The finals of the Guernsey County Senior Closed tennis tournament took place at the Guernsey Tennis Club indoor centre on Sunday. This proved to be a busy day for the Robinson family with Nico Robinson featuring in the singles, as well as the men’s doubles playing with his brother Pieter and in the mixed with his mother and longstanding top island player, Jo Robinson, who also played in the ladies doubles final. Rob West and Chantelle Frith also had a tough schedule with each of them featuring in three finals.
In the men’s singles event the athleticism and consistency of coach Rob West proved too much for the power hitting of six foot seven inch Nico. Despite a first serve that many professional players would be proud of, Nico could not hit through his opponent who managed to dominate the ground-stroke rallies. Rob West was the winner by a score of 6-2, 6-2. In the ladies singles, the island’s number one singles player Jo Dyer managed to defend her title against Chantelle Frith who was returning to form, and playing excellent tennis. Jo won the final 6-2, 6-3.
The final which had the tennis fans on the edge of their seats was the men’s doubles final which saw the Guernsey Tennis Club coaches Rob West and Andy Privett pitted against the Robinson brothers, Pieter and Nico, who had showed excellent form as a pair at the recent Bermuda island games. The Robinsons seemed to be dominating the match with ferocious serving and were a set and a break of serve ahead, before the coaches began put pressure on their opponents with superior returns. Rob and Andy managed to turn the match to win the second set. They also saved three match points in a tense deciding championship tie-break, before the Robinsons finally clinched the match through a decisive interception volley by Pieter Robinson, who had played dynamically throughout the match.
The remaining finals were played at a very high standard of play which thrilled the supporters. In the mixed doubles the Robinson mother and son pairing of Jo and Nico proved too strong for title holders Rob West and Chantelle Frith and they were able to win 6-3, 6-4. In the ladies doubles, Chantelle Frith, playing with island games player Carly Tucknott, narrowly defeated the county veteran pairing of Jo Robinson and Helen Bonner-Morgan, winning the deciding championship tie-break 10-5. The men’s singles consolation event also deserves mention where St Martin’s team player Damien Fitzgerald beat talented junior Tom Turner. Damien took time to speak with a disappointed Tom after the match and suggest match tactics to Tom who will undoubtedly be a winner of future senior events.
Report by Rick Denton, Chair of the Guernsey LTA