Martinborough’s Marco de Groot in action earlier this year. PHOTO/FILE
TENNIS
JAKE BELESKI
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Martinborough have defended the Shirley Corlett Trophy regional one tennis competition with a round to spare after Greytown shocked Gladstone on Saturday.
Heading into Saturday’s round of matches, there were only two points separating defending champions Martinborough and Gladstone at the top of the table.
If they had both won on Saturday, it would have been all on the line this Friday when they played each other in the final round.
It wasn’t to be for Gladstone, however, as they lost both singles matches and the doubles clash to Greytown on Saturday.
Henry Isaacs put Greytown in a strong position after beating Lochie McNab 6-1 6-4 in the first match, and that was a clear sign of what was to come for Gladstone.
In the second singles match, David Heard beat Scott Day 6-3 1-6 6-4 to ensure Gladstone’s title hopes would be out of their own hands.
To cap it off, Isaacs and Heard then went on to win the doubles match as well, but only just as they triumphed 7-6 4-6 7-5.
Martinborough probably weren’t expecting to win the competition on Saturday, but they will be relieved that there will be no pressure when they take on Gladstone this weekend.
Taking on a winless Carterton team on Saturday, Martinborough were always favoured to win the match and keep their spot at the top of the points table.
Chris Wilkie got them off to a perfect start when he beat Carterton’s Andi Steinemann 6-3 7-6, before Martinborough’s Marco de Groot took on Moritz Steinemann.
De Groot proved far too strong in that match as he strolled to a 6-0 6-2 win.
The doubles match was another one-sided clash, with Wilkie and de Groot winning 6-1 6-3.
The results mean that Martinborough have an unassailable six-point lead at the top of the standings, heading into the final round this Friday at Opaki.
Gladstone are still guaranteed to finish in second place, while Greytown and Opaki are tied in third place with 13 points.
This week’s matches will have Martinborough taking on Gladstone, and Opaki going up against Carterton.
