TENNIS: Winchester Racquets & Fitness Club’s over-70s men’s tennis team have won the National Inter Club final at the first attempt.
They beat Exmouth in an entertaining final in Sheffield.
As a result the city men expect to be invited to represent Great Britain in next year’s European Club championships.
Because it was the first time they had entered the competition,Winchester were forced to battle through a number of preliminary rounds to reach the latter stages of the competition.
They won five successive matches – against Haslemere 4-0, Harpenden 3.5-0.5, Surbiton 3.5-0.5, Hallamshire 3-2 and finally Exmouth 3-2 – in a exhausting campaign.
Winchester saw off interest from last year’s champions, Hallamshire, and faced a tough test against last term’s runners-up, Exmouth, in the final.
But they pulled-off the unexpected and historical win as Peter Friedmann beat Mike Keat in an excellent display of tennis, while Brian Birch and Richard Lovell were victorious in their doubles match. David Trew did lose to Great Britain player Andrew James, but Friedmann and Trew were able to win their doubles game to seal the crown.
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