LOCAL TENNIS Donna Schoenmaekers
Last Saturday’s weather turned Geelong’s top tennis competitions upside down with top four teams now an equal chance to reach the grand final.
Originally first- and second-placed teams had been scheduled to play a ‘second-chance’ match last Saturday afternoon, with third and fourth to play knockout finals.
But rain was the only winner causing the cancellation of play.
The cancellation shortened Tennis Geelong’s finals series, meaning first will now play fourth in a knockout semi-final this Saturday, with second and third also facing off in a must-win game.
In the Section 1 Men, the interest will be in the second semi between Grovedale and Barwon Heads.
The teams faced off in the last round of the season with Barwon Heads winning by just one game.
Both teams will need to be at their best and careful with their combinations to give themselves a chance to make the grand final.
Minor premier Highton will go into the first final as the favourite, but the side has not played Leopold since November due to the cancellation of their second meeting amid the snap COVID-19 lockdown.
Both teams are in good form, so only time will tell if Highton can maintain its dominance.
In the Section 1 Mixed Grovedale Gold and Yellow will go head-to-head in the second semi.
This will be a rematch from the final round of the season, where the teams drew on sets but Yellow got up by four games.
The mixed combinations could prove crucial in deciding the winner, and bragging rights in the Duff household, with Zoe and Lily in Gold coming up against older sister Bianca in Yellow.
In the first final Waurn Ponds is the favourite against Grovedale Black to advance into the grand final.
Nicole Mullen and company dispatched Black 6-0 in the final round of the season, with Black only managing to win 15 games.
Matt Squire returning to Black will strengthen the team, but he is unlikely to be enough to stop Waurn Ponds’ alone.
The first week of the Section 1 junior finals also gets underway this weekend.
In the boys Wandana Heights Blue and Geelong Lawn Green have dominated the season and go in as favourites against Highton and Barwon Heads respectively.
The Section 1 Girls Geelong Lawn goes in as the favourite against Centre Court in first versus fourth.
In the other final runners-up Grovedale will want to improve on their last two rounds, after losing both 5-1, including one to third-placed Highton, their opponents this Saturday.
All other junior grades played their first week of finals last Saturday morning with almost every section recording an upset.
In the boys’ sections 2, 5, 13 and Section 5 Girls second and fourth teams beat first and third.
