Sunday 19th October saw the Heaton Tennis & Squash Club host their annual club championship finals day. Spectators witnessed some high quality tennis and it was head coach Matt McTurk and sisters Hardija and Kristela Vīdnere who swept the honours.
Pre-tournament favourite McTurk claimed the men’s singles title with a straight sets win over last year’s champion Richard Bohanna; a single break in each set was good enough to take the high quality match 6-3, 6-3. It was the fourth time McTurk had won the trophy and his day got even better when he retained his men’s doubles crown with his partner Phil Cook, after another 6-3, 6-3 victory over Bohanna and Justin Crowe.
It was a similar affair in the ladies draw, with the Vīdnere sisters clinching the ladies doubles final before their sibling rivalry was put to the test when they contested the ladies singles final. On this occasion it was the younger of the two, Hardija, 13, who emerged victorious, beating her sister 7-6, 6-2 in a match of supremely high quality.
At the third time of asking Bohanna was finally on the winning side, to the delight of the supporters who packed into Heaton’s three indoor tennis courts. After falling at the last hurdle in both the men’s singles and doubles, Bohanna notched the mixed doubles title with Carrie Wagstaff, defeating Crowe and Emily Blowers 6-3, 6-3.
In the Junior category, the U14 competition was won by Jaymie Palma, 4-1, 4-1. The U8 and U9 categories were keenly fought, but eventually won by Zachary Clough and Yusuf Malik respectively after three set matches.
One of the most exiting matches, which certainly generated some “ooohs” and “arhhhs” was the Men’s Veterans Final which saw Paul Marsden & Ray Quarterman take on Russell Heyes & Joe Blencowe. At one set all, the match went to a tie-break which was won by Marsden / Quarterman 15–13 with plenty of spirit shown by both teams. There was a small upset in the Ladies Veterans Doubles with the No. 2 seeds, Julie Crow / Sue Hamilton beating the favourites Debbie Fennelly / Kate England 6-3, 6-4.
McTurk said afterwards: “It has been a great tournament and probably the best organised in my time at the Club. It’s always nice to win and see your name on the Honours Board in the clubhouse although I can’t take all the credit. I am lucky to play with such a solid doubles partner in Phil and I look forward to playing with him again next year.