Good conditions for tennis were ended on Easter Monday when the Western Riverina Tennis Championships were interupted by rain.
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The tournament was held over the four days of the Easter long weekend at the Deniliquin Lawn Tennis Club’s lawn courts in Charlotte St.
More than 150 players registered, with numbers up since the cancelled tournament during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Open Men’s Singles again took place, with the event kicking off at 10am on Saturday.
By Monday, the two players still standing were defending champion James Hartson and up-and-coming contender Steven Tomkins, both from the Melbourne Park Club.
However, with the final set to take place Monday morning, it was not played due to rain and with Tomkins also playing in the men’s doubles final, it was unable to be rescheduled.
As both players are from the same tennis club, there is suggestion that they may be hoping to play the final at some time in Melbourne.
In event two, Steven Tomkins and Scott Pearse, the top seeds, went on to win a thriller of a tennis match, playing the second seeds Hayden Fricke and Paul Luke in the Open Men’s Doubles.
Described by spectators as an excellent match, the partnership of Fricke and Luke started well and overcame their higher seeded opponents, winning the first set 6-1.
It appeared to be an absolute walkover, with the higher seeds Tomkins and Pearse hitting several unforced errors and repeatedly smashing the ball long.
However, the top seeds turned it around in the second with a complete reverse of the first set scoreline, winning the second set 6-1.
This set up a battle royale in the third and deciding set, which went the full distance.
Ultimately, the top seeds, Tomkins and Pearse held on to win over Fricke and Luke 7-6 in the third set, winning the tiebreaker 7-5.
In event five, Lyn and Hayden Fricke teamed in the Mixed Open Doubles to win against Lucinda Cooper and Albert Middleton.
In the B-grade men’s singles on Saturday morning, top seeded Eric Moore won against second seed Andrew Stubley 8-4 in an absorbing and exciting match.
Event seven on Saturday was the C-grade men’s singles, and this final saw the well-supported Nick Foley defeat Steve Munro from Griffith in the final.
In the Ladies Open Singles, Lucinda Cooper was the winner in a high-quality match over Mel Laslett.
In the B-grade Josie Long was the winner against the runner-up Gabby Hogan from Melbourne, a regular competitor with the score 8-5.
In the C-grade ladies singles, 15 year-old Mary Middleton was the winner and the runner-up was Sam May, with Middleton also taking out the under-16s girls singles.
The under-14s boys singles event saw a number of Deni Juniors playing.
Local James Gatacre went on to defeat Henry George in the final.
In Veteran Men’s Doubles, the combination of Peter Rae and Bernie Rohan took out the title, while Jemima Middleton and Lucinda Cooper took out the Veteran Ladies Doubles.
There were some great match-ups in the hotly contested Round Robin events played with big numbers on Saturday and Sunday, which made for an action - filled weekend.
Open singles finalist James Hartson.
Steven Tomkins, Scott Pearse, Hayden Fricke and Paul Luke.
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