Grassroots tennis taking centre stage

Grassroots tennis taking centre stage

The tournament, played at the Caesarean Tennis Club, delivered a final weekend of high-quality tennis from various ages and levels, including a win for professional Scott Clayton alongside partner Phil Bain.

Despite not having played top-level tennis since the ATP Tour was halted in March, Clayton said it was important for himself and Bain to secure the men’s Division I title.

‘Ever since I was young I’ve always been competitive and anything I do I want to do it well,’ he said. ‘Playing with Phil, I really wanted him to get the win as well and I think he deserved it with some of the shots he played in that game.’

Clayton and Bain beat Adam Bayley and Rob Hannah 6-4, 7-6 in what was a competitive and tense final on Sunday.

Bayley and Hannah won the first three games, putting pressure on their opponents and forcing numerous errors.

But Clayton and Bain soon found their rhythm, working well as a pair with Clayton controlling the game at the net with numerous winning shots. The pair brought the game back to 5-4 before service faults from the opposition gifted them points and subsequently the first set.

The second set was similar to the first with Clayton and Bain going down 5-2, although Clayton’s competitive edge – coupled with some winning shots from the net by Bain – got them back into the contest and forced a tie break, which settled the match.

The tournament was the first time the pair had played together and Bain – deputy managing director at Rathbones, who sponsor Clayton – said it was ‘amazing’ to play alongside the Island’s top-ranked player.

In the ladies Division I final it took two hours for Sarah Jones and Emily Frost to beat Sonia Smith and Orna O’Callaghan 7-6, 7-5.

Jones and Frost, who had never played together before, went 5-1 down in the first set before taking it 7-6.

Jones said once they focused on playing their own game and not worrying about their opponents, things began to click and they started to play well.

She added: ‘We would love to play together again, we practise together all the time and it is clear we gelled well as a pair.’

Frost said: ‘It’s been amazing to be back playing competitive tennis, all the girls did really well especially Sonia and Orna in the final, who made us work really hard.’

Event organiser Andrew Evans said the tight finals made for an entertaining spectacle.

‘It’s not about having tennis for the elite – it’s about having tennis for everybody,’ he said.

‘You only hear about the top-level players but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. This weekend has shown how important tennis is from grassroots level up. We want everyone to be involved and the standard of competition this weekend has been amazing.’

Evans said tennis has been one of the most-played sports since lockdown and the number of entrants for both the singles and doubles tournaments in the past few months highlighted that.

‘Weekends like this are good for tennis and good for the club,’ he added. ‘We have had a fantastic turnout and the club has been really busy with players and supporters alike.’

Full list of results in today’s JEP.

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