The 2010 Finals

A Finals Commentary

from Alan Browne

Once again Purley Bury Tennis Senior and Junior Finals days were held over one weekend, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July, organised respectively by John Lowe, club captain, and Mark Love, our coach.

In the senior championship our juniors and young people shone, especially Harrison Walden who became our youngest men’s singles title holder at the age of 15, having been our U18 boys champion last year. And he had to beat one of the club’s coaching staff to do it – John Thistlethwaite, a four-times holder of the title himself. It was a gripping final, good to watch, full of powerful hitting, big serves and classical stroke-making. And Harrison had to come back from the easy loss of the first set 1-6 to fight for the second 6-4 and then go on to battle it out to final victory 10-8 in the third. Great tennis on both sides of the net!

The weather was oppressively hot, probably over 30C for some of the time but the bar was open and a BBQ held both days, and tea. We are very lucky to have so many members who will come down and support finals day, both in helping with the organising and watching.

The weather being that hot of course four of the five senior finals went to three sets, upsetting any idea of set timings for the day, and the mixed even ended under floodlights, 13-11 in the third, before long standing members and rota organisers John and Janet Brotherhood could award the prizes.

The finalists in the Plate tournament for first-round losers were wisest: they kept all their matches to just two sets.

The girls too were keen to keep the seniors on the back foot. 17-year-old Joanna Levitt beat holder and ladies’ captain Amy Farrin in the ladies singles in three close sets, 7-5 in the third. Then she partnered 18-year-old Lydia Fernandes to retain the ladies’s doubles title they won in one of last year’s surprises, beating Amy and her mother Jill Farrin.

Amy had a hard time of it. She had to find the endurance, will power and physical fitness to last our all three finals, eight sets in all, and recover from a bad fall, and not worry about losing two of her matches going into the mixed doubles.

But all this led to a great battle in the mixed against Mark Potton and Lydia Fernandes who almost had it won. Amy, playing with first team captain Russell Smith, despite her fall supported him through a bad patch – first set gone 4-6 – to take the second 6-3. Then it was on to a marathon third set, not in Wimbledon record terms maybe, but pretty long for Purley Bury. Mark and Lydia were playing superbly – and both ladies happily driving back the men’s forehands with interest. Somehow Amy and Russell survived 2-5 and three match points down and a further match point and, behind in games all the time, finally broke to win by an exhausting 13-11.

You couldn’t look away.

Russell had earlier won his fourteenth men’s doubles title, playing with Toby Pallett, overcoming Ali Horsford and Richard Potton after losing the first set. So middle age had some triumphs in the Purley Bury Finals finals!