Hardy souls conquer the cold wintry conditions in week five

WEEK five saw the weather for the GA Solicitors MLTC Winter Tennis League stay similar to the previous week with plenty of rain but, again, the players were keen to play tennis.

- By DAVE AND SUE GALE

In Men's A, the Hill Lane pair of Alan Mayes and Jose Rojas took on fellow Hill Lane player Arash Dinari and his partner Lawrence Hay in what turned out to be a very close game that could have gone either way, with all four players having difficulty holding their serve throughout the match.

The first two sets were shared evenly 6-4, but the final set was a real nailbiter. With Jose serving at 5-4 it went to six deuces before it was finally game, set and match - 6-4 to Alan and Jose. This meant they took the win and club honours 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Lewis Edwards and Richard Cooper continued their fine early season form by seeing off Mark Skerton and Neil Coleman 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in some more than blustery conditions. Both pairs played a good level of tennis despite the high winds and smattering of rain coating the courts.

Despite a swirling wind, both pairs, Phil Whitby and John Putman and Andrew Regan and Pete Ireland, went for their shots and produced some high class tennis

After a very close first set, which Phil and John won on the tiebreak, they tightened their game to take the second set also. However, Andy and Pete weren't giving up and narrowly lost the final set 6-4. However, at the end Phil and John emerged triumphant 6-5, 6-1, 6-4.