Busy day for Avenue – but only the ladies team win in latest round of Portsmouth Tennis League matches

It is no surprise that they often have more teams playing on a weekend than any other and that was certainly the case last week, when four teams - one ladies, two men’s and one mixed - represented the club.

But only one of them, the ladies, was successful, writes ALAN BEST.

They travelled to a wet and windy Southsea and shared the opening round of rubbers with the home team. In the reverse rubbers, the experience of Avenue’s first pair, Jenny Ward and Linda Wainwright, earned them a 6-4 6-3 win over Deb Prytherch and

Sally Atkins.

That left the match to be decided by the final rubber, and Avenue’s Angy Bryson and Michele Voysey recorded their first ever league rubber win, a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Linda Swinbourne and Sue Groves.

Avenue 2nds men’s team fought hard to match the ladies’ result against Warsash 2nds. Once again the opening rubbers were shared before Warsash’s Greg Harrod and Jonty Challis took the 1 v 1’s rubber very easily.

That left Andy Gilliatt and teenager James Leonard knowing overall match victory had gone, but they could level the rubbers and claim a losing draw point. And that’s exactly what they did; despite losing the second set 1-6, they won the match tie break.

Having hosted Avenue’s ladies on Saturday, Southsea also welcomed their Men’s 3rds the following day. At the halfway point this match was also level, after both second pairs beat the respective first pairs!

But the reverse rubbers went the way of the home team. Clive Paling and Robin Gallagher romped home 6-1 6-2 against Rob Mort and Stewart Wiles, while Dan Lee and John Kemble overcame Brian Wiggins and John Huddlestone.

Carlton Green rounded off Avenue’s disappointing weekend with another 3-1 win in mixed division 2.

Carlton took both the opening rubbers and they secured victory when husband and wife pairing Paul and Steph Martin beat Stewart Wiles and Sally Anne Denton in straight sets.

Nick Castle and Yin Cheung claimed a consolation rubber for Avenue.

Chichester were another club to turn out more than one side on the same day, their first and second men’s teams taking on Canoe Lake 3 and Fishbourne 2 respectively.

The 1sts recorded a 3-1 win, thanks to two rubbers from Siva Pillai and Gerald Edwards, the second after a match tie break.

The 2nds enjoyed an easier win, taking all four rubbers without losing a set.

Active Academy extended their unbeaten run in Mixed 2 to six matches, though they had to fight hard to do so.

They shared the opening rubbers with Alverstoke 1sts and when Sue Western and Andy Hills won a match tie break in the first of the reverse rubbers against Rachel Heda and Matt Grigg, it looked as if the unbeaten run would end.

But Don Iro and Poppy Marston were never in danger of losing to father/daughter combination Chris and Laura Titterington, and the set that Heda and Grigg won in their losing rubber was enough to give Active the winning draw point 5-4 on sets.

The sun had returned by the time Warsash entertained Lee in their midweek ladies masters match, with Lee winning 4-0 in a match which was much closer than the scoreline might suggest.