believed but Tim’s extra experience told to get him over the line 6-4 in the third.

In a familiar final it was again Giby Vettiankal versus Tim Smith which has been seen often over the years at this club. Unfortunately it was not a classic like their 3 hour Newry Open final back in June. There was a clear pattern of play as Giby moved into the forecourt time and again to put away the winner as Tim was scrambling to retrieve from the back of the court. Tim broke a string from his favourite racket and it clearly affected his normal standard of play. Giby was firing on all cylinders and watched by his proud Dad won 6-0 6-2 to win his ninth Newry Closed.

Men’s Doubles

It was an exciting tournament with all participating teams equally matched throughout the competition. In the final it was the experienced team of Sean Sloan and Paddy McKinley who took a 5-3 first set lead before their opponents Gerry Sweetman and Russell Shields-Patterson used angles and lobs to force a tiebreak and won it 7-2. Gerry and Russell continued their assault with a 2-0 second set lead before Sean and Paddy reeled off 11 of the next 12 games in an impressive display of tactical nous as Sean volleyed and smashed into space whilst Paddy dominated in the back court. Although they lost a couple of games when close to victory it was Sean and Paddy who triumphed 6-7 6-3 6-2.

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Women’s Doubles

It was a sizzling start from Derval Campbell and Pauline Meehan as they eased to a 6-0 first set with numerous winners. However, the smart and savvy experience of Belle O’Loughlin and Dorothy Blair showed in the second set when they played some inspired tennis to keep the games neck and neck to reach a tie break in the second set which Pauline and Derval won by finding their mojo again.

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Mixed Doubles

An intriguing battle with husband and wife Kieran and Derval Campbell on opposite sides of the net! The searing volleys and dominant net play by Kieran with his doubles partner Pauline Meehan had the edge over Derval and the double duty Paddy McKinley playing his second match and indeed final of the afternoon.

The standard of competition is of an extremely high level and I would recommend anyone even remotely interested in tennis to come along to enjoy the spectacle in future. Best Property Services do a wonderful job of sponsor and we are indebted to their continuous support. To those who lost and remember only the very few can win at the end of a tennis tournament there is this Samuel Beckett quotation “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better”. See you next year!

MENS SINGLES Giby Vettiankal bt Tim Smith 6-0 6-2 MENS DOUBLES Paddy McKinley & Sean Sloan bt Gerry Sweetman & Russell Shields-Patterson 6-7 6-3 6-2 WOMENS DOUBLES Derval Campbell & Pauline Meehan bt Belle O’Loughlin and Dorothy Blair 6-0 7-6 MIXED DOUBLES Pauline Meehan & Kieran Campbell bt Derval Campbell & Paddy McKinley 6-3 6-2 MENS PLATE Nigel Bingham bt Gary Hanratty 5-7 6-0 7-6 MENS DOUBLES PLATE Tim Smith & Daniel Boyd bt Joe Smith & Alex Staselovich 6-3 7-6 MIXED DOUBLES PLATE Belle O’Loughlin & Sean Sloane bt Dorothy Blair & Cormac Moody 6-1 6-4