Top flight’s surprise package carry on winning – Portsmouth & District Summer Tennis League round-up

Sunday’s conditions were not much better, but a handful of matches were played, the most significant one being the men’s division 1 encounter between Warsash and Fishbourne.

Having lost their opening match and then been held to a losing draw by Avenue last week, Warsash were in need of a good result to get their season back on track. And that is exactly what they achieved, a comfortable 4-0 win against previously unbeaten Fishbourne.

The top division’s surprise package, CourtX 1, recorded their fourth successive win when they visited Ventnor and came home with a 3-1 win.

Elliot Jones and Hugh Idle gave the hosts hope when they beat CourtX’s second pair in straight sets. But Alfie Reynolds and Laurence Hyde were simply too good for Elliott Rugg and Toby Trottman, the visiting pair conceding just three games in the two sets played.

They went on to record a ‘double bagel’ 6-0 6-0 win over Jones and Idle, and although Rugg and Trottman pushed Adam Ankcorn and Terry Lawrence hard in the final rubber, they failed to take a set off them.

Ryde Lawn 1 kept their faint promotion hopes alive in Division 2 when they swept past Chichester 2 by winning all four rubbers in straight sets, while in division 3 Abshott recorded their first victory of the season when their first pair, Russell Lewis and Adam De Leeuw, won two match tie breaks to help them overcome Avenue 3 3-1.

Southsea 1’s 4-0 win over Alverstoke keeps them on the heels of leaders Chichester 3 in division 4 while Rowlands Castle’s 3-1 victory over Warsash 4 takes them back to the top of division 5.

Wellow’s pursuit of Ryde Lawn 1 at the top of midweek mixed master’s division 1 was aided by an unfortunate injury to one their Avenue 1 opponents. The injury occurred after just three games, with the result that both the rubbers the player was due to play in were awarded to Wellow by default.

And it is probably a good job they were, because Avenue won the two rubbers that were played in decisive fashion to ensure rubbers and sets were shared equally, Wellow being awarded the winning draw points on games won countback, 31 to 25. In the same division, Chichester beat CourtX 4-0.

Meanwhile, in division 2 Ventnor hosted previously unbeaten leaders Fishbourne and sent then home without a point, leaving the home team needing a three-point win over Carlton Green in their last match to clinch the title.

Rowlands Castle hosted Denmead in the ladies masters division 2. The home team’s Lynne Foster and Liz Marenghi fought back from a set and 1-4 down in their final rubber against Carole Berryman and Pepe Chisenga to win the second set 7-6 and then the match tie break, enabling them to share the rubbers 2-2.

However, Denmead took the winning draw point courtesy of the extra set won by Berryman and Chisenga.