Portsmouth & District Winter Tennis League: All the latest from a week where The Avenue, Warsash, Canoe Lake, Fishbourne and more were in action

After the Saturday fixture list was rained off, a full programme of Portsmouth Tennis League games took place the following day.
A number of Avenue players line up at the net, from front: Evie Howarth, Mandy Richardson, Natalie Denby, Karen Kirwan, Richard Marston, Mike Harold, David Spink, Graham Richardson, Stew Wiles, Phil Tite, Mark Fullstone, Dick Nicholson, Rob Mort, Andre RogersA number of Avenue players line up at the net, from front: Evie Howarth, Mandy Richardson, Natalie Denby, Karen Kirwan, Richard Marston, Mike Harold, David Spink, Graham Richardson, Stew Wiles, Phil Tite, Mark Fullstone, Dick Nicholson, Rob Mort, Andre Rogers
A number of Avenue players line up at the net, from front: Evie Howarth, Mandy Richardson, Natalie Denby, Karen Kirwan, Richard Marston, Mike Harold, David Spink, Graham Richardson, Stew Wiles, Phil Tite, Mark Fullstone, Dick Nicholson, Rob Mort, Andre Rogers

The Avenue’s excellent grass courts had fully recovered from the downpours and the club hosted two good matches.

The first was a mixed double against Warsash 2nds, whose top pair won one rubber and went close in the other. But both Avenue pairs proved too strong for Warsash’s second string in a comfortable 3-1 win.

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The second match was a closer affair after Avenue’s men’s 3rds won both opening rubbers against Fishbourne 2nds.

Rob Mort and Mark Fullstone had to win a tie break in the second set, and then the match tie break to take their rubber against Phil Tite and Dick Nicholson.

Stewart Wiles and David Spink ensured Avenue’s victory when they took yet another tie break set off Tite and Nicholson.

Fishbourne’s Andre Rogers and Jack Bacon tried their hardest to salvage at least a consolation rubber, but Mort and Fulstone won their third tie break to give Avenue a flattering 4-0 win; in terms of games won, Avenue’s margin was just one - 47 to 46.

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In the same division Chichester opened their campaign with a 3-1 win at Warsash.

Martin Doyle and John Challis gave the home team a good start, with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Tony Walsh and Siva Pillai.

But that was to be their only success, Paul Sheen and Ben Hubbard winning both their

rubbers for Chichester, albeit they needed a match tie break to overcome Doyle and Challis.

Warsash men’s 3rds lost 3-1 to Alverstoke 2nds.

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The final men’s match, between Carlton Green and Canoe Lake, finished with the rubbers level at 2-2 and the games tied at 38 each. But Green claimed the winning draw points as Gary Colmer and Chris Weatherill took a set off Tim Fielder and Martin Jewell in their losing rubber.

Just one ladies match was completed at the weekend, Chichester not dropping a set in victory over Rowlands Castle.

In midweek ladies action, Warsash beat Avenue 2nds in a match which highlighted the idiosyncrasies of the scoring system.

Warsash won three of the four rubbers played, and six of the 10 sets, taking overall victory, but Avenue won on games - 34 to 33!

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It wasn’t so close in the other ladies match, Canoe Lake continuing to sweep all before them with a 4-0 win over Lee.

Avenue 1sts produced a similarly comprehensive win over Wellow in the mixed midweek league, including a 6-0 6-0 win in the men v men rubber.

And it was a similar picture in the Carlton Green v Southsea midweek mixed match. All four rubbers went to Carlton, three of them in straight sets.

The Southsea ladies, Angela Stafford and Helen Shelton, just failed to claim a consolation rubber, losing a tie break by the smallest of margins.

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The week was rounded off with another competitive midweek match, Canoe Lake edging past Warsash thanks to second pair Ozzy Glogic and Rod Bailey taking the first set before losing the opening rubber to David Marsh and Syd Quinn.

Marsh and Quinn then beat Robin Ellison and Bob Puncher but Glocic and Bailey claimed the final rubber to level at 2-2, giving Lake the winning draw points by 5 sets to 4.

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