Portsmouth Tennis Centre complete Winter League season of total domination

In Men’s Division 2, Lee 2nds won one set more, and one game more, than Southsea 1sts to take an away winning draw.

The first pairs had straightforward wins against the second pairs, for Southsea to be two games ahead at the break.

Lee’s Nick Challis and Justin Dubber beat Clive Pailing and Andres Fernandez 6-2, 7-5 when the top pairs met. Mark Wallis and Martin Doyle won the second set tie-break against Harry Boorman and Rhodri Durie, but lost the first set and match tie-break, to give Lee two of the three points.

Lee 4ths had struck form with winning draws in their last two appearances in Men’s Division 3, having struggled for most of this season. They were no match, though, for the mighty PTC, who confirmed their division title with a 4-0 win, dropping only seven games.

PTC’s second match last weekend was postponed at Alverstoke and may now not be played.

The Centre’s team of four coaches – brothers Macca and Wilson Neaves, Jack Conway and John Taylor – have played every match this season and have dominated the division, taking maximum points, and dropping only one rubber out of 24 and two sets out of 49.

They have won 77 per cent of their games: the highest of any team this winter.

In Ladies’ Division 2, second-place Ventnor beat CourtX 2nds 4-0 at home. CourtX captain Leah Clifton and Chrissie Cresta went down fighting against Dee Sanchez-Brown and Helen Graham, losing 6-3, 5-7, 0-1.

But there was little else to show for CourtX’s trip to the league’s most southerly side and this defeat in their final match leaves them in last place.

In Mixed Division 2, Avenue 2nds claimed a winning draw at Ryde Mead, 39-34 on games.

The first pairs beat the second pairs in straight sets, to leave Ryde one game ahead at the break. Both Avenue pairs then won the first set but dropped the second, so the result was decided on two match tie-breaks, which were shared.

Ryde Lawn had little difficulty in despatching visitors Fishbourne 4-0 in Mixed Division 3.

The Mixed Masters Division 2 relegation battle was decided in the penultimate match between Lee and CourtX on wet Astroturf. CourtX needed one point to move off the bottom, while a good win would have carried them into the top half.

The sides were dead level at the break, but it was Lee who then surged ahead to win 3-1 and leave CourtX in last place.

In Mixed Masters Division 3, Ryde Mead won 3-1 at Warsash 2nds to overtake them in the table.

But Ryde Mead then lost 3-1 at home to Rowlands Castle to give their visitors the division title. Bianca Keyse and Chris Hawker threatened to spoil Castle’s party by beating Sue Palmer and Roger Castle in the top mixed pair rubber, but Rowlands were comfortable winners, taking all the remaining sets.

Swanmore went top of the Men’s Masters Division with a 4-0 home win against Warsash 1, fending off a fightback in the second half.

Avenue had a winning draw at home to Warsash 1 in the Men’s Masters Division. The sides persevered through drizzle and rain to get a result from the opening rubbers before abandoning. Warsash

salvaged a point via a match tie-break, 10-3.

Avenue had another winning draw at home on games over CourtX, with Paul Whittenham and Dave Spink, dropping only three games.

In Ladies’ Masters Division 2, Denmead shared the points with both Rowlands Castle and Warsash as they agreed they could not play the matches by the end of the month.

Denmead has now risen to third place and might yet claim second place with a win in their final match.

Rowlands Castle need a point in theirs to avoid the wooden spoon.