Herne Bay Lawn Tennis Club

The Kent Closed Summer finals were held at Bromley Newstead on Sunday and Herne Bay had representatives in the mens over 35 doubles and the ladies over 40 doubles. Graham Miles and Martin Beckley carried their excellent winter form through the summer and beat Keith Gill and Malcolm Hillier (Tunbridge Wells) 7-6, 6-2. Anne Gibbs and Gill Dickey were not as successful and lost to Jane Gentle/Carolyn Brown on Sevenoaks.

Herne Bay tennis club season came to a climax with their Club Finals Day. There were 8 events with finals in both the main competitions and the plate competitions all taking place at the same time. Several players were in 3 finals and the pressure was on the see if anyone could achieve the treble. The men’s singles featured defending champion, Peter Elsden, against Martin Beckley and Elsden got off to a flying start taking the 1st set by 6 games to love. Beckley staged a come-back in the 2nd set and led 5-2 only for Elsden to regain his 1set form and take the set and match 7-5. Elsden then teamed up with Ian Cooke in mens doubles to play Beckley and his partner Graham Miles. This proved to be the closest match of the afternoon with Elsden & Cooke taking the 1st set on a tie-break and then being edged out 7-5, 6-4 in the next 2 sets by the more aggressive Beckley/Miles combination. In the ladies singles Anne Gibbs played Sue Toye who was competing in her 1st ever final . Gibbs proved too steady on this occasion being able to place the ball just out of Toye’s reach. After a short break Gibbs paired up with Louise Tucker in the ladies doubles final were they played Debbie Holden and Christine Hanson. Gibbs and Tucker’s experience showed and they won 6-2, 6-3. In the men’s single plate final Alex Kazakeos played the wily Bryan Packham but the youthful Kazakeos (40 years Packham’s junior)won 6-3, 6-3 in a match full of long and exciting rallies. In the men’s doubles plate final Kazakeos partnered Mark Kennard against Greg Pearson and Jerry Loader and won convincingly 6-1, 6-2. The last 2 events of the day were the mixed finals. In the main final Elsden/Tucker played Gibbs, who was the only one still on a hat-trick, and Beckley. Elsden and Tucker were the dominant pair and won 6-3, 6-4. In the plate mixed Christine Hanson played with her son Stephen against Loader and Toye. The mother and son combination won 6-2, 6-3.

The Herne Bay Junior Tennis Tournament took place on the 5th and 6th September with the majority of junior players entering, resulting in numerous games taking place.

The Girls U 18 Singles Winner was Emily Bundock who retained her title once again this year. She played against new comer Lauren Walker in a nail biting final where the last set went to a tie break.

Dan and Lauren Walker clinched the Mixed Doubles title against Emily Bundock and Arie Fielder in a thrilling match with all players showing great skill and determination to win. Neither Dan nor Lauren have been playing for long and so to win a final already is a huge achievement for them both.

Congratulations must go to the Boys U 18 Doubles Winners, Dan and David Symons. This was one of the best matches the club has seen for a long time, going the full 3 sets and congratulations also go to William Brealey and Arie Fielder who played an excellent game and made it a very close encounter.

The last final resulted in 12 year old Arie Fielder playing well above his age range, defeating 16 year old Dan Walker in a 3 set final to become the U18 boys Champion. Arie fully deserves this title as has been attending coaching for many years now and we shall definitely be hearing more about him in the future!

Well done to all those that took part, we hope you enjoyed the games you played and are looking forward to it next year!

Herne Bay players were well represented in the Walmer Open Finals held on Saturday. Anne Gibbs/Gill Dickey won the ladies 45 doubles for the 3rd successive year, Keith Clark partnering Bob Whitehead (Margate) won the mens 45 doubles and Clark is in the final of the mixed handicap with Sally Holmes which has yet to be played.

It’s that time of the year again and our exciting American tournament to celebrate the longest day of the year will be taking place on Thursday 25th June at 6pm prompt (don’t be late, the days will already be getting shorter!). The draw will take place on the evening and the entry fee is a snip at £3.00.

Why not have fun while supporting another vital fundraiser for the club – it’s one situation where you really can’t lose!

See you there!

The club held a Barn Dance at The Oddfellows club in Ramsgate on Friday 12th June. Although very few club members supported this event, those who did attend had a very enjoyable evening. A hundred pounds was raised for club funds.

The last ever KM finals were held at Bearsted on Sunday and Herne Bay tennis club was well represented having players in 5 finals. Anne Gibbs and Sally Holmes successfully defended their Ladies doubles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Rebecca Cooper and Harri Norfolk from Canterbury. Gibbs then teamed up with Gill Dickey to win the ladies 40 doubles title with a 7-6, 4-3 defeat of Jane Gentle and Jane Humphrey of Maidstone. Gibbs and Holmes then paired up with Keith Clark and Dominic Wood respectively to compete against each other in an all Herne Bay veteran mixed final. Holmes and Wood won 6-0, 6-3. Holmes and Wood also contested the mixed doubles final for the second year running but lost in 3 sets to Giles Davey and Faye Tagg of Tunbridge Wells. This was a reversal of the previous year’s result. Finally Graham Miles and Martin Beckley were involved in the last final of the day, the mens 45 doubles, against Terry Clare and Dave Craddock of Frindsbury. Miles and Beckley recovered after dropping the 1st set 7-5, to win 6-1, 6-1. Overall it was a very successful day for the club.

Herne Bay have finalists in the Ladies doubles and ladies veteran’s doubles and both pairs in the mixed veterans’ doubles final at the KM finals to be held at Bearsted on the 19th April. There are also Bay players in the mixed doubles and the mens veteran’s doubles finals

The finals of the Kent Closed veteran’s competitions were played at Bromley Newstead on Sunday and Herne Bay were well represented in the mens events. Peter Elsden/Dominic Wood played Bob Whitehead/Keith Gill in the mens 45 doubles and won 7-5, 6-2 after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Keith Clark beat Ray Preston in the mens 60 singles 6-4, 6-3 and then teamed up with Gary Sims in the 60 doubles to retain their title 6-3, 6-4. Lastly Lionel Hoskins and Peter Grimwood played together in the mend 70 doubles and beat George Buckmaster/Derek Shephard 7-6, 6-4.

The mixed 1st team were involved in the Kent League division 1 final for the 3rd consecutive winter. This time they were away to Sydenham 1. In a close 1st round Sally Holmes and Dominic Wood beat the Sydenham 1st pair 7-6, 6-4 and Anne Gibbs and Peter Elsden lost 6-2, 7-5. Going into the 2nd round the match was finally balanced with only 3 games separating the teams and Gibbs/Elsden managed to win their rubber in a champion’s tie-break. The result then hinged on the result of the Bay 1st pairing which they unfortunately lost 6-2, 6-1 and hence the match was lost by a set.