It seems that the best laid plans of mice and men feature not at all in CURTC category tournaments. After sweating courts in the 50-59, this time it was the organiser who was sweating. Though not, as we shall see, from playing tennis. But neither player no-show, nor agonisingly close round robin groups, nor player injury could knock this tournament off course. And the players were happy to introduce a new concept to Cambridge – Least Worst Loser. (But when I relate this to the Kees I’ll have to call it something more Oz-positive, like "The Repercharge").

Linda Fairbrother bore the brunt of the re-formatting and in the semi-final came upon a very in-form David Pimblett for the second time that day. Long competitive rests could only help the Pimblett cause and a "fagged out" Linda finally succumbed to David’s considered tennis. And so to the final. Gerald Smith had (embarrassingly) played fewer games than anybody in the whole shooting match, and this "disadvantage" rose to the top of his long list of excuses.

In reality David continued to play consistently and effectively as he had all done, all day and was simply too good. He even managed to complete a Woodmanesque hat-trick of match points via the dedans. Thanks to John Lees for marking the later stages and also for his gauntlet-throwing declaration: nobody has ever won the 40-49 tournament more than once.