For the first time in 16 years Carisbrooke Tennis Club lifted the county's oldest tennis trophy, 'The Leicester Mercury Cup', a mixed doubles inter-club competition first held way back in 1920.
A large and enthusiastic crowd of home and away supporters cheered on every point in a carnival pre-Wimbledon atmosphere at Carisbrooke's South Knighton ground.
Carisbrooke beat the Evington based Roundhill club 5-1 with the last round of matches conceded due to the unassailable lead after over 4 hours of tennis.
However, the contest was closer than the bare statistic suggests. After the first round of matches Carisbrooke held a slender 2-1 lead courtesy of a tie break win by top pair Bobby Brookes and Sarah Brown over Roundhill's Chris Rogers and Kerry Pollard.
Going into the second round Carisbrooke's more aggressive attacking tactics paid off on the fast synthetic courts and in a blustery wind.
Carisbrooke' victorious captain, Liz Mansell, commented 'this was inter club tennis at it's very best with our blend of youth and experience winning out on the day in front of a large and good natured crowd of club members from both sides. I was exceptionally proud of the way my team fought and in the end it was a well deserved victory but Roundhill also played some exceptional tennis in awkward conditions'.
Dusting down the record books reveals this is Carisbrooke's 32nd lifting of the trophy, the first being in 1929 in the days of Fred Perry.
Photo courtesy of Leicester Mercury