As tie goes down to the wire…
Norbury Park finally got their 2018 Millennium Cup campaign underway with a home tie against Wigmore on Sunday 29 April, on what a freezing cold ‘spring’ morning, when the contest went down to the wire.
It was a match of two halves; Norbury Park were 3-1 ahead after the first round of matches, and feeling pretty confident, until Wigmore wiped the smile off our faces by winning the second round 3-1, meaning we were tied 4-4 as the deciding mixed doubles got underway.
Here’s how it panned out.
Norbury Park (NP) won both junior matches, with Mark Lovejoy and Monica Wizowata taller and stronger than the younger Wigmore siblings Billy and Edie O’Dwyer.
Other than poor Edie hitting herself on the head with her racket, the junior matches were a pleasure to watch.
The ladies singles were tied – NP’s Charmaine Boyd beat Wigmore’s Lynnette Boot 6-1 6-0 in the Over 40s, and Wigmore’s Anna Hodgkinson defeated NP’s Carla Wilson 7-5 6-1 in the Open.
Wigmore’s men came out on top in both the singles.
NP newbie Andy Flegg lost to Wigmore’s Tom Murray 6-3 6-1 and, in the vets, poor Marek Strelichoewski was carried off court in a cloud of Polish obscenities with a suspected hamstring injury.
He had lost the first set to Julian Stubbs 7-5 and was 2-1 down in the second set in a match characterised by long rallies before he retired.
The doubles matches were evenly distributed.
NP’s Carla Wilson & Lisa Patient were too steady for new pairing of Sharon Goulds & Heather Raynor, winning 6-2 6-2, but the impressive Sulphuro Burrell & Peter Keeling from Wigmore beat Omar Cadir & Terry McGranaghan 6-4,6-3. The serving in this match was exceptional.
This left the final rubber, the mixed, on which the ultimate result depended.
Wigmore’s Sarah O’Dwyer & Nick Eastman won the first set 6-3, and seemed to be in control but, after a change in tactics, NP’s Anne-Marie O’Hara & Mohammed Sahi won the second set on a tiebreak.
So, four rubbers apiece and one set all in the decider made for real excitement, and just what we like in Millennium Cup fixtures.
It was Norbury Park who finally clinched it, 10-7, in the match tiebreak, with everyone so relieved that we could finally get into the warmth of the clubhouse to enjoy a celebratory pint.
Match report by Lisa Patient, Millennium Cup Captain Norbury Park LTC
Results
Norbury Park LTC defeated Wigmore LTC 5-4
(Norbury Park names first)
Women’s Singles: Carla Wilson lost to Anna Hodgkinson, 7-5 6-1; Men’s Singles: Andy Flegg lost to Tom Murray, 6-3 6-1; Women’s Over 40 Singles:Charmaine Boyd d Lynnette Boot, 6-1 6-0; Men’s Over 45 Singles: Marek Strelichoewski lost to 7-5 2-1 ret; Girls Under 16 Singles: Monica Wizowata d Edie O’Dwyer, 6-1 6-2; Boys Under 16 Singles: Mark Lovejoy d Billy O’Dwyer, 6-2 6-3; Women’s Doubles: Lisa Patient & Carla Wilson d Sharon Goulds & Heather Rayner, 6-2 6-2; Men’s Doubles: Omar Cadir & Terry McGranaghan lost to Sulphuro Burrell & Peter Keeling, 6-4 6-3; Mixed Doubles: Anne-Marie O’Hara & Mohammed Sahi d Sarah O’Dwyer & Nick Eastman, 3-6 7-6 [10-7].