Finals Day 2025

Club Finals Day 2025

Hertford Cup Div 1 – Nick Lloyd beat Henry Stuttaford 6/2 3/6 6/5

Hertford Cup Div 2 – John Savage beat Minty Oldham 3/6 6/3 6/2

Hertford Cup Div 3 – Paul Tripp beat David Wood 4/6 6/2 6/2

Hertford Cup Div 4 – Graham Clark beat Michael Parsey 6/0 6/3

Club Level Doubles: Chris Lintott & Henry Stuttaford beat Nick Lloyd & Simon Heck 6/2 4/6 5/3 (Heck / Lloyd retired due to injury)

Club Handicap Doubles: Still to be played

Peter Brodie Trophy (Club Handicap Singles): Damien Fouracres beat John Balfour Lynn 3/6 6/3 6/5

60+ Handicap Singles: Alan Higgins beat Graham Clark 6/5 4/6 6/1

Tufton Racket: Ciara Sullivan beat Lis Hughes 8/4

Finals Day Report:

Hertford Cup Division 4

The First final of the day was between Graham Clark & Michael Parsley for the Hertford Cup Level Singles Division 4 Title. Both players have had fantastic seasons and have improved their handicaps on route to the final, both now playing off 59 so this was all set for a close encounter!

Both players started the initial games tentatively and it was Graham who managed to just edge through to a 2/0 lead with some solid play to settle his nerves. The 3rd game was a tighter affair with both players going for their shots all the way to Deuce. The players then traded many advantage points before Graham eventually took the deciding point with a ball off the back wall that bounced into the winning gallery and from there built on his momentum and didn’t look back, managing to take the first set 6/0 despite Michael’s best efforts.

Michael regrouped and started the 2nd set positively winning the first game with some great retrieving and attacking play. Graham then won the 2nd game despite some fantastic volley winners from Michael and at 2/2 you could see both players had found their form!

Graham then started to attack the return of serve and found the dedans which was enough to take a 4/2 lead. Michael pulled a game back to 3/4 with his own targets before Graham found his length with his serve at key points to build his lead to 5/3 and in the final game Graham hit 2 impressive Grille’s to close out the match and take the 2025 title!

Well played to both players who pulled out some impressive shots throughout the match and to Michael who had been carrying an injury the week before but managed to get himself fit enough to compete and play through the pain.

Hertford Cup Division 3

The second final of the day was for Division 3 of the Hertford Cup between the defending champion Paul Tripp v David Wood. Paul got off to the stronger start moving 3/1 and 4/2 up by controlling the width on his shots and making David move from side to side in some impressive rallies. At 4/2 Paul started making a few more mistakes and taking a little of the pressure away from David, who for his part had a run of beating chases 2 or better to very much switch the momentum and gradually he clawed his way back into the set, eventually closing it out 6/4 for a well deserved lead.

The second set started in a similar vain to the first with Paul regaining his composure and getting more weight into his shots to cut out the errors and put David under pressure. For his part David had been struggling with a chest infection through the week and it definitely started to take it’s toll as he struggled to cover the court as well as he had in the first set and Paul took full advantage, controlling rallies well and not letting David get back into the set, this time closing it out 6/2 to take us into a deciding set.

The final set started in the same way with Paul controlling rallies and David struggling to get a foothold. There was a crucial game at 3/0 where David had a number of chances to get back into the match and put some pressure back on Paul but Paul dug in well to claw it back and make it 4/0 and then 5/0 and it appeared to be all over. David wasn’t about to go down without a fight though and clawed 2 games back to bring it back to 2/5 but Paul wasn’t about to be denied from defending his title and closed it out for a 4/6 6/2 6/2 win in a thoroughly entertaining match with lots of good rallies and some great play from both players.

The Tufton Racket Final

After an extremely tight and exciting Tufton Racket Knockout Stage on Saturday meant we had for the first time ever two ladies progress through to the final!

Both Ciara Sullivan & Lis Hughes had come through some fantastic battles the day before and with Ciara giving Lis Rec 15 / Owe ½ 30 in a 1 set shoot out to 8 games, this was looking like another exciting match for the spectators to watch.

Both ladies started well, serving to a good length and reading the ball well off the back wall with some good rallies from the first point. It was great to see both thinking so tactically and despite the handicap difference it was Ciara who managed to take the first two games with some very solid play only for Lis to then hit a fantastic dedans return on game point in the 3rd to bring it back to 1/2.

The next few games were close but Ciara managed the handicap really well, commanding the service end with some tight serves, running down every tough ball and managing to convert a 40all take a 6/1 lead despite how well Lis had been playing.

Lis then took the game to Ciara, going for her shots and hitting a fantastic return of serve volley down to better than 1 yard. Staying on the front foot she managed to get back to 4/7 and at 30all in the next game it looked like she was right back in the match.

Ciara knew she had to stop Lis’s momentum and from the receiving end was able to set two chases and take control of the serve and from there was able to close out the match 8/4 and take the 2025 Tufton Racket Title.

It was great so see both ladies progress all the way to the final this year and both should be very proud of how their games have come on in recent months, taking on opponents of all different standards, putting on a real tactical show of good handicap tennis and taking it in turns in the final to show their true potential on court with their shot making!

Hertford Cup

Division 1 of the Hertford Cup was a clash of youth over experience as Henry Stuttaford, playing in his first Hertford Cup final, took on Nick Lloyd, the 8 time winner. Nick would be the first to admit he isn’t able to play to the standard he once was, especially after 2 knee operations in recent years but he is still incredibly competitive and a superb match player and he would need every bit of his experience to have any chance against his fast improving opponent.

Henry had been not been on court as much as usual having only recently returned from honeymoon and there was always a chance he might be a bit undercooked going into the match and that did appear to the case as he got off to a bit of a slow start, missing shots he wouldn’t expect to miss, as Nick raced into a 4/0 lead in the first set and despite Henry gradually finding form as the set wore on, getting it back to 2/4, Nick closed the set out 6/2, moving incredibly well and barely making an unforced error.

Henry was always likely to have the edge on fitness and so the consensus was that Nick would need to win in straight sets if he was going to win but that wasn’t looking very likely as long, drawn out games, at 2/0 and 4/0 both went Henry’s way giving him what seemed an unassailable 5/0 lead and a deciding set looked inevitable, so much so the marker half expected Nick to tank the last game to start the final set with as much energy as possible. Not a bit of it though as Nick dug in and ground out a few close fought games to battle back to 3/5 and give some hope that a final set might not be required. It was Henry’s turn to dig in though as he managed a really tight game to close out the set 6/3 and send it to a deciding where he would start favourite given his strong fitness advantage.

Nick defied the theory but moving 2/0 ahead in the deciding set as every game was hard fought by this stage. Henry levelled it up at 2/2 and for the first time Nick began to show some signs of fatigue with a couple of slightly sloppy games for Henry to advance to 4/2 and then 5/2 and it looked like superior fitness would eventually tell. Nick has always been a superb match player though and was never going to go down without a fight and whether tightening up a bit with the finishing line in sight, or just taking his foot off the gas a little bit, Henry started to make a few more mistakes and got a bit more pushy and slowly but surely Nick clawed his way back to 5/5 to send the match to the deciding game it deserved! Now with momentum behind him Nick powered on through for a frankly unbelievable and very well deserved win! It was a fantastic match from start to finish with some brilliant tennis and a few absolutely ridiculous rallies with both players getting balls they had absolutely no right to get and undoubtedly the best Nick has played for many years!

The Peter Brodie Trophy – Club Handicap Singles

The final of the Peter Brodie Trophy was between John Balfour-Lynn (53.6) & Damien Fouracres (56.3) and with only Rec ½ 15 / Love to Damien this was going to be a really tight contest.

In the first set Damien came out the blocks firing with some fantastic retrieving and groundstrokes, picking up the first two games only to be pegged back by John to 2/2 after some clever serving that had Damien on the back foot and stopped his momentum. John then managed to take a tight 40all game, only for Damien to win the next game to love and at 3/3 it was hard to separate the two players on court.

The next 3 games all went to 40all after some great rallies with both players laying some good chases and retrieving really well out of the corners but it was John who managed to convert all 3 40 all games to take the first set 6/3!

Damien regrouped and started the second set as he started the first and raced to a 4/0 lead, hitting some incredible volleys and boasts that carried him into the lead not really making a mistake. John then dug in in the 5th game and manged to claw back to 40all and converted another important game point and carried the momentum into the 6th game to pull the score back to 2/4 down. Damien then edged the all important 7th game and John took the next to make it 3/5.

The next game Damien went 40/15 up and managed to get a chase off on a better than 4 chase which put the pressure on John serve and unfortunately resulted in a double fault from John for Damien to take the 2nd set 6/3 to force a deciding set.

The Final Set had many changes of momentum with John starting the fastest taking a 2 love lead only for Damien to pull back to 2/2. As previously in the match John was clinical on the 40all’s and after a few tight games, managed to take a 5/2 lead!

Damian was looking down and out but then dug deep and somehow found his form again, hitting winners from all corners of the court and getting all the way back to 5/5 to force a deciding game and after setting two good early chases was able to close out the set and win the match 3/6 6/3 6/5 in a truly fantastic contest.

Well played to both players in a fantastic match that had the spectators on the edge of their seats!

Hertford Cup Div 2

Division 2 of the Hertford Cup saw previous winner John Savage take on Minty Oldham and with only 2 points between them it looked like it could be yet another very close match and so it proved to be. The first few games were very tight, sharing games up to 3/3 with lots of good chases being laid and neither player getting the advantage, with two similar styles of play on show with lots of cut shots to the corners and some great retrieving from both players. At this point though it was Minty that managed to take control, serving really tightly to force some uncharacteristic mistakes from John on the return and she relatively quickly moved through from 3/3 to 6/3, although slightly fortuitously taking her 3rd set point with a ball on the penthouse dropping down the backwall to close it out but no doubt she thoroughly deserved to win the set.

John regrouped though and started the second set well moving 2/0 and 3/1 ahead with some fairly quick games, with John’s improved return of serve and greater use of the force to mix things up bringing him back into the match. Minty got one game back but John retained the momentum to move 5/2 ahead and despite Minty claiming one more game, eventually closed it out 6/3 to level the match up to the game and sending us into what was expected to be a very tight deciding set.

Having shared the first 2 games of the set a crucial and very impressive chase off attacking better than a yard from John set him up to take the game and from that point he never really looked back, dominating the serving end as Minty seemed to run out of ideas on how to put John under pressure, still playing fairly well but without the control she had shown earlier in the match and John took full advantage, racing through to 5/1 before Minty managed to claw one game back but John was not to be denied, winning back the trophy he last won exactly 10 years ago in a great game to watch between 2 players playing the game exactly as it should be played, John just being the more consistent over the 3 sets.

Club Doubles

The final match of the day was for the Club Doubles and it saw a rematch between Henry & Nick from the earlier singles final. Nick, a 19 time winner of the title, playing with Simon Heck, who had partnered Nick to the title in 14 of his 19 titles and Henry playing with Chris Lintott, a pair playing together for the first time in the event, so the pairs couldn’t have been more different. Time and fitness are great levellers though and Nick’s earlier exertions and Simon’s very rare visits to the court these days meant it was a very difficult final to call and not surprisingly yet again it proved to be a very close battle!

Although many of the games were close, with a number of deuces and some exceptional rallies, Henry and Chris moved into a dominant 5/1 lead in the first set. Henry covering the court really well, getting everything Nick and Simon could throw at him back and Chris extremely solid both at the galleries and at the receiving end, giving their opponents no respite and keeping them firmly under pressure throughout. Nick and Simon did managed to get one game back but Henry & Chris closed out the next game for a relatively comfortable 6/2 score and a one set lead. Not surprisingly Nick was looking a bit stiff after the earlier singles and Simon a bit rusty having barely been on court in recent months due to a combination of time constraints and an ongoing back issue and it looked like the doubles final might not live up to expectations.

Nick and Simon haven’t won 14 titles together without being able to battle though and having shared games up to 2/2, Nick and Simon moved ahead firstly to 4/2 and then 5/2 and the match had really come alive. The standard of tennis by this point was of a really high level from all 4 players, some exceptional rallies and retrieving, with 4 very different styles of play on court, all leading to a real feast for the crowd. Henry and Chris have no lack of fight themselves though and they battled for every point as they gradually clawed their way back into the set to 3/5 and then 4/5 and they even had 2 points for 5/5 before Nick and Simon finally closed out the set 6/4 at their second opportunity to send us in to a deciding set.

The final set followed on where the second set had left off, some superb rallies, strong tactical play from all 4 players and a match where the pairs couldn’t be separated. Games were shared up to 3/3 when Henry and Chris moved ahead again 4/3 and what was then to be the crucial but sadly final game of the match. Possibly the best game of the match with 4 deuces and some superb rallies and shot making finally ended with Henry & Chris closing it out to move 5/3 ahead but in attempting to get to the winning shot, Simon sadly injured his achilles tendon to such an extent that he was unable to continue, given Henry & Chris a very well deserved win, some consolation for Henry who definitely didn’t deserve to go home empty handed!

There was just one other trophy presented on Finals Day and that was the Colin Dean Trophy for the most improved player on handicap though the season and this year it went to Maxi Ansell who managed to bring his handicap down a very impressive 10 points and hopefully it's just the beginning for Maxi's progress!