Canoe Lake snatch marathon triumph

Canoe Lake needed more than five hours to overcome the challenge of Ryde Lawn in Portsmouth & District League men's division one.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Jul 2017, 12:50 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 11:35 BST
Fishbourne and Southsea shared a marathon match in midweek mixed masters division oneFishbourne and Southsea shared a marathon match in midweek mixed masters division one
Fishbourne and Southsea shared a marathon match in midweek mixed masters division one

Missing their regular first pair, Ryde lost both rubbers in the first round.

But they didn’t give up and when their pairs took the first sets of the reverse rubbers, the comeback was on.

Canoe Lake hit back to level both match-ups.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And with the match entering its sixth hour, they finally clinched victory when Tim Clark and John Saunders took their final set 6-1.

JEM Hamble kept their hopes of retaining the title alive by beating Lee.

They were indebted to Mark Turl and Andy Long, who beat Lee’s first pairing of Ollie Brind and Liam Vacher in three sets.

Zinzeng Jin and James Mack completed a double for JEM to set up the 3-1 win.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ryde Mead notched a 3-1 win over Avenue III in division two, while Lee II beat Canoe Lake II 3-1.

Portsmouth Tennis Academy (PTA) sealed a 4-0 win over Avenue II.

Ryde Lawn III beat Southsea II 3-1 in division three.

Meanwhile, Chichester took the winning draw point against JEM Hamble II to keep their promotion hopes alive.

And Chichester II took the extra point in their draw with Rowlands Castle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In ladies’ division two, there were wins for JEM Hamble over Alverstoke (4-0), Southsea against Seacourt (4-0) and Warsash versus Ventnor (3-1).

Southsea now have a three-point lead at the top.

Stubbington’s 3-1 victory over Warsash III all but ended the latter’s hopes of winning the division three title.

Elsewhere, there were first wins of the season for Ryde Lawn III and Lee IV – against Avenue II and Chichester, respectively.

Avenue II and Warsash II drew their mixed division two match 2-2 – with the former taking the winning draw 5-4 on sets.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In division four, Warsash III and Avenue IV claimed comfortable 4-0 victories over Wickham and Active Academy, respectively.

In midweek masters mixed division one, Fishbourne gained a winning draw against Southsea.

Luke McEwan and Katie Bracher took the crucial set off Southsea’s Chris Wilde and Lynn Candlish.

Avenue beat Warsash 4-0 and Carlton Green edged out Ryde Lawn II by the odd set in nine.

– ALAN BEST

Related topics:Portsmouth