Tennis: Rotorua face 'mates' in final

The Rotorua men's team will take on Whakatane in the grand final tomorrow. Pictured is Rotorua's Shaun Tamai. Photo / Stephen Parker

The question people will be asking at the Rotorua Tennis Club this weekend is... can they do it again?

The Rotorua men's team will try to defend their title tomorrow when they host neighbours Whakatane during the final of the Waikato Bays premier interclub men's competition.

The match will begin at 11am at the club on Manuka Cres and will no doubt attract a good crowd. Plenty of friends, family and supporters turned out for Rotorua's last match which saw them beat St Peter's (Hamilton) 6-0 during the semifinals.

Team captain Shaun Tamai said they would field the same team which defeated St Peter's.

He said it was great having two Bay of Plenty teams in the final this year.

"It's fantastic, plus we are close mates with Whakatane as well which makes it quite interesting. We try and support each other's tournaments as much as possible and vice versa," he said.

"But the friendship stays off the court. As soon as we are on the court we are all in."

Rotorua finished top of the standings after the round robin stage of the competition which means they get home court advantage. Tamai said having good home support gave them a big boost each game.

"Yeah definitely. I think everyone is already planning to get there a little bit early to set up the camps and the barbecues and we are really happy to have the support."

Tamai said his team mates were in good form and they had plenty of confidence going into the final. "For sure. All the boys are playing extremely well at the moment."

The Rotorua team includes Tamai, Sean Martin, James Wilce and Jesse Galvin-Dawson.

Tamai said the Whakatane team were a strong side and it should be a tough clash. "They have got a couple of young guys that are coming up the ranks and a couple of old heads who help straighten the team out."