County Champion Colin Bennett (R), Herefordshire & Worcestershire LTA President Ian King (C) and Runner Up Jamie Marks (L).
Veteran ace Colin Bennett continued his impressive winning streak with a 16th successive Men’s Singles title in the Tentec Herefordshire & Worcestershire County Championships at Manor Park Club.
Bennett’s feat was one of many highlights served up against the stunning backdrop of the Malvern Hills during an exciting week’s tennis from August 24-29, which attracted 219 entries from players across the counties.
Events were held across all age groups from U8 through to men’s and women’s events with more than 350 matches contested over the club’s 11 courts.
Bennett, currently ranked No 1 in the country for Over 35s and the holder of the national grass, indoor and clay court titles, successfully defended his title by defeating Malvern’s Jamie Marks 6-2, 6-3.
Earlier in the week, Droitwich’s Joanna Kondratowicz defeated twin sister Monica to win the U21 women’s title in a closely fought match, winning 6-7, 7-5, 10-8.
In the Boys U18 event, unseeded Harry Phipps of Beckford Tennis Club defeated Alfie Cook of Belbroughton in three sets to win 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, with Phipps having knocked out both the second and third seeds earlier in the week.
In the Girls U18 event, Manor Park’s Eleanor Fleming took the title without dropping a set all week.
In the U16 singles events, Worcester Tennis Club’s Oliver Nunn defeated Redditch’s Jack Smith in a tight match, eventually winning 6-3, 7-5 whilst in the girls event Bromsgrove’s Imogen Sinclair defeated Manor Park’s Eleanor Fleming 6-2, 6-4.
In the U14 event, there was further success for the Manor Park Club, with Georgina Jeynes-Cupper defeating Worcester’s Kate Horsburgh 6-2, 6-3,whilst Joseph Wherry reached the boys final, eventually losing to Alex Maggs, the first seed.
The U12 event saw success for Redditch, with Felix Gill fighting back after losing the first set to defeat Harry Friend of Ross Tennis Centre in a keenly fought match, before both players teamed up to win the doubles event later in the day.
In the mini tennis events, Manor Park also fared well with Stephanie Combe taking the U10 girls title whilst Bromsgrove’s Stuart Shannon won the U10 boys event, only dropping a single game all week. Bromsgrove’s Josie Ward won both the U8 and U9 girls titles whilst in the boys events Hereford’s Ryan Price took the U9 title and Bromsgrove’s Patrick Niedzwiedz the U8 title.
In doubles events, Manor Park’s Tobie Timmermans and Eleanor Fleming teamed up to win the U16 mixed event before Timmermans went on to win the U16 boys doubles title with Redditch’s Jack Smith, defeating Oliver Nunn of Worcester and Paddy Hyde of Manor Park in the final.
In the U14 boys event, Worcester’s Billy Wright teamed up with Manor Park’s Joseph Wherry but were defeated 6-2, 6-4 in the final, losing to Redditch’s Alex Maggs and Joseph Morris. In the Girls U14 event, Worcester’s Kirsten Campbell-Ferguson paired up with Kate Horsburgh to win the 2014 title without dropping a set.
Tournament Referee Ed Bradford said: “The Championships once again proved to be a highly competitive tournament, with players from clubs throughout Herefordshire and Worcestershire battling it out to be crowned County Champion.
“There were some great examples of fair play throughout the week and we look forward to welcoming back all of the players in 2015..
For more information about tennis in Herefordshire and Worcestershire please contact H&W LTA on 01684 577243.
For more information about competitive tennis opportunities, including details of other tournaments, please visit www.lta.org.uk