Summer 2011 Finals Day Report |
| Friday, 23 September 2011 | |
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Heavy rain in the afternoon could not dampen spirits or deter the competitors at Wilton as the finals of the 2011 Summer Tournament took to the court on Saturday 17th September. The women's doubles final was the first match completed with top seeds Susanna Hernandez and Rochelle Van Der Walt seeing off second seeds Nikki Withers and Jolanda Birchall. In a match full of entertaining rallies Susanna and Rochelle came through 6-2, 6-1 - the pair were undefeated during the club's successful run in the AEGON Team Tennis South East Regional division earlier in the summer. On court 2 the Men's singles final saw a high level of tennis with both players coming to the net at any opportunity. The victor was fourth seed Luke Fletcher who took his first Wilton title with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over top seed James Allen. Club Manager Terry Oakes took his fourth Men's 55 singles crown after coming through a battle of the drop shots with Martin Howley 6-3, 6-1. Terry now holds an impressive 24 Wilton titles. Meanwhile on court 3 Ashley Balm won an amazing 36th Wilton title in the Men's 35 singles with a victory over defending champion Gyuri Mathe. After taking the first set 6-1, Ashley came through a real battle - and rain delay - in the second set to take it 7-5. The victim of the afternoon's rain was the women's singles final which did not take to court. The title therefore went to second seeded Michaela Knespl for the first time after being given a walkover by former champion Rochelle Van Der Walt. The two other singles finals were completed with victory for Shervin Nejand in the Men's 45s and a win for Georgi Gechev in the Handicap event. Three-time former 45s Champion Shervin regained the title, after a narrow loss in the final twelve months ago, with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Richard Cumbley. Georgi - who was handicapped by one point in each game - fended off a first set comeback from 1-5 to 5-5 by Ben McFarlane to win a close contest 7-5, 6-4. The Men's doubles final was a highlight of the day with a wonderful display from the two top seeded pairs. Second seeds James Allen and Ted Boyce came from a set down in a thrilling encounter to defeat top seeds Ashley Balm and Tom Coombe 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. Victory gave Ted a 22nd Wilton title and seventh Men's doubles crown. The Mixed Doubles title went to top seeds Nikki Withers and James Eden as they came through a tight opening set and then eased through the second to beat third seeds Anastasia Dvornikova and Terry Oakes 7-6, 6-2. It was a fifth Mixed doubles title for James and his 17th overall at Wilton. Late in the evening Nikki and Terry were back on court for a third time in the final of the Drawn Mixed doubles which proved to be the most dramatic final of the day. Nikki and partner Jean-Marc Michel moved into a 6-4, 5-4 lead against Terry and Mary Franck when the match became a nail biter. With the evening's social event providing an enthusiastic crowd Nikki served for the match at 5-4 only to see Terry and Mary survive five match points to stay alive and then reach a tie-break. Buoyed by their recovery Terry and Mary rattled through the tie-break 7-1 to ensure the day's final match went down to the wire. Playing a champions tie-break both pairs were giving it their all and were neck and neck at 3-3 and then 6-6. Nikki and Jean-Marc pulled away from there taking the final four points to win a terrific contest 6-4, 6-7(1), 10-6. It was a first Wilton title for Jean-Marc and made Ladies Captain Nikki the first player to win the Mixed doubles title and the Drawn Mixed doubles title at the same tournament. Results in full: Men's Singles: Luke Fletcher (4) bt James Allen (1) 6-1, 6-4 Ladies' Singles: Michaela Knespl (2) bt Rochelle van der Walt (U) - w/o Men's Doubles: James Allen and Ted Boyce (2) bt Ashley Balm and Tom Coombe (1) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 Ladies' Doubles: Susanna Hernandez and Rochelle van der Walt (1) bt Jolanda Birchall and Nikki Withers (2) 6-2. 6-1 Mixed Doubles: James Eden and Nikki Withers (1) bt Terry Oakes and Anastasia Dvornikova (3) 7-6, 6-2 Men's 35 Singles: Ashley Balm (1) bt Gyuri Mathe (U) 6-1, 7-5 Men's 45 Singles: Shervin Nejand (2) bt Richard Cumbley (U) 6-1, 6-4 Men's 55 Singles: Terry Oakes (1) bt Martin Howley (2) 6-3, 6-1 Handicap Singles: Georgi Gechev bt Ben McFarlane 7-5, 6-4 Drawn Mixed Doubles: Jean Marc Michel and Nikki Withers bt Terry Oakes and Mary Franck 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 {10-6] |
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