WGTC whitewashed…
The 18th edition of the Millennium Cup kicked off on Sunday 8 April in a light rain as battle got underway and WGTC got whitewashed.
The fixture took place in the worst possible weather conditions – almost constant rain, sometimes very heavy.
Players were given the opportunity to postpone, but they were made of sterner stuff and went ahead.
First up were the singles matches.
In the Mens’, Telford’s Stephane Legrand scored a swift and decisive win over Lev Husnu, 6-1 6-2 . Lev was particularly relieved to have got through the match without injury as he was heading on holiday the next day to a warmer climate!
Meanwhile, Woodfield’s Jo Kiernander and Imo Clowes from Telford decided to take their time, playing a 3 setter, including one that went to 8-6 due to neither player realising that a tiebreak would have sufficed!
With lots of lovely long rallies and both ladies chasing every shot down, the match eventually went to Imo, but it couldn’t have been closer, 8-6 6-7 10 – 6.
Thanks to Kate Sheehy for guiding them through the tiebreak!
The junior boys match looked even at the start, but Telford’s Zac Lavender, following in his dad’s footsteps as a brilliant Millennium competitor ,managed a win against Oliver Sinatra, 6-1 6-1.
It was Oliver’s first ever competitive match and we are pleased to report that this has not dented his confidence in any way and he is looking forward to the next opportunity to play.
The lady vets were next – with Carole Britton kindly standing in at the last minute. Carole is not a singles player and stepped into the fold as WGTC’s squad is a little light on single-playing vets. Thank you Carole for showing true Millennium Cup spirit.
Carole played a solid game, but Kate was hitting and covering the court well and took the match, 6-1 6-2.
Keith Lavender played in his usual canny and intelligent game, scoring a 6-1 6-2 victory for Telford against Blaise Marin-Curtoud, who was not playing to his usual form and was probably wondering why he had volunteered at all when he could have been in a nice warm restaurant with his family.
Viola Rebora made her Millennium Cup debut against a schoolmate, Woodfield’s Emily Bar who, again, looked an even match beforehand but Viola didn’t drop a game throughout the match.
Emily has reported back to WGTC’s Captain that although she was disappointed with the scoreline, she is keen to play again.
The disappointing scoreline is something that both Jon and Jo from WGTC could relate to as they had very similar results on their debut to the Millennium Cup.
Jon Elwes, Dilwen Roberts, Kate Sheehy, Joe Thompson, Juliet Griffiths, Amber Blakeney
Next came the doubles, where Juliet Griffiths and Dilwen Roberts played a solid, no-nonsense game against Amber Blakeney and Candice Kyle, which was much closer than the score of 6 -1 6-1 suggests, with plenty of deuces!
In the men’s doubles, Tom Fellows and Peter Bradley won the first set, but were worn down by Jon Elwes and Joe Thompson’s consistent and decisive play.
Jon and Joe took the second set 6-1 and in the decider Tom and Peter powered through, 6-3 1-6 6-2.
Finally, after Jo had recovered from her singles marathon, the final match, mixed doubles was played.
Ellen Hoyle and Chris Williams faced Jo and David Knott and the pairs were very evenly matched, which was not reflected in the final score of 6-3, 6-2 to Telford.
So with only 2 sets dropped, this was a decisive win for Telford, but the scores make it look much less close than it was and there were many, many deuce games where Telford just managed to nab the crucial points.
More importantly, in the Millennium Cup spirit, it was a good-natured, fun event with lots of laughs and Woodfield Grove taking their loss very graciously!
A lot of the WGTC squad sought solace by enjoying the very generous spread of homemade food including quiches, cakes, brownies and various snacks of the highest quality, including sausages that did not appear to touch the sides…
Well done and thank you to all!
Match report by Juliet Griffiths, Millennium Cup Captain, Telford Park LTC
Results
Telford Park LTC d Woodfield Grove TC 9-0
(Telford Park names first)
Women’s Singles: Imo Clowes d Jo Kiernander, 8-6 6-7(5) [10-6]; Men’s Singles: Stephane Legrand d Lev Husnu, 6-1 6-2; Women’s Over 40 Singles: Kate Sheehy d Carole Britton, 6-1 6-2; Men’s Over 45 Singles: Keith Lavender d Blaise Marin-Curtoud, 6-1 6-2; Girls Under 16 Singles: Viola Rebora d Emily Barr, 6-0 6-0; Boys Under 16 Singles: Zac Lavender d Oliver Sinatra, 6-1 6-1; Women’s Doubles: Dilwen Roberts & Juliet Griffiths d Amber Blakeney & Candice Kyle, 6-1 6-1; Men’s Doubles: Tom Fellows & Peter Bradley d Jon Elwes & Joe Thompson, 6-3 1-6 6-2; Mixed Doubles: Ellen Hoyle & Chris Williams d Jo Kiernander & David Knott, 6-3 6-2.