Gladstone brutal in win

VALIANT EFFORT: Stu Wyeth, gripping singles win for Opaki. FILE PHOTO

GLADSTONE rubber-stamped their title credentials with an impressive 5-1 victory over Opaki in the latest round of matches in the Wairarapa Tennis regional one interclub competition.

In a fiercely competitive fixture with all but one of the matches requiring a deciding third set, the visiting Gladstone team knew victory would seal their place in the Shirley Corlett Trophy final and they played with maximum intensity.

There were tremendous match-ups throughout the evening and once again Gladstone were led superbly by Kelby Courtney, who collected another three-set win over a gallant Chris Davidson in the leading men's singles.

Stu Wyeth erased the deficit for the home team with an equally gripping win over Alistair McWilliam, but Scott Day put Gladstone back in front with a straight-sets victory, keeping his perfect record for the season intact.

The women's singles was another interesting battle where Ana Gudsell, playing her first match of the season for Gladstone, outlasted Finola O'Boyle to give the visitors a crucial 3-1 lead.

The doubles matches both went the distance but Gladstone were not to be denied and came home stronger to give them a somewhat flattering, although completely deserved, margin of victory.

For the time being, Gladstone have moved to the top of the competition ladder at the expense of Carterton, who had the weekend off.

Confusion reigned in the other fixture between Masterton and Martinborough, which resulted in a 4-2 win to Masterton.

Problems arose before a ball was even hit when Martinborough, quite within their rights to do so, opted to play Rhona Lovell in the third men's singles matches and to play Katherine Jacobs in the women's singles. This seemed to unsettle the Masterton thought processes and they mistakenly decided to switch their own order to suit.

In doing so, Masterton decided to play a man in the women's singles -- Sam Wilkinson the unfortunate victim of circumstance -- and unwittingly forfeited this encounter.

The chaos didn't end there however. Presumably in a bid to make more competitive matches, Martinborough changed their own doubles combinations in response to Masterton's indiscretion, playing their woman in the men's doubles and their two listed men's players in the mixed doubles, technically making both combinations invalid.

Masterton were guilty of the same transgression in the mixed doubles as Georgia Atkinson was listed in the men's section and therefore couldn't play with her father Luke, unless they played in the men's doubles.

The whole evening became farcical and reinforced the need for teams to have their line-up fully written on their scoresheet before a fixture starting.

Results:

Gladstone beat Opaki 5-1 (Gladstone names first): Men's singles: Kelby Courtney beat Chris Davidson 6-2 5-7 6-4; Alistair McWilliam lost to Stu Wyeth 6-2 6-7 6-7; Scott Day beat Duncan Oakley 7-6 6-3. Women's singles: Ana Gudsell beat Finola O'Boyle 6-0 3-6 6-2. Men's doubles: Courtney and McWilliam beat Jon McNab and Davidson 4-6 6-2 7-6. Mixed doubles: Day and Gudsell beat Wyeth and O'Boyle 1-6 6-4 6-3.

Masterton beat Martinborough 4-2 (Masterton names first): Men's singles: Matt Bunny lost to Andy Darling 2-6 4-6; Ben Wilkinson beat Bruce Lovell 6-1 6-3; Georgia Atkinson beat Rhona Lovell 6-1 6-3. Women's singles: Default lost to Katherine Jacobs 0-6 0-6. Men's doubles: Bunny and Ben Wilkinson lost to Jacobs and B Lovell 4-6, 0-6. Mixed doubles: Luke Atkinson and Georgia Atkinson beat Darling and R Lovell 6-3 7-5.

Competition points:
Gladstone 22, Carterton 20, Masterton 10, Opaki, 6, Martinborough 6.