Andersons Bay defeated St Clair 9-0 in the Dunedin club competition at the weekend, but it was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, with many matches displaying shifts in momentum.
In the top women’s singles, there was a battle of Otago representatives as Ayesha Horley (Andersons Bay) faced Rileigh Fields (St Clair).In the first set, Fields jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but it was Horley who stormed back to take the final five games to win the set 6-4.
In the second set, it was Horley who had the lead throughout and eventually won 7-5, as she inflicted Field’s first defeat in interclub play this season, while also maintaining her own unbeaten run.In the second women’s singles, Heike Cebulla (Andersons Bay) defeated Rahkee Raghunandan (St Clair) 6-3, 6-2.
The top men’s singles saw Ryan Eggers (Andersons Bay) battle Mitchell Sizemore (St Clair). After splitting the first four games, Eggers finished the first set stronger, winning it 6-2.In the second set, Sizemore started to find some form and raced to a 5-1 lead, but after failing to convert multiple set points at 5-2 on his serve was unable to close the deal. Eggers came back to win the final six games, and the set 7-5.
George Alexander (Andersons Bay) kept up his steady form this season as he navigated through two close sets to beat Robin Verstegg (St Clair) 6-4, 6-4 and the theme was much the same lower down the order as well.
Junji Inojuchi (Andersons Bay) was pushed all the way by Tony Ryder (St Clair), but held on to win 7-5, 7-5, and Mike Smith (Andersons Bay) — always a steady presence — edged Fraser Richardson (St Clair) 6-3, 7-6(2).
The top mixed doubles match was an entertaining affair between Eggers/Horley and Sizemore/Fields as they split the first two sets.
The match would go to a super tie-breaker in which Eggers/Horley took an 8-3 lead before almost getting caught as they held on for a 10-8 win. The other two doubles were won in more comfortable fashion for Andersons Bay. Gavin Mockford made an appearance as he partnered Inojuchi to a straight sets win over Ryder/Verstegg, while Alexander/Cebulla also won in straight sets over Richardson/Raghunanadan.
Interclub takes a break next week as the Queenstown Open takes place.
- Ryan Eggers
