Debutant impresses as Henley sides triumph

HENLEY Tennis Club’s mixed team and the men’s Oxfordshire B side both secured wins in their respective league fixtures last week.

Henley’s mixed team ran out 4-0 winners in their Berkshire Winter League clash at Purley where they delivered a dominant display.

The opening pair of Fiona Huggard and Matt Hallam set the tone early with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win. Debutants Hannah Thompson and Michael Whorrell — both playing their first mixed match, with Thompson making her first-ever league appearance — won 6-3, 6-1.

The momentum continued into the second round of rubbers. Huggard and Hallam maintained their fine form with a 6-2, 6-0 win while Thompson and Whorrell secured a 6-2, 6-4 win.

In Division 4 of the Oxfordshire League, Henley men’s B defeated Colston B 6-2.

Jeremy Wright and Gordon Stoddart led the charge with two victories, 6-2, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-0. Simon Perry and Peter Fennelly added further points with an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 win in their second rubber, rounding off a confident showing.

The match saw some excellent rallies, with Wright’s back-sliced drop shot proving especially effective. The team was buoyed by Perry’s consistency, the welcome return of Wright and Fennelly’s comeback following a shoulder injury.