Somerset continued their push for promotion on day three with a match against West Country rivals Cornwall. Somerset once again started the opening round well with a 2-1 victory. Bettles and Phillips continued their impressive run this week by beating Rory Knight and Adrian Williams in two comfortable sets, whilst Manlow and Felton won a high standard match against Andrew Hill and Dan Elston.
The tie of the round came when Pankhurst and Bernard met undefeated Cornwall pair of Tim Webster and John Richards. Webster and Richards started well taking the first set and leading by a break in the second, but once again Bernard and Pankhurst showed their tenacity in dragging themselves into the tiebreak and taking it 7-1 one after a near faultless display. The third set was a tight affair, but Cornwall secured the one break they needed and took the set 6-4.
After round one Phillips reflected on his pairs performance saying “I thought we played really well, to be 6 from 7 on Wednesday after round 1 makes Bettles and I feel good about our play so far this week”.
For the third time this week, Somerset excelled in round 2 winning 3-0 with a set of impressive performances. Pankhurst and Bernard played solidly for a straight sets victory over Knight and Williams and Phillips and Bettles continued their fine form with 6-2 6-4 win over Hill and Elston. The tie of round 2 came between the first pairs of Webster / Richards and Manlow / Felton. After some phenomenal shot making the Somerset pair won in three tight sets, breaking the Cornwall pair unbeaten record so far this week. James Deem said “that was certainly one of the highest standard matches of the week so far” and it will have to be “some match to better it”
Cornwall fought back valiantly in the third round of matches even though the tie was already lost. A professional straights sets win from Manlow and Felton got Somerset the sixth rubber while Bettles/Phillips and Bernard/Pankhurst lost their matches in two tough sets against the spirited pairs of Webster/Richards and Elston/Hill.
The teams were given a glimpse earlier in the day to someone who knows a thing or two about high level tennis, when Tim Henman’s father came to the club in North Oxford. He was quizzed by the local hockey players over the tennis event that was bustling around them, which by all accounts the hockey players were impressed with!
Full day 1, 2 and 3 results from Men’s group 5 can be found here
The squad consists of Matthew Bernard (Taunton), James Pankhurst (Yeovil), James Deem (Wellington), Chris Lister (Porlock), Matthew Bettles (Trull), Dan Manlow (Wellington), Alistair Felton (Barton St David), Craig Phillips (Brean) and Richard Gabb (Street).