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Guernsey came close in a hard-fought inter-insular clash at the Caesarean Lawn Tennis Club, but in the end Jersey produced just enough to retain the title.
It ended 7-5 in the home side’s favour.
“It was really nice that it was a hard-fought and tight inter-insular,” said JTA chair and Jersey women’s player Sonia Smith.
“The veterans’ inter-insular was a bit of a whitewash, so it was refreshing to see such a tight scoreline and tight matches that could have gone either way.
Importantly, the whole match was played in great spirits, she said.
“Both teams want to win, but we are great friends off the court and spend a lot of time together when playing at the County Cup.”
The day began with the Ladies’ Doubles and Men’s Singles, seeing Jersey off to a commanding early lead as they dropped only one point in the opening round of matches.
The scores were level after Jersey’s James Faudemer beat Pete Robinson (6-1, 6-2) while Lauren Watson-Steele and Lauren Barker out the Sarnian’s on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Natasha Forrest and Sarah Jones.
The other Ladies’ Doubles fixture turned out to be a key game.
Guernsey’s Jo Dyer and Lauren Coutanche were 6-0, 4-1 up against Sonia Smith and Clare Clarke.
But Smith and Clarke staged an incredible comeback, rallying hard to take the next five games and the second set 6-4.
In a nail-biting conclusion, the local pair edged out the Sarnian pairing 10-8.
Jersey’s men did not put a foot wrong in their remaining singles clashes.
Johnnie Le Feuvre (16) impressed in his inter-insular debut to outclass Guernsey veteran Chris Ash 6-2 6-1, meanwhile Scott Weaver secured a 6-1 6-3 triumph over Ben Ferbrache.
Then it was the clash of the top seeds, Jersey’s inter-insular newcomer, Luca Paciello against the Guernsey tennis stalwart Rob West.
It was Paciello who broke through to clinch the first set and subsequently the match.
Jersey still needed one win to reclaim the silverware, and two for the outright win.
It was the ladies’ turn to grace the singles courts, and the men’s to take to the doubles.
Guernsey’s reigning island champion Barker was the first to walk off court victorious in the afternoon session at Triona O’Callaghan’s expense (6-2, 6-1).
There were signs that the tide was turning.
Dyer beat Jones 6-4, 6-1 and Coutanche defeated Isabella Aldridge 7-6, 6-1.
Fortunately for the hosts, Paciello and Faudemer made quick work of their doubles encounter, bettering the Guernsey top seeds Westa and Ash 6-1, 6-0 to ensure the trophy would remain on Caesarean soil for another year.
The outright win was still to play for however.
Adam Bayley and Rob Hannah battled Robinson and Ferbrache all while Forrest and Watson-Steele fought on Court 1.
Tied at one set all, the Bayley-Hannah combination found themselves 9-4 up in the third set match tiebreak.
The crowd had all but packed up their bags in expectation the pair would seal the point that would give Jersey the outright honours.
But Guernsey’s never-say-die attitude saw Robinson and Ferbrache battle back from the five-point deficit to claim the match against the odds.
It was then down to the top women.
Taking centre stage, Forrest and Watson-Steele both looked to overpower their counterpart.
Only one break separated them in each set, as Forrest ultimately emerged victorious 6-4 6-4 triumph sealed Jersey’s overall victory.
Jersey 7-5 Guernsey
Match results
Singles:
Luca Paciello (Jersey) defeated Rob West (Guernsey) 7-5, 6-0
James Faudemer (Jersey) df Pete Robinson (Guernsey) 6-1, 6-2
Scott Weaver (Jersey) df Ben Ferbrache (Guernsey) 6-1, 6-3
Johnnie Le Feuvre (Jersey) df Chris Ash (Guernsey) 6-2, 6-1
Natasha Forrest (Jersey) df Lauren Watson-Steele (Guernsey) 6-4, 6-4
Jo Dyer (Guernsey) df Sarah Jones (Jersey) 6-4, 6-1
Lauren Barker (Guernsey) df Triona O’Callaghan (Jersey) 6-2, 6-1
Lauren Coutanche (Guernsey) df Isabella Aldridge (Jersey) 7-6, 6-1
Doubles:
Luca Paciello/James Faudemer (Jersey) df Rob West/Chris Ash (Guernsey) 6-1, 6-0
Rob Hannah/Adam Bayley (Jersey) lost to Pete Robinson/Ben Ferbrache (Guernsey) 3-6, 6-4, 10-12
Natasha Forrest/Sarah Jones (Jersey) lost to Lauren Watson-Steele/Lauren Barker (Guernsey) 3-6, 1-6
Sonia Smith/Clare Clarke (Jersey) df Jo Dyer/Lauren Coutanche (Guernsey) 0-6, 6-4, 10-8
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