THE Penarth Windsor Lawn Tennis Club men’s second team went into the New Year knowing that they would need a strong second half of the season to retain their place in the competitive Cymru Kitchens Division Three.

Despite having only one win, they were still right in the mix of the tightly-packed league table.

That win had come against local rivals Penarth Rectory and hopes were high of a repeat performance in the return fixture. Captain Guy Bradley was joined by Tim Dawes in the first pairing, with the two remembering how hard they had fought to win their two rubbers last time out. The team was boosted by the return of Jon Cox who was back after a short loan period at Radyr and he took to the courts alongside Dan Pitt. An impressive first set performance laid the groundwork and a steady nerve as the Rectory pair found their way into the game resulted in a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

In the meantime Guy and Tim found another gear at 5-5 in the first set to emerge victorious 7-5 and then rode that momentum to take the second set 6-2.

That left Windsor needing only one more rubber for a vital win, but they were to end up with two. Guy and Tim won in straight sets and, with the match in the bag, Dan and Jon let their concentration slip to be taken to a third set tie-break. The pair regained their composure to win the tie-break and give Windsor the extra rubber that could make all the difference in the congested league table.

The victory actually puts Windsor top of the league although that is only due to having played more matches. Regardless, captain Bradley was delighted to get the points on the board and it keeps Windsor’s fate in their own hands as crucial fixtures against Whitchurch and Allt-Yrn-Yn approach.