Chichester tennis championship finals beat weather - only just

Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club annual closed tennis championship finals were completed despite unsettled weather.

After several rain interruptions, the last match was eventually played under floodlights. More than 70 members took part in the five main events while the junior championships were also staged.

First on were the men’s doubles plate, men’s singles plate and the boys’ 12-and-under main finals.

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Father and son team Nigel and Stuart Marks stormed to an early lead against Rupert Green and Ian McGaw but Green and McGaw won the second set and the decider 6-4.

James Urquhart and Simon Toft had a battle royal in between the showers, with Urquhart taking the men’s singles plate final 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.

In the main singles finals, all four competitors faced extremely wet and blustery conditions. The men’s final was a repeat of 2010 as Sam Kilhams (No1 seed), in his fourth consecutive men’s final, faced Jacub Sawa (No2).

Kilhams maintained his high consistency of play and proved too strong for Sawa to take his fourth title 6-1, 6-4. Katica Robertson played Jackie Lytton to take the first of her three titles of the day, 6-0, 6-0.

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The men’s doubles main final proved entertaining as Chris Nicholls and Justin Pollard took on younger pairing Sam Kilhams and Mat Worden.

Kilhams and Worden took the first set 6-0 but Nicholls and Pollard took charge of the second set and won it 6-2.

Nicholls and Pollard kept their nerve in the deciding set to take it 6-4. The 16-and-under mixed doubles final saw Rosie Crampin and Oliver Troy play Lara and Harry Spirit.

The first set went to Crampin and Troy 6-1 but the Spirit siblings clawed their way back to take the next 7-5. A championship tie-break saw Crampin and Troy taking the title 10-3.

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Pollard and Worden returned to the courts to play the final match under floodlights. Pollard and Katica Robertson, in her third final of the day, took on Worden and his sister Molly in the mixed doubles final.

Robertson and Pollard took the first set 6-3 but the Wordens won the next 6-2.

In the third Robertson and Pollard found themselves 3-1 down but took the next five games to win 6-3. Tony French, the club president, presented the prizes.

Other results: Ladies’ Doubles Main: Sue Foott/Katica Robertson beat Louise Knight/Shaz Morris 6-2, 6-2; Ladies’ Singles Plate: Zoe Shardlow beat Rutendo Manyarara 6-2, 6-1; Ladies’ Doubles Plate: Judy Harris/Jackie Lytton beat Debbie Newton/Jane Ashton 6-1, 1-6, 7-6; Mixed Doubles Plate: Susannah & Martin Troy beat Lynn Wade/Sean Terry 6-7, 6-4, 6-1; Boys’ 16 & under: Pierre Wills-Packer beat Oliver Troy 6-1, 6-2. Boys’ 12 & under: Matthew Spencer beat Callum McKitterick 4-0, 4-1; Boys’ 12 & U Plate: Sam Ellison beat Harry Spirit 4-1, 4-0. Girls’ 16 & U round robin: Emily Dodd (winner).