Autumn Newsletter 2013 Number 105

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Autumn Newsletter 2013 Number 105 THE ROYAL TENNIS COURT Hampton Court Palace KING CHARLES CHARLIE CROSSLEY TAKES PETER WRIGHT’S CLUB CROWN See page 3 The Autumn Newsletter 2013 Number 105 020 8977 3015 u [email protected] u www.royaltenniscourt.com chairman’s chat elcome to Josh Smith, who joins the club as our drinks station at the end of the Wnew trainee professional. While Josh comes from galley kitchen. Hopefully these a squash background, I am confident he will quickly works will be completed by the improve his real tennis handicap on his way to becoming end of the year. a full professional. Josh has already proved popular with the members with his engaging cheerful personality. ver the next few months Owe have social and team ome of you will have already met another new face matches, the Club Dinner, the Sat the club, Jean-Pierre Guillonnet. JP is a very annual Carol Service and the experienced lawn tennis coach who has played real tennis aforementioned Open Day. The future success of any for many years. He is helping the club to try to increase club relies upon not just providing a sporting facility, the number of juniors who play here by reaching out to but also a place where members can socialise. Many schools in the area – as well as aiming to improve his members actively support club functions, but there are own real tennis standard at the same time with some also many others who do not, and it would be fantastic coaching from the club professionals. if more members could actively support events. n the last newsletter I mentioned the proposal to run ncluding myself, we have ten board members. Below Ia club open day on 28 September 2013. Following II have listed their names and relevant areas of consideration it was felt that, with the high court demand responsibility. All of us give our time for free, for the at this time of the year, it would be unfair on members wellbeing of the club and the game of real tennis. We try, to take out so many courts on a Saturday. The Open Day where possible, to limit costs of running events by will now take place on Bank Holiday Monday 5 May undertaking most of the duties ourselves, but sometimes 2014 – further details to follow. we have no choice. If you are able to give some time, please feel free to approach the relevant board member e have started on the process of undertaking some or myself to offer your services, if only for a couple of Wimprovements to the club. The sitting room and hours. To misquote from a Kennedy speech, “It is not dining room have been swapped over for a trial period, what your club can do for you, but what you can do and initial feedback has been positive. We have for your club”! purchased two leather sofas and a coffee table and TV cabinet will follow, while we will also be forming a Julian Sheraton-Davis RTC BOARD MEMBERS Helen Crossley (membership secretary) Geoffrey Russell (honorary secretary) Nicola Doble (ladies’ tennis and tournaments) Owen Saunders (social) John Halliday (facilities) Julian Sheraton-Davis (chairman) Richard Lawrence (health and safety) Fraser Shorey (premises) David Main (honorary treasurer) James Sohl (men’s tennis and tournaments) CAllING All COMING UP BUDDING ArtISTS! RTC 1 Nov: RTC v Bordeaux (social match) This autumn we are holding the first competition for 2-3 Nov: Barker Camm Cup Grade E (50-59 handicaps) members to design an image that will be displayed 9-10 Nov: Harris Watson Trophy doubles (early rounds) for a year in the main corridor. 24 Nov: Brodie Cup: RTC v Newmarket/Jesmond Dene The theme is ‘Tennis at Hampton Court’ and paintings, 1 Dec: RTC v Cambridge (social match) drawings or photographs are all eligible. The competition 7-8 Dec: Barker Camm Cup Grade D (40-49) is open to all members and their children. The winning 15 Dec: Pol Roger Trophy: RTC v Oxford image will be framed and hung in the corridor throughout 18 Dec: Annual Carol Service 2014 and will also be produced as a greetings card ELSEWHERE available for members to buy. 1-3 Nov: US Ladies’ Open (Washington) The deadline for entries is Tuesday 10 December. 2-3 Nov: Inter-Club Singles/Doubles (Moreton Morrell) The winner will be announced and displayed at the 17-26 Nov: British Open (Queen’s) Carol Service on 18 December. Photographs can be 23 Nov: T&RA Annual General Meeting (Queen’s) emailed to [email protected] and other pictures 29 Nov-1 Dec: Over-50 Amateur Singles (Oratory) can be posted to the club or left with the professionals. 6-8 Dec: Doubles Handicap Tournament (Leamington) 2 Maverick shoots Ice Man down Charlie Crossley has won his first Barker Camm Cup after a pulsating battle rost and Senna; Borg second set it looked ominous and McEnroe; Davis for Charlie, whose focus had P and Higgins; Faldo and seemingly wandered. Ballesteros; Lauda and Hunt; This was just a temporary Gooch and Gower... so often blip, though, and Charlie the careers of great sportsmen emerged from his rough patch run parallel with others, with renewed consistency. offering a fascinating contrast Suddenly his cut volleys between their personalities were finding the corners of and styles. Ice men versus the court rather than the tape mavericks. of the net, as the quality of So it is with our two Barker his returning left Peter Camm Cup finalists vying for struggling to find an effective the title of club champion. serve. Having lost six games Cast in the role of professor in a row, Charlie set off on a was the defending champion, winning streak of his own, Peter Wright – a deliberate, taking five on the trot to lead calculating player whose 5-1. Peter pulled one game mission appears to be to get back, but this time it was every single ball back in play, Before the battle: Peter Wright (left) and Charlie Crossley Charlie’s turn to finish off a preferably off the middle set with a backhand winner strings of a perfectly perpendicular so that Peter could gather his senses – and we were into a decisive third set. racket face. Up against him was Charlie but the restart saw a newly focused Charlie carried his momentum into Crossley, whose creative array of champion. At the service end he began the third set, while Peter was now strokes ranges from Exocet-paced forces to unleash his trademark volleying, making more errors than usual. A love to heavily cut fizzers and surprisingly while at the other end he returned some game gave Charlie a 3-1 lead, before a soft-handed dinks. No prizes for perfectly respectable railroad serves simple forehand error from Peter at guessing who wears out their strings past Charlie’s backhand side into the 30-40 sent him 4-1 down. It wasn’t long more quickly here. dedans, via shallow boasts off the side before Charlie had made it 5-1 and Last year Peter had dealt fairly wall underneath winning gallery. stood at match point, 40-15 up and comfortably with an unwell Charlie, A 1-3 deficit soon became a 4-3 lead defending a chase of better than four. but this time it was the latter who for Peter. People talk of the “crucial Two desperate lunges in the corners settled more quickly, taking advantage seventh game”, but in this case it was kept him in the point, and when he got of some loose serving to establish a 3-1 the eighth, lasting several deuces, that a chance to finish it he did, sending the lead. Peter needed a wake-up call – and held the key to this first set. Some of the ball off the main wall and tambour it duly came at the start of the fifth best tennis of the match came in this behind Peter and nestling too close to game, although perhaps more violently game, and it was Peter who found the the back wall to retrieve. The comeback than he might have liked. As he killer blow with a fine backhand. was complete, 3-6 6-2 6-1, and the club prepared to defend the dedans from a Serving for the set, Peter hit a hot had a new champion to toast. main-wall force, the ball kicked off the streak, finding winning gallery twice Straight after the match, Charlie was wall closer to him than anticipated, and making some tremendous reaction outside enjoying a well-earned catching the inside edge of his racket volleys when Charlie opted for power. cigarette, before returning to collect and ricocheting into his face. It was a First set to Peter 6-3, then, and when he his prize of a magnum of Pol Roger. painful blow that required a short break quickly added the first game of the James Hunt would be proud. Photographs here and on cover by John Halliday NEWS iN briEf • NEWS iN briEf • NEWS iN briEf Club competitions Holyport members. The professional team remains in place Congratulations to David Stephens and Phil Beard on under Chris Bray, and is boosted by the return of prodigal winning the de Laszlo Bowl, beating Scott Levy and Ron son Andy Chinneck from the Oratory. Slade in the final. Meanwhile the Barker Camm Cup is already under way, with Doris Siedentopf taking the Grade F Sydney project (60+ handicap) title by defeating Ian Wimbush 6-3 6-2 in the With help from Claire Vigrass, the members of the homeless final.
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