Avenue injury allows CourtX to record Portsmouth Summer Tennis League victory

Southsea 2nds v Stubbington Mixed. Front - Andy Bowbrick and Claire Keiditsch. Standing (from left): Annie Lowry, Elaine Reed, Mark Witham, Helen Nelson, Richard Reed, Lee Conway

The men from CourtX 3rds and Avenue 3rds enjoyed a very close encounter in Division 3 - until one of the Avenue players sustained an injury and was unable to continue, writes ALAN BEST.

The opening rubbers were shared, with Avenue taking a one-game lead into the reverse rubbers. CourtX’s top pair, Matt Dyson and Richard Hebbes, then reeled off a stunning 6-0 6-1 win over Paul Whittingham and Bailey Rowsell.

Dave Spink and Neil Tigg kept Avenue in with a chance by taking the first set in their rubber. And they were leading in the second when the injury occurred. Unable to complete the set, Avenue had to concede, giving CourtX a 3-1 success.

Alverstoke v JEM Tennis. From left - Christophe Rident, Matthew Peat, Steve Croft, Steve Carter, Tony Norish, Duncan Robinson, Chris Titterington (crouching) and Carl Titterington

There was another close encounter when Alverstoke hosted JEM Tennis 2nds. Again, the opening rubbers were shared and again the away team took a one-game lead into the reverse rubbers.

Tony Norish and Duncan Robinson then defeated JEM’s second pair for the loss of just four games. And while father and son combination Chris and Carl Titterington lost to JEM’s top pair, they won seven games - just enough to tip the balance of games won in their favour, 37 to 35.

The ladies leagues saw Fishbourne open their Division 3 campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over Southsea, the latter’s only success coming when Helen Shelton and Christine Georgieu beat Fishbourne’s second pair.

In Division 4, Denmead recorded their first ever league win, a notable 3-1 victory over Chichester 2nds.

In the mixed competition, Seacourt made the long journey to Ventnor, only to encounter a strong home team which featured mother and son pairing Linda and Elliott Jones as well as another very promising youngster, Mia Gerty.

Seacourt were overwhelmed in the first round of rubbers, but Rich Perkins and Caroline MacDowell rallied strongly in the reverse rubbers, giving Gerty and Elliott Jones a real scare when they took the first set 6-2.

The youngsters fought back to win the second set and the ensuing tie break, but they knew they had been in a match!

Two teams making their debuts, Southsea 2 and Stubbington, were paired together. And it was Stubbington who won all four rubbers in a match much closer than the score suggests.

The sunshine continued through to midweek and three of the main title contenders - Ryde Lawn, Avenue and Wellow - opened up with 4-0 wins over CourtX, Chichester and Lee respectively.

Bob Puncher and Dawn de Wilde won their first set for CourtX against Ryde, after a tie break, but that was the extent of their success.

It was a similar story for Chichester. Ileana Melendez and Tony Roddis took the first set off Avenue’s Anna Newman and Neil Crawford 6-0. But the Avenue pair fought back to win the second set and the subsequent tie break.

Melendez and ladies partner Catherine Hutchin also won a set in the ladies v ladies rubber.