by Adrian Kemp
The Racquet & Tennis Club hosted the World Masters Over 50s and 55s in early May. A strong US-based contingent was joined by the top amateur players in their age-groups from Australia and the U.K. We were delighted that the event also attracted a team of French players.
In the 50s Singles, Guy Devereux and Jeremy Wintersteen were top-seeds, and both progressed to the Semi-Finals with relative ease. There were some fantastic matches in the early rounds, special mention to Peter Holmes and Charles Blanchot who set the tone for the tournament with a hard-fought 3-set match, which was nonetheless played in a fantastic spirit.
The 50s semis were contested by the top-4 seeds in the draw, Devereux and Wintersteen joined by two Brits, Simon Barker, and Peter Jarvis. Wintersteen looked sharp in his straight-sets victory over Peter Jarvis while Devereux, who had been making good progress in the concurrent Doubles event, ran out of steam against Simon Barker in the other Semi.
The final was a high-quality affair with both players producing some of their best tennis of the event. Barker, who started as a slight outsider, took the opening set before Wintersteen leveled and forced the match into a decider. The final set was closely contested, but it was Jeremy who imposed himself on the big points, and he ran out a 3/6 6/1 6/4 winner.
In the 55s, Mike Happell was a heavy favorite going into the event, but met his match in the Semi-Finals, losing in three sets to Simon Barker. The other semi was a nail-biter with Simon Shenkman edging out John Prenn 6/5 in the third set. The final made for enjoyable viewing with both players reading the court well and retrieving expertly. It was the indefatigable Shenkman who won through in two well-fought sets 6/2 6/4.
The 50s Doubles final featured Devereux / Morosack, who had taken down top-seeds Jervis / Watson in the semis, and Herlihy / Wintersteen. There was an exciting mix of styles on display, with Devereux, in particular, looking to accelerate the pace of play. There was little to choose between the two teams, with Herlihy / Wintersteen taking the win 6/5 6/5.The 55s Doubles was thrown wide open by the withdrawal of top-seeds Happell / Prenn. MacAlister / Shenkman were the principal beneficiaries as they moved through to the Final. They were, however, unable to m
ake much impression on the experienced duo of Watson / Hamer who ran out 6/0 6/2 winners.
After five full days of individual play, followed by a practice day, the Cockram Trophy team event began. The United Kingdom defeated France 5/0 while the United States beat Australia 5/0. The second day looked as if it would prove decisive, with the U.S. meeting the U.K., and Australia facing France. The French, backed by an enthusiastic following, moved into a 2/0 lead with Ivan Semenoff & Laurent Marville both victorious. The Aussies had loaded the two doubles matches and were soon back to all square. In the final match, it was Jon Emery who battled through the heat, humidity, and aches and pains to clinch the win for Australia. The U.K. vs. U.S. match was closely matched, but despite winning both doubles matches, the U.S. was unable to get a win in the singles and slipped to a 3/2 defeat.
The U.K. knew that a win over a weakened Australian team on the final day would clinch the Cockram Trophy. The U.S. was looking to bounce back and apply some pressure by beating the French. Despite some fighting French performances, particularly by Charles Blanchot and Jean Philippe-Grabli, the U.S. was able to run out 5/0 winners. It looked as if the pressure may get to the Brits when they lost the first match of the day to the Australians. However, they proved too strong in the remaining matches and deservedly retained the Cockram Trophy. Congratulations to Peter Holmes and his team on their victory.
Special thanks to the staff of the Racquet & Tennis Club for hosting the players, and tournament organizers Charlie Johnstone, Ted Goneos & Barney Tanfield.
50s Singles Draw
