The fourteenth Albany/Chrystals Senior Open was concluded on Saturday in fine weather and produced some excellent matches. It was nice to see juniors progressing – Adam Pyatt-Coppell played three finals in one day. At the conclusion of play the prizes were presented by Mr Shane Magee on behalf of Chrystals Estate Agents. He said he had enjoyed watching the matches and Chrystals were happy to continue supporting the club and would sponsor the event in 2015. Remaining results: men’s singles Gr. 1 Final David Bufton bt Phil Hennessey 6/4 6/1; Tableau qtr final David Bufton bt Alistair Johnston 6/2 7/5; semi-finals Adam Pyatt-Coppell bt Bufton 6/2 7/5, Calvin Smith bt Jonathon Weir 7/6(10) 6/2. Final Pyatt Coppell bt Smith 4/6 6/0 (10-7). Women’s singles r/r Katie Harris bt Sarah Breed 7/5 6/2, Elena Snidal bt Sarah Breed 6/4 7/6(1). Final Katie Harris bt Elena Snidal 7/6(7) 6/2. Men’s Doubles qtr-final Calvin Smith/David Winnell bt Geoff Harris/Bryan Sharp 6/3 7/5, semi-finals Ian Watson/Jamie Teare bt Smith/Winnell 6/0 6/0, Paul Coppell/Adam Pyatt-Coppell bt Craig Swann/Stuart Swann 6/3 6/4; Final Watson/Teare bt Coppell/Pyatt-Coppell 6/2 6/1. Mixed Doubles semi-final Adam Pyatt-Coppell/Sarah Breed bt Paul Coppell/Linda Faragher 6/2 6/1; Final Pyatt-Coppell/Breed bt Alistair Johnston/Kirsten Hall 6/2 6/2..
Often you switch on the computer, click on e-mails and there isn’t much worth reading. However this week I did this and found a long awaited up-date from a former Albany junior, Aswin Lizen (18) who is now in his last year as a junior.
He was pleased to tell me he has won his first ATP point in Bulgaria which “makes me professional officially” Aswin recently represented Great Britain in the European Championships with the team qualifying in Austria and then finishing 8th overall in Europe, playing in Venice. Aswin seems to be following a similar path to Billy Harris and I can’t help envying them for the places they have played in around Europe and in America. All credit to both of them as they have worked hard over many years to reach what are the lower rungs of professional tennis.
Well the 11 August has arrived and work has started on re-surfacing the 3 outdoor courts, which will disrupt members usually regular playing times. We called in today and it was quite daunting to see the workmen drilling holes all over the surface – admittedly for drainage. Still it should be well worth it in the end. However the indoor court can still be booked on line BUT you have to pay cash/chq (?8 p/hr.) and put the money in the box with slip stating name, date & time.
Finally congratulations to all our juniors who put on winning performances in the recent IOMLTA Junior Closed Championships – Orry Farnworth, Sarah Long, Jayden Go, Jack Christian (also a Ramsey junior), Oliver Wait, Jay Skelcher-Maxwell and Sean Drewry. Jay and brother Sam won U14 doubles and Sean playing with Sasha Thomas won the U18 doubles.
