Tennis: Rotorua hold off Cambridge

CHAMPIONS: Rotorua player Sean Martin in action. The Rotorua men's tennis team have won the 2014/2015 Waikato Bays premier interclub competition. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

THE Rotorua men's tennis team were pushed hard by Cambridge before coming away with an important 5-1 win in the Waikato Bays premier interclub competition.

The men's interclub competition entered the fourth round at the weekend, with defending champions Rotorua hitting the road to take on Cambridge.

In a departure from the norm, the home team elected to play the singles matches first and then the doubles.

In the No1 singles match-up, Rotorua's Shaun Tamai faced Cambridge's Jaden Grinter.

Both proved to have powerful ground strokes at their disposal but Tamai was able to gain a few points from changing the pace to Grinter's backhand at the baseline.

Grinter was a strong opponent though, and brought a very strong service game with him. The pair shared the first two sets - Grinter winning the first in a tie breaker 7-6 while Tamai took out the second set 7-5.

The third set took the match well into the third hour but Grinter finally took it 6-4.

The No2 singles had Rotorua's Sean Martin playing against Nick Hammond.

After some resistance in the first set, which Martin took out 6-4, Martin went on to take the second set 6-1.

Rotorua's James Wilce played Jack Portegys in the No3 singles. Wilce's strong backhand allowed him to take that match 7-5, 6-3.

Rotorua's Jessie Galvin-Dawson was too strong for Cambridge's Mark Hammond winning that match 6-1, 6-2.

In the doubles rounds, Tamai paired up with Martin to face Grinter and Portegys in a match that proved to be a win for the Rotorua pair who took it in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

The second doubles match had the Rotorua pairing of Wilce and Lionel Rogers up against Mark and Nick Hammond. Though this match proved to be a real battle, the Rotorua pair took that out in straight sets as well 7-5, 7-5.

The next round of the men's interclub competition includes a blockbuster match, with Rotorua hosting contenders Whakatane. That match will be played in a fortnight.

The Rotorua men's tennis team is made up of players from the Rotorua and Lynmore tennis clubs.