The ladies yet again trumped the men’s results with wins across the board, and the men now have a cliff to climb to prevent relegations this season. However, chinks of a recovery are there, with the Seconds and Thirds comfortably mid-table, and several First team players back from their travels/university.
The ladies are absolutely romping away this season, with only their Firsts not in a promotion position. But Division One was always going to be tough.
Writhlington Firsts 2, Clifton Firsts 8
This week signalled the welcome return of some international players for Writhlington. Hamish O’Mahony and Matt Alexander, returning from new Zealand and the USA respectively, paired up, whilst Simon Brand and Patrick Lodge teamed up to complete the four.
Simon and Patrick played against Ian and Chris. Big serving from Clifton kept the pressure on Writhlington and despite some excellent doubles from both teams, Clifton took it 6-3, 6-4.
Hamish and Matt were busy playing Cameron and Alex, splitting the first two sets 6-4, 3-6. Whenever Hamish plays, you always expect a shot worthy of the highlight feel, once again not disappointing. Hamish brought out the running between the legs, cross-court winner, much to the pleasure of the crowd watching! However, this didn’t stop Clifton winning the third set 6-3.
Patrick and Simon then took on Cameron and Alex, the Clifton pairing making one unforced error all match, winning it 6-0, 6-1.
Hamish and Matt then went on to play Ian and Chris and won with some solid serving and net play, 7-6, 6-3 for the first team’s opening points of the season! Great to have the lads back!
Patrick Lodge
Clifton Fourths 6, Writhlington Seconds 4
Despite the traffic, Darren Thompson, Chris Cox, Graham Steer and Andy Jeffery kept up their record of arriving before all the opposition were there. Yet again, Clifton had a completely different team (they have now used 13 players in fourmatches!), and three of their team were playing Division Three and Four last season, so quite a challenge for Writhlington!
The Clifton College astro courts were fast and conducive to volleying, which both Clifton pairs made the most of. In fact, Jimmy and Cornelius raced to early leads in both their rubbers – 3-1 against Andy and Graham, and 6-1 against Chris and Darren. However, both Writhlington pairs pulled a rabbit out of the hat, played some of their best tennis of the season, and went on to win 6-4, 6-0 and 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 respectively!
If only we could have repeated it against the poorer pair of Tim and Bob – Tim was rock solid and none of us could remember him making an error all night. He also used his superb backspin forehand crosscourt to excellent effect and we went down 6-2, 6-3 (v Chris and Darren) and 6-1, 7-6 (v Andy and Graham).
Whilst we were disappointed not to get more from the match, the “budget” was for an 8-2 loss, so we celebrated in fine style in Bristol afterwards! Andy Jeffery
Writhlington Thirds 10, Cotham Park Thirds 0
The team of Callum Silkstone, Tom Hunt, Derek Beg and Adam Day took on Cotham Park.
Derek and Adam took on Simon and Liam first up, which turned out to be a great match going to a deciding set, which Writhlington won 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. In wet and slippery conditions, Adam did some hard deep shots whilst Derek was volleying really well at the net and finishing points. When the match was slipping away from us after our great start, we kept our heads and played some good tennis.
In our second match, we were delighted to get to play on the indoor courts, where we played Guy and Stewart. This proved to be a bit awkward, as we were playing one left-handed player, so we had a think and thought about some tactics, which we delivered well. Adam was serving quite well, while once again Derek was putting the volleys away. Writhlington ended up winning this one 6-2, 6-2. A great follow-up win like our last match together, and we are still unbeaten in the league. A great game, Derek, and look forward to our next match playing together!
Adam Day
Writhlington Fourths 4, Blackwell Thirds 6
Another loss for the fourth team this week but on the positive side, four points won and a good effort by the two Writhlington pairs. Conditions were not great again, making it difficult for both sides – not so windy, but lots more rain!
Bryn Jones and Richard Brand had a poor opening match, which was over far too quickly. Losing 6-1, 6-0 perhaps didn’t reflect some of the tennis played. The opposition were far more consistent and took the chances when given.
Bryn and Richard’s second rubber was a far better contest and despite the worsening weather, both teams played some good competitive tennis. This time the Writhlington pair took their chances and won 7-5, 6-4.
The second Writhlington pair of Mike Cuthbert and Stan Janiek made a great start, taking their first rubber 7-6, 6-4. There was some great tennis played, Mike supporting with some great ground strokes, with Stan pouncing at the net. Taking the first set on a tie-break was a brilliant achievement too.
Mike and Stan carried their good form into the second rubber. Although losing 4-6, 1-6, they made a good game of it and took more games off the Backwell A pair than Bryn and Richard achieved.
Overall result was a 4-6 loss, but signs of some improvement. Four games into the season with just a 6-4 win the top score to date, the Fourth team need a huge improvement in the remaining six matches to stay in their Division!
Bryn Jones
Cotham Park Fourths 8, Writhlington Fifths 2
A game of two surfaces.
Still looking for their first win, the mighty Writhlington Fifths travelled to Combe Dingle to play Cotham Park Fourths. Callum Nowell, Nigel Hellier, Adam Benney and Dean Taylor arrived at Combe Dingle Sports Complex to cheers from hundreds of dedicated supporters (only to realise it was students watching a cricket match, well drunk after their final exams!)
Nigel and Callum lost their opening rubber 6-4, 1-6, 2-6 against Rowan and Barry. The Writhlington pairing started strongly, comfortably winning the first set. The Cotham Park pairing then got their act together, playing strongly, and came out winners.
Dean and Adam lost their first rubber 2-6, 1-6 to the pairing of Tom and Olllie. Whilst the Writhlington pair played well together in open tennis, their service games were just not up to it, and hence the loss. When the service games were good, Adam played some wonderful finishing shots and the score didn’t match the actual game quality.
In the reverse rubbers, the games were played inside, giving the Writhlington team a slight advantage. Nigel and Callum turned round their game play by beating Ollie and Tom 5-7, 6-4 and 1-0 in the tiebreak!. Nigel’s backhand was strong and Callum’s serving and strong baseline shots perfect.
The inside courts brought a huge change in the Writhlington pair and in particular Adam’s whole game was transformed. Whilst the Writhlington pairing played well, their opponents were just too strong, resulting in a 3-6, 1-6 loss.
Dean Taylor