Potters Bar Tennis Club defied a pessimistic weather report to hold their annual championship – with the members producing some scintillating tennis on an almost dry day.
It was the 65th running of the event and centre stage was taken by Mark Masters, who claimed his third successive men’s singles title.
The 51-year-old has made the final every year since 2010 but suffered a run of five defeats before tasting victory for the first time in 2015.
This year’s 6-1, 6-1 success came over 23-year-old Stephen Euesden.
The pair met again in the final of the men’s doubles with the same outcome as Masters teamed with Paul Holman to beat Euesden and Paul Guppy.
The 6-3, 6-2 victory, which saw them come from 3-0 down in the first set, was Masters’ ninth PBTC title while for Holman, it was the ninth consecutive doubles crown and the 18th club title overall.
There was a fifth consecutive title for Linda Freedman in the ladies’ singles.
She defeated doubles partner Marie Martindale in a tactical battle that went the distance.
But after failing to win a single game in the first set, Freedman fought back brilliantly to win 0-6, 7-6, 6-3.
The pair were back on court, but playing as partners, for the ladies’ doubles and came out victorious, beating Jo Hewison and Virginia Mash 6-3, 6-4.
This was their third Doubles title as a pair and Freedman’s 18th in the club, tying with Holman’s figure but still some way behind Guppy who holds a staggering 28 PBTC titles.
The final adult match of the day came in the mixed doubles.
That saw Mel De-Haan and John Conway take on Virginia Mash and Alex Jones in their very first PBTC Final.
And it proved a good one as for De-Haan and Conway who came out top in a particularly gruelling and extremely tight three-setter, winning 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5.
The juniors also held their finals.
A.Denton and E.Hancock took the U18 boys’ and girls’ titles while the U18 boys’ doubles went to O.Mash and J.Shah.
Mash was also the winner in the U15 singles while the U12 crowns went to G.Rockman and R.Underhill.
In the mini orange final M.John beat S.Ball 7-3, 8-6 while in the mini red J.Hiwatashi won 10-6 over J.Killbourn.
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