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| Report: | Last night it was a night of lookylikeys as we had:
- Olly playing a taller version of himself
- Olley's actual younger brother playing for the other side - plays very like Olley
- Bob Jaffe's younger brother playing for the other side - Bob is the club coach
- A younger slimmer version of Nick Winning playing at 1 for the other side
Up first were Duncan and Nico and this one started off a bit cagey with Nico getter ahead to start with as Duncan struggled a little to get going. Anything short and Duncan was often slow to move to it but he took a slender lead only to see Nico regain it but at 5-4 to Nico Duncan found some form and accurate drives brought about drop shot opportunities which Duncan lapped up and he went straight through to take the 1st game. The 2nd looked like being an easy one for Duncan as he continued where he left off in the previous game but st 5-1 up the game turned and Nico was in charge whilst Duncan struggled to get good width or direction and very quickly Nico was ahead 6-5. Duncan however regained composure just at the right time and his accurate deft drops returned to help him steal the game and go 2 up. The 3rd seemed however to be going Nico's way as he marched off to a 6-1 lead and it seemed Duncan may be taking a breather and although he got a couple of points back Nico was soon at game point at 8-3 up. Duncan was now however more interested and he tightened up his game and pursued every point and one by one they went to Duncan as Nico looked to be trying too hard. Duncan levelled with sone nice drops and went to match point but Nico was not done yet and it took Duncan 3 goes before he finally got over the line for a solid 3-0 win.
On the other court Olley was up against Gareth and this was frantic stuff with both players covering the court well and it was Gareth who got ahead early and moved to 4-1 up only to see Olley smash back to lead 5-4. The ball was taking a battering and so was Gareth as Olley was now setting the pace and Gareth managed just one more point as Olley took the game. The 2nd was close early on as both players were well matched once the score reached 3-3 Olley took off and Gareth could not keep up so it was quickly 2-0 to Olley. The 3rd saw Olley in control as Gareth could not match the pace Olley was playing at and he wrapped it up with a bagel.
Next up were Dave and Tom and this was tough on both players. Tom started well and raced to 3-0 before Dave caught up then there was a bit of a tussle before Tom broke the deadlock and Dave could not stop him from racing away. The 2nd was tight with Dave just edging ahead as Tom struggled a little - he always looks as if his legs can't carry on but keeps going. Anyway once Dave got the serve back at 5-3 he raced away to level 1-1. The 3rd started off well for Dave who seemed in charge as he built up a commanding lead but once he got to 5-1 he let Tom back and he dug in and pulled back the deficit and once he levelled at 6-6 Dave could do nothing to stop Tom from going 2-1 up. The 4th saw Dave in determine mood as Tom paid for his efforts in the previous game. After a few handouts Dave grabbed 7 in a row and despite a few back for Tom, Dave was always going to win that one. The 5th saw Dave gradually eek out a lead and at 4-1 he was thinking he had this one and just needed a few more to finish Tom off but Tom came back and in two quick bursts he managed to snatch victory.
On the other court Mark was putting Will to the sword. Mark was in determined mood and was not letting anything go behind him. A few handouts as normal soon turned into a rush of points for Mark as Will struggled to keep up with Marks quick to the ball style and soon enough Mark had the 1st game won. The 2nd was much tighter at the start and Will seemed to be getting on top with some good rally's but again once Mark got the bit between his teeth Will had no answer and from 2-3 down he raced off to take the game with point after point. The 3rd saw Will get off to a good start but at 2-1 up he let Mark take control and before you knew it he was 6-2 up. Will tried hard to close the gap and it was working for a while but he could not keep it going and Mark closed it out for a solid 3-0 win.
Finally we had Greg and Simon and this was frantic stuff with Simon giving it welly whilst Greg patted the ball around the court. The 1st was tight with Greg ahead then Simon but Greg was a little more consistent and he broke away from 4-5 down to reach game point but Simon came back again and almost levelled before Greg finished off. The 2nd was another topsy turvey game with Greg strolling off to a 5-0 lead only to see it wiped out as Simon nonchalantly strolled around the court very much like his older brother. Both players were having to do a lot of work to keep in rallies but Greg moved to game point at 8-5 and looked to have things under control but Simon struck back with some blast out winners and 8-7 turned to 8-8 and Simon had the momentum that took him over the line although a winner at 9-8 was thought by many to have lipped the tin but not by the marker which is what matters. The 2nd saw Greg in determine mood whilst Simon struggled to show the form of the previous game and Greg was in full charge bagging a bagel to take his m 2-1 up. The 4th was tight with both players throwing themselves about frantically looking to get ahead and take control. Simon had the edge 1st then Greg then Simon again. This one could have gone either way and once Greg levelled at 7-7 it seemed he might be about to take it but Simon was throwing everything into it now and this did the trick although he needed 3 game points in order to finish it off. The 5th was going Simons way but at 4-1 up he seemed to have a drop in energy or motivation as Greg's early cross court drop game came to the fore and he caught up then moved ahead to match point and it was all over.
Dulwich dropped just 1 point on the night against the leagues early leaders so can't complain about that.
The Dulwich Tandoori was ably heated up by uncle Dunc and even the bar staff had some. |
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| Author: | Ian Armstrong |
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