REIGNING champions HDA Redditch retained their Wildmoor Spa Tennis League Junior Cup title with victory over hosts Henley-in-Arden in the final.
This was the Redditch team’s fifth consecutive cup final having lost the first two before securing victory in the last two years.
This year though saw a new pair of youngsters representing their club in the shape of Harvey Ravenscroft and Scott Mortimer as their previous pair were now too old to enter the competition.
Henley-in-Arden had appeared in previous finals – winning in 2008 and 2012 – and they fielded a pair who reached the play-offs the previous year before being knocked out. Alex Evans and Louis Walsh had one last chance this year to try and lift the cup.
The 12 and under age competition, sponsored by the league president and Alcester man Tony King, began back in March with four pools of four pairs playing each other and taking it in turns to host each month.
In July a play-off pool night was held at Littletons Tennis Club when the four pool winners – Stratford, Evesham, HDA Redditch and Henley – played each other, with the top two sides reaching this cup final.
Watched by parents, coaches and league officials, the final produced some good quality competitive tennis as no player gave any quarter. Scoring was tight and at 6-6 in the first set a tie-break was needed to separate the sides. HDA just edged the tie-break 7-5 to take the first set 7-6.
Evans and Walsh stepped it up a gear in the second set to tie the match at 1-1 by winning the set 6-3.
So to a match-deciding third set they went, trading points and games before the Redditch pair eased ahead again to take the third set 6-4 and with it seal HDA’s third title on the trot.
League chairman Tony Eskew presented all the boys with individual awards and of course the cup and a cheque for £50 from the Wildmoor Summer Tennis League to HDA Tennis Club to develop their junior section.
