Months of real tennis tournaments culminated in the CURTC Finals Day Sponsored by Hannay-Robertson Financial Planning. Places on the honours boards in the Green Court Galleries were at stake. Play began on the Green Court with the 50s Category Final between Ben Geytenbeek and Michael Firth. The pair exchanged games early on, with Firth able to put the ball into places that Geytenbeek couldn’t quite reach. However, after a good service game at 4-all, Geytenbeek was able to step into another gear and find some extra momentum. Hitting the ball cleanly, he went through to win the match 8-4. Following them on the Green Court was the 70s Category Final between Elle Curzon-Green and Paul Fox, although both had crept down into the 60s since they qualified back in early December. Curzon-Green was unable to find her form from the recent Varsity match at Lord’s, while Fox was able to muscle everything back over the net at her. Fox raced off to a quick start, and while Curzon-Green started to fight back, Fox held on to finish the match 8-4.

50s Finalists

70+ Finalists

Over on the Blue Court, play started with the 40s Category Final between Jim Ludekens and Vix Harvey. Ludekens was a clear favourite going into the match, but Harvey threw everything she could at him. Her volley return of serve was excellent, but Ludekens covered the back of the court well, retrieving almost everything and going on to take the title 8-3. Both players would be back later in the day for yet more finals action. The next match was the 60s Category Final between Dave Isherwood and Tony Kennedy. The upper galleries were packed with supporters for both sides spanning multiple generations. Whether or not the youngest fans were paying too much attention to the tennis was another question! The match was dominated by the service, as spin and variation from both players was key. In a hard fought match, ultimately Kennedy came out on top 8-5.

60s and Support

Next up was the prestigious Graduate Cup Final. Richard Bowers was back in the final, having won the tournament in 2016. He was playing against first-time finallist Joe Zygmunt, whose supporters filled up the Cambridge dedans. The handicap was a respectable Rec 15/Owe half 15, so both players had a chance to be competitive. However, Zygmunt struggled to find the right length of his left-handed railroad serve, letting Bowers into the game with a few easy points each game. He was volleying very well, making Bowers run around a lot of the court to retrieve the ball. Ultimately though, Bowers was strong enough to seal victory comfortably 8-2.

40s	Graduate Cup: A Study in Shorts

The last of the category tournaments was the 30s Category Final between Andy Smith and Mark Perriton. This was a battle between one player who likes to hit the ball hard for winners, and one player who can spend all day retrieving the ball from the corners. The first few games were long and tight, with Smith extending the points far longer than Perriton would have liked. It was exhilarating tennis all the way through, but Smith held on for a comfortable victory.

30s	CURTC Ladies Championship

The final two matches of the day saw the players from the 40s Category Final in action again. The CURTC Ladies Championship Final was between 2017 winner Vix Harvey and defending champion Venetia D’Arcy. Both served well, but Harvey hit her targets well to take the first set 6-3. Harvey carried the adrenaline from winning the first set into the second, racing to a 4-0 lead. But D’Arcy fought back well, taking the set to 5-all as Harvey began to tire. But Harvey held onto her serve in the final game to take the championship 6-3 6-5. The final match of the day saw Jim Ludekens in action again in the Junior U18 Club Championship against Andrew Barker. Ludekens was able to hold on to his second championship of the day, comfortably winning 8-3.

Ben Geytenbeek, Author