Seniors tennis took on a new level of competitiveness in Section 1 Men, with one match having to go the extra set to decide a winner.
The match was expected to be close as Newcomb won its first match by two games and level on sets, but the second went to Surfcoast Torquay 5-1.
Each set only afforded one break of serve and could have easily gone the other way. This time around, the teams were locked at two sets all with one game separating them with two sets to play. Chris Higgins and Kai Crosby put Newcomb in a good position winning their set 6-3 while the other set was poised at five games all.
Andrew Osbourn held serve for Surfcoast before he and John Stephenson broke to take the set 7-5, leaving the match in a tie.
The decider was epic with Stephenson teaming with Michael Hili to take a seeming unassailable 5-1 lead over Newcomb’s Higgins and Pepe Scorpo. The experienced Newcomb pair however, fought back to 5-4 and had a point to level at five-all, but the match ended on a first serve bomb, giving Surfcoast the win 6-4, and a place in next week’s final against Lara.
Highton was too good for Geelong East Uniting in Section 2 winning 4-2, while Bannockburn upset home team Hamlyn Park in Section 3, 4-2.
Highton didn’t fair well in Section 4 Men, with the Blue team going down to minor premiers Drysdale, and the Gold team missing out against Lara 4-2.
In the Mixed sections, Waurn Ponds got up 4-2 against Ocean Grove Blue, with Nicole Mullen dropping one game for the day.
Wandana Heights White was in the box seat against Grovedale in Section 2, with a 3-1 lead going into the final mixed sets, but Isaac and Lisa Graham took the fifth to bring White’s lead back to a set and a game, then Kira Aitken and club newcomer Nikhil Thomas followed suit to take the last 6-3 giving Grovedale the win by two games.
Grovedale also snuck through in Section 3, with a tight win over Eastern Districts. The match was tied on sets with a four-game lead to the home team going into the final mixed sets, where each team took a set 6-2, leaving the score unchanged and Grovedale through to the grand final.
Sections 4 and 5 were 6 team sections, therefore had do or die semis.
Minor premiers Clifton Springs/Drysdale started the day the same way as their season in four, with Nicole Nicholls and Andy Vlahovic taking a comfortable 6-0 win in the first mixed.
The team won 5-1, while second placed Grovedale matched up against danger team Drysdale. With a mixed bag of results during the three home and away matches, the result was hard to predict, but Grovedale got on top early and took the match in a surprising six sets to love.
Grovedale didn’t fair so well in Section 5 when it came up against Clifton Springs in the first-semi. With a win against the minor premiers during the season, the away team would have liked its chances going into the match, but the Springs proved too consistent taking the match 6-0.
The second-semi was a different story though, with Wandana Heights hosting Ocean Grove. With only half a point separating them on the ladder, and wins to both teams during home and away, a favourite was hard to pick.
The starting mixed sets went one each way, then Wandana won the ladies and Ocean Grove the men’s, leaving the teams tied on sets with a two-game advantage to the Grove.
It was here that the match turned with the pairings of Jemima Hayes with Jaime Warren and Amelia Bibby with Rod Hindrichsen winning through for the Grove 6-3, 6-3, giving them the win four sets to two.
