dd

Matches in the Portsmouth & District Tennis League between teams from the same club in the same division are usually close, writes Alan Best.

But this wasn’t. Fiona Dubber and Donna Davy were also dominant on Saturday.

Also in division one, Avenue second team ladies suffered a similar scale defeat in their match against Ryde Lawn firsts, leaving Lee and Ryde locked at the top of the division.

Ladies three is proving to be as closely fought as it usually is.

Alverstoke were able to field their best first pair, Sue Western and Angela Gill and their two rubber wins, backed by a three-set marathon rubber win for Sue Titterington and Jane Payne, were enough to enable to them to edge out Fishbourne 3-1.

Unbeaten Rowlands Castle missed their chance to move well clear at the top of the league when they could only share the rubbers 2-2 with Southsea.

However, Dreen Chestnutt and Dawn Wears did manage to claim one set and that was enough to give Castle the winning draw points.

The other two ladies matches also saw the rubbers shared 2-2 and were both decided by the odd set in nine, Warsash beating Ryde Lawn thirds and Sarisbury Green sneaking past Avenue fours.

The drawn match, points won on sets theme continued in men’s three – the beneficiaries here being Rowlands Castle against Southsea, who actually won more games in the match than Castle did.

Alverstoke men’s seconds followed up last week’s win with another, this time against Ryde Mead II.

They now sit proudly top of division four.

In mixed two hosts Chichester lost 3-1 to Avenue seconds.

Gerald Edwards and Ileana Melendez gave Chichester hope with a rubber win.

Rob Eadie and Sara Smythe took the top pair to a first set tie break but Avenue were too strong.

Avenue mixed two had to fight hard against Ryde Lawn thirds but Bernie Lingard and Linda Wainwright won a match tie break in their mixed rubber, before Lingard and Mark Fulstone wrapped it up with another match tie break win in the men’s rubber.