Oakham Tennis Club stages its finals day

Spectators were thrilled by the most exciting finals day at Oakham Tennis Club on Sunday.

Accuracy and speed with marvellous court coverage were well to the fore as singles and doubles were played out at the Vale to the enjoyment of all watching.

Once again the men's singles final and men's doubles final kept everyone spellbound and in awe of the rallies they were witnessing.

Richard Breag and Jack Hubbard have played each other several times now for the title and once again Breag won but not before he was tested to the hilt by Hubbard.

Gasps from the viewers were constant as the two 'gladiators' returned serves and volleys from all parts of the court.

The doubles was every bit as spellbinding as Tref Vandoros joined Breag and Dan Potter partnered Hubbard.

Those watching could only admire the quality of tennis they saw. At a set each – with all to play for - the younger pair edged ahead and pushed hard to force errors.

After a long struggle Hubbard and Potter forced a final error to win the match. They were all cheered off the court by a grateful audience who had experienced a wonderful final.

The ladies final was also a very tight affair with the mother and daughter combination of Lisa and Grace Hornsby facing Ceire Mullins and Polly Greening.

The two teenagers – Grace and Polly - fought well against each other to produce tentative shots from their opponents.

Ceire Mullins’ superiority came through eventually in the third set as she and Polly won the duel.

The mixed final contained a mix of the other finalists – Ceire Mullins and Steve Ward against Dan Potter and Grace Hornsby.

Ward and Mullins raced ahead, not allowing their opponents time to settle, but were challenged in the second set by Potter and Hornsby. Ward and Mullins just kept control to lift the trophy.

Plate competitions also took place and again spectators were entertained to tantalising matches.

Long-standing adversaries - teenagers Monty Adams and Harry Moulton - joined forces to contest the men's doubles plate against Tim Port and Gideon Bramble. They had to fight long rallies to secure a win, but determination won through.

Monty and Harry went on to face each other in the singles plate later in the afternoon.

It produced another long, hard-fought tussle between the pair who know each other's game so well. Monty eventually ran out as winner.

The mixed doubles plate saw Rob Potter and Anne Boyce play against Mark Mitchell and Michelle Greening.

They all fought cleverly with testing drives, but Mitchell and Greening just produced stronger final shots to take the plaudits.

Peter Farrar and Jeremy Siddall played Rob Potter and Gordon Reekie in the men's seniors' competition.

Potter and Reekie – the holders – were rushed into errors by their opponents. They came close in the second set but couldn't break down their opponents so had to relinquish their title.

Anne Cowan and Lynne Maxwell won the ladies doubles plate while Filicity Selby and Helen Beer won the closed event.