Glorious sunshine all day

The sun shone and the tennis was hot; this year’s Alicante Cup, the annual mix-and-match doubles tournament, took place on Sunday April 18th, showcasing the high standard of tennis played at Papworth Tennis Club  .

High fives for Terry and Caroline

Twenty members entered the knock-out competition enjoyed by a number of spectators including Doreen Prescott who kindly agreed to present the winners’ trophies. Organised by Ladies’ Captain, Debra Barker, the tournament featured two groups of five doubles’ teams, named after world-class tennis champions, who played against each other for 25 minutes with the goal to win as many games and points as possible. Sudden death at deuce added an interesting edge to play which was competitive but always good humoured. Many juniors entered the tournament, including the tennis dynamos Zoe Douglas, Dan Thorby, Will Hooper and Sam Douglas, bringing a youthful component to proceedings and demonstrating tennis at its very best.

Teams played four matches in the morning session before enjoying lunch and a well deserved sit-down in the sunshine. At 2pm it was back on court for the play offs – a short set to four games. The semi finals saw Team Federer, Terry Stenchen and Caroline Douglas, against Team Murray, John Peal and Zoe Douglas in a 4-0 win to Team Murray, or “the bad guys” as coach Terry Stenchen calls the opposition.

Sam Douglas or Andy Roddick?

Team Nadal, Rick Stokes and Sam Douglas, who looked set to snatch the tournament with their combined power, strength and winning volleys from Mr Stokes, played hard and fast against Team Djokovic, Chris Stenchen and Dan Thorby, taking the game to a nail-biting tie break at 4-4 with Team Djokovic securing a place in the final.

Team Djokovic and Team Murray made a great final and spectators enjoyed some excellent tennis. Dan Thorby and Chris Stenchen made a great combination with Dan’s all-round impressive ability and Chris’ consistently good play, lovely technique and cool head giving Zoe Douglas and John Peal a run for their money. It was close; Zoe and Dan locked horns during a series of long baseline rallies but Zoe’s inimitable talent won through supported by John’s tall, steady presence and his winning volley in the last game that ended in a 4-2, 4-0 victory to Team Murray. 

Team Murray receive the Alicante Cup from Doreen Prescott

Many thanks to Debra Barker for her seamless organisation of the event and her strawberry pavlova. Congratulations to all the winners and players and here’s to next year.

Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.

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Annual Club Tournament

The Annual Club Adult and Junior Championships Grand Finals Day took place on September 27th 2009. We had great weather and great tennis – congratulations to all who made the Finals!

FINALS RESULTS 2009

• 8 and under – Rian Sailsbury bt Beau Brewster
• 10 and under – Nick Ghaznavi bt Amelia Brewster
• 12 and under – Aaron Owers bt Sam Ghaznavi
• 14 and Under – Aaron Owers bt Jake Faint
• 16 and under – Dan Thorby bt James Hooper
• Ladies singles – Zoe Douglas bt Sarah Barker
• Men’s Singles – Dan Thorby  bt David Barker
• Ladies Doubles – Zoe Douglas / Lisa Millard bt Karen Hotchkin/Caroline Douglas
• Men’s Doubles – Dan Thorby / Alex Porter bt Andy Douglas / James Hooper
• Mixed Doubles  – Zoe Douglas / Sam Douglas bt Karen Hotchkin / Alex Porter

A big thank you to Andy Douglas for doing a marvellous job organising this year’s tournament.