The Racquet & Tennis Club hosted matches on April 7 and April 26 for the National League Challenge Series.
APRIL 7 MATCH
On Thursday, April 7th the Racquet and Tennis Club hosted its first inter-club match since the pandemic began. It was yet another reminder of how life is slowly returning to normal at the club. The event boasted thirty participants and twelve, three set matches, all well contested and in played good spirit.
At the conclusion of the inter-club match, many of the players, accompanied by around sixty R&TC members stayed to witness some top-class tennis on display in the form of the National League Challenger. First up we had our latest addition to the New York Pro Team, Tony Hollins, taking on Leon Smart from The Tuxedo Club. Leon was clinical in the first set with heavy return of serves and accurate target hitting. The second set was a much more evenly contested affair with Leon taking the all-important 4-4 game and eventually closing out the set 6-4.
Following the singles, the ‘young gun’ Assistant Professionals of Leon Smart and Josh Dodgson took on the ‘seasoned veteran’ Head Professionals of Tim Chisholm and Barney Tanfield. This was a hard hitting matchup with the integrity of dedans net being frequently tested, along with the reaction speeds of anyone who dared venture up to cover the galleries. This impressive matchup ended up going in favor of the ‘young guns’.
A big thank you to the members of Tuxedo and the Racquet & Tennis Club for a fun day of tennis and for supporting the professionals in the National League Challenger. A special thanks to both the R&TC Staff, and the USCTA for their continued support of National League.
APRIL 26 MATCH
On Tuesday, April 26th The Racquet and Tennis Club hosted the third of four National League Challengers.
First up we had our latest addition to the pro team, Tony Hollins, taking on Adrian Kemp in an exciting best of 3 sets. Tony was relentless in the first set with a sharp demi-pique serve, quickly pulling ahead 5/1 to Adrian’s despair. One spectator even referred to Tony as the “grille man”, after an onslaught of shots that made satisfying contact with the grill. Adrian retaliated with an unabating under-arm twist, and clawed his way back in remarkable fashion to win the first set 6/5. The second set was more back and forth with no player breaking through, however at 5/5, Adrian managed to close the set out and win the match.
Following the singles, seasoned veteran Steve Virgona and young gun Josh Dodgson faced the home Head Professionals James Stout and Barney Tanfield. Steve and Josh applied immediate pressure from the service end, and ended up taking a lead of 4/0 in the first set. After surrendering the first set, James and Barney began hammering the dedans with terrific force, a few galleries later and the Head Professionals found themselves facing the intensity of a 3rd set. Starting 3/3, James and Barney displayed incredible ambition and grit. This spectacular match ended up going in their favor, eventually winning the 3rd set 6/4.
A big thanks to the members of the Racquet and Tennis club for a fun night of tennis and for supporting the professionals. A special thanks to the USCTA for their continued leadership and support for the National League.
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Hollins & Smart
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Chisholm, Tanfield, Dodgson & Smart
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Chisholm, Tanfield, Dodgson & Smart
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Hollins & Kemp
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Dodgson, Virgona, Stout & Tanfield
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Hollins & Kemp
