Maggie and Rona star in latest round of Portsmouth Winter Tennis League games

But the hardy ladies from Stubbington and Avenue played defied the elements in what turned out to be a one-sided match.

Stubbington fielded a very experienced team while Avenue’s four had played little league tennis.

Furthermore, the Avenue ladies play most of their tennis on artificial surfaces, grass or clay, and they found it difficult to adapt to the much bouncier tarmac hard courts.

The home team won all four rubbers, conceding just three games in the first round of rubbers.

Avenue rallied in the reverse rubbers, as they became more used to the surface, but they could not prevent a 4-0 whitewash.

The other ladies match to survive the weather, Wickham v Alverstoke, was a much closer affair.

The opening rubbers were shared, with the respective first pairs beating the opposition second pairs.

Alverstoke’s top pair, Nicky Heyworth and Sue Titterington, then defeated Yvonne Richardson and Sue North.

But Maggie Allan and Rona Thurston whitewashed Alverstoke’s second pair and that levelled the rubbers at 2-2 and secured the winning draw points 39-29.

Alverstoke’s mixed team hosted Active Academy but had no answer to the power and athleticism of the Don Iro/ Poppy Marston and Matt Grigg/ Rachel Heda pairings.

They won all four rubbers for the loss of just 11 games.

Midweek action saw Warsash take on Canoe Lake in an entertaining clash in the masters league.

Lake started in style, winning both the mixed rubbers, Wendy Evans and Robin Ellison edging out Joanne Kelly and Michael Isaacs in a close encounter while Sue Price and Bob Puncher beat Karen Downie and Stephen Cardon-Noad.

The Warsash ladies beat their Canoe Lake counterparts, earning themselves the right to blame their male partners for the match defeat as the Warsash men lost 2-6 3-6.

The final match of the week saw a classic 11-set tussle between Canoe Lake’s men’s masters and the Avenue’s equivalent.

Lake set the tone in the first round of rubbers, winning both of them by virtue of a

match tie break.

But Richard Ainscow and David Spink hit back in the reverse rubber, beating Jay Smith and

Bob Puncher in straight sets.

That left Rob Mort and Martin Giles needing to beat Dick Hebbes and Rod Bailey to give Avenue the winning draw points.

At a set all, Avenue still had a chance. And when Mort and Giles took a 7-4 lead in the deciding 10-point tie break, it looked like they had a better one.

But Hebbes and Bailey won the tie break and with it the rubber 3-1.

Picture

Warsash mixed masters v Canoe Lake

Stephen Carden-Noad, Bob Puncher, Robin Ellison, Michael Isaacs, Sue Price, Joanne Kelly, Wendy Evans,

Karen Downie