Victoria Park Tennis members – old and new - turned out in
their numbers on Sunday morning to watch the finals of the club championships
which produced some of the best tennis seen on the courts in years.
The men’s doubles was undoubtedly the highlight of the day’s play when father and son team Peter and Michael Sale took on rival family pair, Brian and Tristan Turner. The Sales, who were the obvious favourites to win the title, only managed to narrowly defeat a resilient Turner outfit 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
Michael said it was rather historic to have two father and son couples competing for the trophy.
“It was a special moment to win the doubles title with my father, and it was just wonderful to see the championships revived again,” he added.
Tristan played his socks off in an equally close singles final against the number one seed Jacques Jenner. After losing the first set, the latter managed to fight back and pull off a win in the deciding championship tie-breaker 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
In the mixed doubles event, Tristan was finally victorious with his mother, Jayne Turner, when they overcame Peter Sale and Lynne Neubert in just two sets. The match seemed much closer in score, however, with both teams showing off their serve and volley prowess.
In the women’s doubles final, Jayne and her partner, South African sporting legend Lynette Vermaak, were victorious against seasoned opponents Lynne Neubert and Leonie Grondel. Once again, the score of 6-1, 6-3 did not reflect how close the match was, with “oohs” and “aahs” coming from the spectators in the stands.
Jayne also took home the singles trophy after defeating Neubert in the howling gale a day earlier. She admitted she was grateful to still be able to play in all three events, but that she had her work cut out for her playing against the younger and harder-hitting Neubert.
Guest of honour, John Montgomery, whose name appears in gold on the winners’ board several times in all three championship events, presented the cups to the winners.
“This was an immensely pleasing afternoon of tennis. It’s great to see that the standard of play is still so high, and the enthusiasm still remains,” he said.
“This is a family-oriented club and I remember many wonderful years here. I was brought up here as a youngster and I brought my own children up here too.”
Montgomery’s last championship win was in the 1984 men’s doubles with former member and well-known tennis giant, Mike Spence.
VP Club Championship results
Men’s singles: J Jenner bt T Turner 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
Men’s doubles: P Sale, M Sale bt B Turner, T Turner 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
Women’s singles: J Turner bt L Neubert 6-1, 6-1
Women’s doubles: J Turner, L Vermaak bt L Neubert, L Grondel 6-1, 6-3
Mixed doubles: T Turner, J Turner bt P Sale, L Neubert 6-2, 6-3
Men’s doubles: P Sale, M Sale bt B Turner, T Turner 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
Women’s singles: J Turner bt L Neubert 6-1, 6-1
Women’s doubles: J Turner, L Vermaak bt L Neubert, L Grondel 6-1, 6-3
Mixed doubles: T Turner, J Turner bt P Sale, L Neubert 6-2, 6-3
**Parts of this article were published in Herald newspaper on October 20, 2017.
