AN entertaining afternoon of tennis was enjoyed on Sunday at Penallt & District Tennis Club by players and spectators alike at the finals of the club’s annual ladies’ and men’s doubles tournament, reports CHRIS ADAMS.

The entertainment value compared favourably to an afternoon at Wimbledon and although the standard of tennis was a notch down the refreshments were certainly better value.

The ladies’ doubles final featured a mother versus daughter confrontation between Bev Leaf playing with Ginny Higgins and daughter Jemima partnering Lizelle de Jager.

Holders, Bev and Ginny, looked very comfortable in the first set but were taken to a tie-break in a closely contested second set.

However, they played with admirable steadiness to negotiate the dangerous moment and take the title.

The men’s doubles was an incredibly close fought contest between all four of the seeded pairs.

Both semi-finals were decided by championship tie-breaks at one set all.

Holders, John Howells and Neil O’Doherty, came up against Ed Hollick and Guy Adams., and having brushed aside their fathers in the previous round they were severely tested by the younger men. But they played better when it really mattered in the tie-breaks, both at the end of the first set and in the decider.

The other semi was between the veteran pairing of Rob Prewett and Peter Dimmock and comparative youngsters Josh Griffiths and Henry Francis. This time it was the youngsters that prevailed 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8).

The final was played in front of a good crowd who were thoroughly entertained by the tennis which was of an excellent standard.

Josh and Henry were underdogs and when they lost the first set on a tie-break the watching cognoscenti were busy writing them off.

But thanks partly to the dynamism of Josh’s play and his speed around the court, they came back strongly to take the second set 6-3. And the tie-break was a tense affair culminating in many championship points with Josh and Henry edging it 12-10.

The men’s plate final featured a third member of the Leaf family, Simon, and Jeff Goodlass playing Kevin Brook and David Jenkins. Having taken the first set on a tie-break Jeff and Simon were heading for a comfortable second set victory when they momentarily lost their way and found themselves in a tie break which they lost.

The deciding tie-break was nip and tuck, but David and Kevin after a long semi-final against Pete Bryden and Stefan Marks, had now been on court for four hours and were visibly tiring and the outcome seemed inevitable.

But Simon and Jeff were creative in finding ways to lose the crucial points and were made to work very hard for a 14-12 win.

The ladies plate final had been played earlier and was won by Emma Kemble and Alison O’Doherty who defeated Juliet Bucknall and Rosie Adams in straight sets.