Commanding final day performance wraps up league title

HENLEY Tennis Club’s mixed first team secured promotion and the Berkshire Winter League Division 7 title after winning their final match against Bracknell.

Henley went into the game knowing there was no margin for error. Three teams — Henley, Shinfield and Bracknell — were locked in a tight battle for top spot going into the final round and only a 4-0 win would guarantee Henley the title.

Playing on clay, David Hunte and Fiona Huggard laid down an early marker with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Bracknell’s first pair. James Cudd and Lizzie Miles then produced the turnaround of the day. Trailing 5-1 against the second pair, they dug in and clawed their way back to take the set 7-5 before pushing on to win the second 6-2.

In the reverse rubbers, Miles and Cudd kept the momentum going with a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory. Huggard and Hunte sealed the clean sweep 6-1, 6-2, and in doing so secure Henley the title. Henley’s Oxfordshire B men’s side produced a timely 6-2 away win against David Lloyd C to boost their league position.

In windy conditions Tom Tuite-Dalton and Gordon Stoddart overcame a slow start to win 6-3, 6-1 against the first pair and then dominated the second pair 6-0, 6-1. Levi McAndrew-Brown and Dan Barr added two important points with hard-earned results of 6-3, 6-3 and 2-6, 6-2.

The victory lifts Henley into eighth place in Division 4 with three matches to play.

Henley’s Oxfordshire A men’s team hosted Abingdon B knowing points were vital to secure their Division 1 status.

Max Miles-Thomas and Tom Raynor set the standard with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 win against the second pair. Mike Whorrell and Matt Hallam faced a sterner test against Abingdon’s first pair but controlled the key moments to win 6-4, 6-2.

The second round followed the same pattern, with Henley taking all four sets to complete a commanding 8-0 victory.