BY JUST LONG
Broken Hill’s summer tennis competitions came to a close over the past week, just as the evening temperatures started to decline.
The Open A Thursday night fixture was taken out by the Volleys, with a commanding four sets to one (one set not played) victory.
Volleys took an early lead on the night, thanks to a clutch opening doubles win from Jeff Fisher and Wayne Lee.
The pair took on the Dropshots’ Matt Corren and Adam Hellyer in a stirring match that would set the tone for the rest of the night.
Nothing could split the teams across the game with Fisher and Lee just edging ahead to win 7-5.
Meanwhile, the Volley’s secured their second set after Jade Stanley downed Brady Wauchope 7-4 in another cracking match that is to be expected when they face-off.
Fisher was far too strong for Corren in the top singles, breezing past 7-0.
The Volleys clenched the majority victory thanks to yet another arduous doubles win.
Lee and Stanley had to go the distance with Hellyer and Brady – winning in a tantalising tiebreaker.
The Dropshots’ only set for the night came through Hellyer soon after when he smoked Lee in their singles match.
Lee had the wood over Hellyer across the night with two doubles victories, but Hellyer would go on to teach him a lesson in single’s craft, winning 7-1.
At the end of the night, Volleys 4 sets 29 games, victorious over Dropshots 1 set 22 games.
The night before saw the Division One doubles comp decided – this was a little closer.
Just three games separated Couldabeens and Macblack.
A couple of sets were 7-4, one was 7-5 and there was even a tiebreaker in what was a nail-biting climax to the season.
Rivals on the Thursday, teammates on the Wednesday – Wayne Lee and Adam Hellyer couldn’t do enough to beat Corey Pascoe and Dale Dodimead, losing 7-5.
Dodimead was a crucial part in keeping Macblack in the match, winning all of his sets across the night.
Hellyer and Brendan Hynes dispatched Pascoe and Hamish Curtis 7-1 to keep their team in the hunt.
It was a to and fro match, and after all the drama on the court, it came
down to a count on games to decide the victor.
All tallied up, Couldabeens were the grinning winners by just three games.
Broken Hill Tennis Association recorder, Nathan Crabb, said it has been a tricky season to put on, but he was glad it happened.
“We were struggling for players each week, with a lot of guys playing for different teams,” he said.
“While it may have been a little confusing at times, we all played some great tennis and everyone was enjoying having a hit which is the most important part,”
Those looking to keep in touch with tennis across the winter, the Association is holding a Winter Comp, check the Broken Hill Tennis Association Facebook page for details.
