THE annual tennis league individual finals took place at Beechdown with the event well attended, writes RICAHRD MOLE.

In the men’s singles defending champion Jamie Thomas (Old Basing) took on Paul Ayres (Beechdown).

In a closely fought first set Thomas’ serving was the dominant force and despite some attacking play from Ayres, particularly at the net, it was not enough to prevent the Old Basing player from taking the first set 6-2.

Again in the second set there were some good rallies but Ayres was unable to break serve and Jamie’s all round power was enough to see him take the set 6-0 and retain his title.

The ladies singles saw two new players making the final with Riseley teammates Gill Stoney and Clementina Tuck, facing each other.

Both sets were very closely fought as they both knew each others game well.

Holding serve was a problem for both players but Stoney’s power and positional play was the deciding factor and she ran out the winner 6-2, 6-3 to take her first title.

The men’s doubles also saw new players in the final with Adam Fitzgerald and Simon Woodhall (Hampshire Court) taking on Dan Ghiurluc and Ezuego Aguta (Beechdown).

The Hampshire Court pair got off to a fast start with them taking the first set 6-1.

In the second set things were a lot closer and with both pairs playing some excellent tennis with the vital break of serve going to the Beechdown duo enabling them to draw level taking the set 6-4.

In the deciding set an early break of serve gave Ghiurluc and Aguta the advantage and they managed to hold on to take the final set 6-2.

The ladies doubles saw the winners for the last five years Andrea Butcher and Clare Schofield (Beechdown) take on Gill Stoney and Becca Howard (Riseley).

There was some excellent tennis played by all four players and all of the sets could have gone either way.

Despite Schofield carrying an injury, she and Butcher managed to take the first set 6-4.

The second set saw Stoney and Howard get the decisive break of serve to take it 7-5.

The deciding set had a number of service breaks for both teams but eventually the defending champions prevailed 7-5 to take their sixth title in a row.

The concluding event of the day saw Gill Stoney take the court for her third final this time with her partner Peter Blyth (Riseley) and taking on defending champions Totally Tennis' Ben Jubin and Steph Catlin in the mixed doubles.

The all round play and power of the champions was too much for their opponents and they took the first set 6-0.

The second set was a little better for Stoney and Blyth, but the play of Jubin and Catlin again proved too strong and they took the set 6-2 to retain their title for the third year in a row.

Thanks to Beechdown for the use of their facilities once again.