Match report by Matthew Last, team captain, Saxmundham Men's 1st team
Date: Wednesday 20th July
Venue: Saxmundham Tennis Club
Opponents: YM Tennis Men's 2nd team
Final score: Sax 7-2 YM Tennis
Saxmundham Men's 1st team players: Anthony + Chris, Matt + Ewan, Skitch + Drew
Now being deep into the business end of the season, on this particular night it was crucial that we didn't slip up against a team that's occasionally been a bit of a banana skin for Sax: YM Tennis.
On a very muggy evening, conditions were pretty heavy and tough-going. In fact, it was more of a struggle to start with than playing singles had been the day before in the searing heat!
Not being able to breathe, luckily, didn't stop Sax making a solid start.
Matt and Ewan were made to work hard, with quality serving and volleying from Nick and Ivan. At 3-3, the pressure finally took hold and we were able to break free and rattle off the next five games.
Anthony and Chris were reunited for the first time this summer. Despite being regarded as the club's No.1 pair at the club, it took them a bit of time to re-establish their connection - but eventually managed to grind out the first set.
Drew and Skitch would complete the perfect start with an 8-5 win; both players performing solidly to give their opposition very little to work with. Unfortunately, they would peak here, and, despite a decent showing against the YM first pair, they would ultimately lose 8-3 then 8-0 to the middle pair.
After dropping a whole three games in their first set, Chris and Anthony went on to win the next two sets, dropping only two games en route, in typical ruthless dominance from this mighty pairing.
Matt and Ewan would also march on and claim all three sets - despite almost coming unstuck towards the end and nearly throwing away a 6-1 lead, thanks to a mixture of wasteful play and a fantastic resurgence from the opposition pairing of Alex and Avery.
So - five wins out of six, with only two games to play (both during the week commencing 25th July) - if we win one, we're probably champions. A lot can happen in a week though... so we're take it point by point until the title is clinched.
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