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West Heath Club Tournament 2001Men's Singles Ladies' Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles MixedDoubles Match Reports Last Years Finalists Bios TournamentGossip
Men's Singles Ladies' Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles MixedDoubles Match Reports Player Bios
Men's Singles Ladies' Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles MixedDoubles Match Reports Player Bios
Men's Singles Ladies'Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles Mixed Doubles Match Reports Player Bios
Men's Singles Ladies' Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles MixedDoubles Match Reports Player Bios
Men's Singles Ladies'Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles Mixed Doubles Match Reports Player Bios Match ReportsMen's Singles Final - Mark Stapleton vs Peter PhillipsFinals day was sweltering hot and the temperature must have been 30degrees. The match started in anticipated fashion with Mark taking the first 3games, but after that he did not get a look in for the rest of the set,as.Peter took the next 6 games to win it 6-3. However, Mark is made ofstern stuff and put the pressure on in the second set. This told as Marktook all 6 games to win it 6-0. The stage was set for the crucial decider, but first we had a slighthiatus. Peter had to take a medical emergency time out to cool off, andwent to have a shower. The first two games of the final set went with serve, but then Markplayed some good tennis to break for 2-1. The next game went with serve,but Peter was closely contested under pressure with some consistentreturning and groundstrokes from Mark, who had two break points butconverted neither. In the next game Peter threatened to recover thebreak, but Mark held his nerve and his serve for a 4-2 lead. The crucial 7th saw some accurate play from Mark for two breakpoints. Peter held the first but Mark forced an error on the second fora 5-2 lead with serve. Mark then served out for the championship. It was a good game for the spectators, with plenty of excitement forthe spectators, but Mark has regained his traditional place as clubsingles champion. Ladies' Singles Final - Jane Boyle vs Lesley SouthThe first 8 games went with serve, but then Lesley broke and held totake the first set 6-4. There were no breaks in the second set which so the tie break cameinto force. Lesley forced the early mini-break, but Jane pulled it backto 3-3 and eventually took it. The final set started with serve for the first 3 games. In the fourthLesley was 40-15 up but Jane put on the pressure first to bring thescore to deuce and then took the next two points for the first break in17 games. At this stage both players were obviously feeling the effectsof sun and fatigue. Jane then held serve to consolidate the break and was 15-40 up in thenext. On the first break point Jane got the benefit of a grass courtslider and all Lesley could do was put the ball in the net, giving Janea 5-1 lead. With nothing to lose Lesley pulled out the stops in the next game,hitting two cracking winners to create doubt in the champions mind.Lesley's next service game went to deuce and she then pulled out afantastic service winner and later took the game. Serving for the championship Jane played some good placement shots inthe first two points to get the edge. When Lesley dumped a servicereturn in the net it looked like the end. A winning service returndeferred the inevitable, but Lesley hit the net with her next servicereturn to give Jane the cup. It was a battle of nerve and stamina over 2 hours 10 minutes.Congratulations to Jane on her second successive title and has madehistory by finally beating Jean Payton's record of club single titles.. Men's doubles final - Mark Stapleton and Peter Phillips vs SultanGangji and Kevin Ryan.Sultan lost his serve in the first game and he and Kevin could notregain the service break. Kevin was broken later and Mark and Petersealed the first set 6-2. The second set was a little more even, but the champions were worththeir seeding and settled it 6-3 to the applause of the vociferouscrowd. Men's Singles Ladies'Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles Mixed Doubles Match Reports Player Bios Player BiographiesMark StapletonStrong right-hander who deserted West Heath in 2000 toplay league matches for David Lloyd in the Intermediate division. Oflate Mark has usually won the men's singles, but the competition lastyear from Miles Raybould in the semis was too stiff. Mark is married tothe delectable Ludmilla whom he partnered last year in the mixeddoubles, thus nipping in the bud any suspicions of mixed doubles pothunting which could be levelled at the stronger men players.Unfortunately the husband and wife team fell to Janet and Peter early inthe final week. Mark atoned for these early defeats with a victory inthe men's doubles, partnered by Peter Phillips. Miles RaybouldBred and trained by the well-know Raybould tennis stablesand having shed his junior mantle, Miles now plays for Chandos. Hispower and speed about court are legendary, but he can be inconsistentunder pressure - but who was going to put him under pressure? Havingbeaten Mark Stapleton in the men's singles, as predicted, he took the2000 title in decisive manner against Peter Phillips. Miles has elected not to enter this year to leave the way clear foryounger (and older) Rayboulds. However, in the interim he has become theMiddlesex 18 and under champion, so maybe he has better fish to fry. Sultan GangjiRumours has it that Sultan resigned his post as Head ofOfficiating at the LTA in order to concentrate on the 2000 clubtournament. Last year we were tipping Sultan to be in all three finals,but two finals was the limit. Inside sources suggested that a hipproblem was responsible for a poor performance in the 2000 singlessemi-final in which Peter Phillips went through. The mixed doubles finalwith Lesley resulted in a loss to Peter Phillips partnered by JanetO'Connor. And Sultan and Kevin lost in the 2000 mens doubles final to -you guessed it - Peter Phillips, this time partnered by Mark Stapleton.So no silverware for Sultan last year. Will he rectify matters thisyear? Watch this space. Peter PhillipsAs ex-owner of Preston Sports Peter is in the trade, buthas chucked it in to provide a professional tennis education for hisdaughter Natasha in Florida. Peter is a solid doubles player and was clearly playing well in 2000as he made all three finals, including the singles, in which he beat thesemi-final odds to eliminate Sultan. Last year Peter took the mixedtitle with Janet O'Connor. Perhaps predictably, Peter was beaten byMiles Raybould in the singles final, but there was also a doubles finalvictory over Sultan and Kevin when Peter partnered Mark Stapleton. There can be no doubt that, Peter was the in-form regularWest Heath player last year. It remains to be seen whether the enforcedleisure waiting for his US permit has sharpened his edge or blunted hiswill to win. Kevin RyanKevin is a very good doubles player and steady underpressure although his singles record does not match his doubles ranking.It is a pity that a leg injury plus Sultan's hip problem did not allowthem to reproduce some of their form of earlier years in the 2000 mens'sdoubles final, which they lost to Mark Stapleton and Peter Phillips. Lesley SouthLesley was much improved 1999 and 2000, due to a strenoustraining regime (cycling to and from work, the club and her house inWest London). Perhaps the training was too much because, in the ladies'final, she suffered an early hip injury which left her looking decidedlylop-sided, and must have contributed somewhat to her loss to Jane Boyle.The doubles final had to be postponed until she was again fit, butLeslay did not prevail this time. Jane BoyleJane provided the big upset of the 2000 tournament bybeating Liz Goodfellow in the semi's. Jane had been training hard forthe grass court tournament and has shed one or two pounds to bringherself to a trim fit powerhouse for the occasion. Jane was determinedto seize her opportunity once more in 2000. Lesley might have been ableto stop her, but Jane was playing too well and deservedly saw her nameon the trophy after the large gap following her 1981 victory. Janet O'ConnorJanet has traditionally been finals material, but therewere whispers that her new love blunted the cutting edge of her game.The dog himself denied it when asked, of course, and Janet provedherself once more by taking the 2000 mixed with Peter Phillips. Earlierthis season Janet was hungry enough to win the belated 2000 women'sdoubles with Jane. Liz GoodfellowLiz failed to take the belated 2000 women's doublessilverware with Lesley in the doubles, losing to Janet and Jane. The LTA Official ViewThe LTA have an inter-club ratingscheme for players who register. You get an initial rating, then ratingsare updated regularly based on your tournament results. The ratings ofour club finalists are on the LTA web site (click on the underlined linkabove) and can be years out of date (mine is). They are:- 3.1 - Miles Raybould Men's Singles Ladies'Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles Mixed Doubles Match Reports Player Bios Tuesday 24 July
Thursday 19 July
Sunday 15 July
Saturday 14 July
Men's Singles Ladies'Singles Men's Doubles Ladies' Doubles Mixed Doubles Match Reports Player Bios |
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