Ladies Masters Report and Photos 2020
THE BRITISH LADIES MASTERS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP 2020
29th February to 1st March 2020 at the Manchester Tennis Club
Sponsored by Wineflow
Penny Lumley and Tiff Fielden winner and runner up
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The presentation to Penny Lumley the winner
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Tiff Fielden with Linda Sheraton-Davis, runner up in the Plate, Candida Nicholls the winner of the Plate and Penny Lumley
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The prizes
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Many thanks to Linda Fairbrother for all the photographs
Ladies Masters 2020
The Masters Tournament is open to those over 40 years of age and this year it attracted a small but very enthusiastic entry. We were made most welcome by the Manchester Tennis and Racquets Club with most of the players having travelled up from the south. Sara Reston travelled considerably further to be back at her previous home club and Tiff Fielden was the ‘local’ player.
The format this year was slightly different with the aim to ensure there was plenty of tennis regardless of ability. Play started on Friday afternoon with a handful of group matches and the rest of the group matches were played throughout Saturday. There were no big surprises with Penny Lumley easily winning Group A and Tiffany Fielden Winning Group B.
On Saturday evening the Manchester club continued to demonstrate that their reputation for excellent hospitality is well deserved. We all enjoyed a sumptuous dinner hosted by the club President. We were also joined by guests and a particular mention should go to Sheilagh Owens for travelling such a long way to offer her support to the Ladies.
Sunday morning started with Penny Lumley taking on Sarah Parsons in the first semi-final. As expected we were lucky to observe top class tennis, as Penny consistently played shots tightly into the corners and frequently targeted the tambour. Sarah fought valiantly, layed some good chases and managed to return to the service end often. After forty minutes Penny had reached her goal beating Sarah 6/0 6/0.
The second semi-final saw Tiffany Fielden play Mary Joyner. Tiff started strongly and took the first set 6/2. Mary was not going to roll over easily and had been improving throughout her previous matches. In the second set Mary upped her game and was playing considerably better than her handicap. Mary had a 3/0 lead before Tiff managed to successfully adjust her game and win the next four games. Mary responded by hitting the grille and delivering two winning serves in a row to level it at 4/4. This was turning into a nail-biter as the players kept fighting back and both players concentrated on stretching their opponent taking it to 5/5. In the next game Tiff concentrated on placing shots low across the net into the corners and demonstrated the depth of her experience to take the set and win the match 6/2 6/5.
The final was a demonstration of Penny’s skill and consistency. Tiff was trying to push the ball away from Penny, but everything just kept coming back, putting Tiff under pressure. Penny only made a handful of mistakes in the whole match, winning 6/0 6/0. Congratulations to Penny who retained her title and won the trophy for the seventh time.
There was also a Plate final between Candida Nicholls and Linda Sheraton-Davis. Candida played better than she had through her previous matches, with mistakes few and far between. In the first set Linda was placing the ball well, but Candida held the service end much of the time and took the first set 6/0. In the second set play was more even and there were some wonderful rallies with Linda hitting some good shots to the tambour, but Candida was returning well and went on to win the match 6/0 6/1.
Huge thanks to The Manchester Tennis and Racquet Club for hosting this excellent tournament, especially the professionals Steve Brockenshaw and Darren Long for marking. We’re grateful to our sponsors Wineflow, Pol Roger and our anonymous ones, Stella and her team for providing delicious food over the weekend, and to Linda Sheraton-Davis who organised the tournament.
Candida Nicholls
The format this year was slightly different with the aim to ensure there was plenty of tennis regardless of ability. Play started on Friday afternoon with a handful of group matches and the rest of the group matches were played throughout Saturday. There were no big surprises with Penny Lumley easily winning Group A and Tiffany Fielden Winning Group B.
On Saturday evening the Manchester club continued to demonstrate that their reputation for excellent hospitality is well deserved. We all enjoyed a sumptuous dinner hosted by the club President. We were also joined by guests and a particular mention should go to Sheilagh Owens for travelling such a long way to offer her support to the Ladies.
Sunday morning started with Penny Lumley taking on Sarah Parsons in the first semi-final. As expected we were lucky to observe top class tennis, as Penny consistently played shots tightly into the corners and frequently targeted the tambour. Sarah fought valiantly, layed some good chases and managed to return to the service end often. After forty minutes Penny had reached her goal beating Sarah 6/0 6/0.
The second semi-final saw Tiffany Fielden play Mary Joyner. Tiff started strongly and took the first set 6/2. Mary was not going to roll over easily and had been improving throughout her previous matches. In the second set Mary upped her game and was playing considerably better than her handicap. Mary had a 3/0 lead before Tiff managed to successfully adjust her game and win the next four games. Mary responded by hitting the grille and delivering two winning serves in a row to level it at 4/4. This was turning into a nail-biter as the players kept fighting back and both players concentrated on stretching their opponent taking it to 5/5. In the next game Tiff concentrated on placing shots low across the net into the corners and demonstrated the depth of her experience to take the set and win the match 6/2 6/5.
The final was a demonstration of Penny’s skill and consistency. Tiff was trying to push the ball away from Penny, but everything just kept coming back, putting Tiff under pressure. Penny only made a handful of mistakes in the whole match, winning 6/0 6/0. Congratulations to Penny who retained her title and won the trophy for the seventh time.
There was also a Plate final between Candida Nicholls and Linda Sheraton-Davis. Candida played better than she had through her previous matches, with mistakes few and far between. In the first set Linda was placing the ball well, but Candida held the service end much of the time and took the first set 6/0. In the second set play was more even and there were some wonderful rallies with Linda hitting some good shots to the tambour, but Candida was returning well and went on to win the match 6/0 6/1.
Huge thanks to The Manchester Tennis and Racquet Club for hosting this excellent tournament, especially the professionals Steve Brockenshaw and Darren Long for marking. We’re grateful to our sponsors Wineflow, Pol Roger and our anonymous ones, Stella and her team for providing delicious food over the weekend, and to Linda Sheraton-Davis who organised the tournament.
Candida Nicholls