Having lost their first three matches and facing last year’s champions David Lloyd Raynes Park, many club sides would have expected to remain at the bottom of the table, especially with their leading two players Jez Cowley and Nick Crawley unavailable to play through injury. However, the fight instilled in this team is insatiable, and the quartet of Dan Wynne, Myles Orton, Matt Kirby and Paul Midgley had other ideas and responded magnificently to the challenge of a strong Raynes Park side. The Singles and Doubles ended at 3-3, taking the tie into a nailbiting tie-break shoot out.
Myles Orton showed typical resolve to recover from 3-7 down and win 10-7, but with Kirby losing out, it was all down to Wynne and Midgley in the deciding tie-break, the pair producing some fantastic tennis to secure a memorable victory over the league leaders, and give the Sports Club a much needed boost ! Just like Wigan’s unforgettable 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Premier league, the winning feeling became infectious, as a near full strength side followed up this fine victory by defeating Globe 4-2.
Once again the Sports Club found themselves at 2-2 after the Singles, but skipper Jez Cowley teamed up with Dan Wynne for a decisive 6-1 6-2 victory, with Matt Kirby and Myles Orton completing the job with a nerve-jangling 6-2 7-6 win. All this means that despite crippling injuries, the Sports Club have moved outside of the relegation zone, with one more win needed to guarantee safety. Captain Cowley commented, “ Had we fielded our full strength side every week we would have fancied a play-off place and securing a national final place, but as it is, staying will be a massive achievement under very difficult circumstances. Next year we will be going all out to make those play-offs.” And why not ?
Whilst the Sports Club lead the way, several other Suffolk Clubs are competing in the Aegon Open Men’s Divisions. Division One comprises Framlingham College, Woodbridge, David Lloyd, Ipswich and Culford A, with Framlingham College making the early running. David Lloyd, Ipswich, B, Culford B and Felixstowe are competing in the Men’s Division 2, with Felixstowe recording a 10-2 victory over David Lloyd at the end of April. The Ladies are not to be forgotten, Felixstowe, Newmarket and Framlingham College all appearing in the Open Ladies’ Division One, with the early results unknown at the time of writing.
Competitive play at all levels is essential if the game is to thrive and develop within the county, and club players of all ages will have begun competing in the thriving Ipswich and District and Lowestoft Leagues, which provide regular fixtures and social meetings for Men’s, Ladies’ and Mixed teams. Veterans of all age-divisions will be enjoying fixtures throughout the Summer months, many enjoying long journeys the length and breadth of the country, whilst our juniors will be busier than ever with Aegon National League fixtures and inter-school fixtures, not to mention the Suffolk Youth Games at Bury on Saturday July 7th.
Club tennis remains the very foundation of the game for the vast majority of players, and there is much to be done in a county so rural and diverse as ours, to give all our clubs the help and support they need to develop and move forward in the future. Tennis East continues to help our Clubmark clubs in particular, whilst the Suffolk LTA aims to reach out to all corners of the county with its Cluster Group programme. The county is currently surveying its 50 or so clubs to find out exactly what sort of help and advice they would find useful, and plans are already afoot for further Cluster Group meetings in the Autumn.