Finals Day 2026

Hertford Cup Div 1 – Will Todd v Joe Thompson 6/4 6/0

Hertford Cup Div 2 – Maxi Ansell v John Savage 6/4 6/4

Hertford Cup Div 3 – Godfrey Charnley v Michael Parsey 6/4 6/3

Hertford Cup Div 4 –  Layton James v William Whitehead 6/0 6/3

Club Level Doubles: Henry Stuttaford & Chris Lintott v Nick Baker & Will Todd 6/3  6/4

Peter Brodie Trophy (Club Handicap Singles): Nick Lloyd v Graham Clark 6/4 5/6 6/5

60+ Handicap Singles:  Terry Davis v Martin Hornby 6/5 6/5

Tufton Racket: Mick Stiffin v James Mott 8/0

Club Handicap Doubles – Still to be played

Finals Day Report:

Hertford Cup Div 4

The first final of the day was for the Hertford Cup Division 4 title between Layton James and William Whitehead.  There was only one point between the 2 players on handicap so it was expected to be a tight match with 2 fairly different styles of play on show.  Layton however got off to a storming start, moving 5/0 up by dominating the serving end and playing with real weight to his shots.  William by contrast was struggling to get much power in his shots, allowing Layton to dictate points and on the rare occasions William got to the serving end, Layton took it back quickly with powerful shots into the forehand corner.  The final game of the first set started a bit of a momentum shift though, a long deuce game with multiple changes of end broke up the pattern of play and while Layton did still take the game to close out the set 6/0, it did at least bring William into the match and give him hope moving into the 2^nd set.

This tighter match continued over the next few games, with much more changing of ends and William managed to get more weight into his shots and also started picking up more of Layton excellent shots in and around the tambour corner, prolonging the rallies and putting Layton under more pressure.  William picked up his first game to level the set at 1/1 but despite a number of much closer games, Layton was able to keep the momentum with tight serves and really positive weighty shots, keeping William on the defensive more often than not and Layton gradually progressed into a 5/1 lead, just one game away from victory.  For the first time in the match though William finally managed a sustained period at the serving end, getting a much better length on his serves, putting Layton under more pressure and being more aggressive with his own shots and he clawed it back to 3/5 and suddenly Layton was under a bit of pressure for the first time in the match.  The next game involved 3 more changes of end as neither player could retain control but a good force for the dedans leading to a volley error and then after the final change of ends, yet another great shot into the grille corner, led to a well deserved victory for Layton in a thoroughly entertaining match to start us off.

Hertford Cup Div 3

The second final of the day was between Michael Parsey & Godfrey Charnely in the Hertford Cup Division 3 Level Singles and with both players within 0.2 of each other on handicap this was always going to be a tight match. Quickest out the blocks was Michael who managed to find a Grille at 40/30 up to take the first game and beat a Hazard chase at advantage in the 2^nd to take a 2-0 lead. Godfrey then edged the 3^rd game to get a foothold in the set but Michael managed to push on and take a 4/1 lead. At this point it looked as though Michael would run away with the first set but Godfrey started to find his length with his serves and put some pressure on Michael’s returns and after a long Deuce game took the game and with that momentum shift never looked back, edging game by game and taking the set 6/4 with a very impressive comeback.At this point both players were seeing the ball well and started strongly in the 2^nd, taking it in turns to hit targets and also punish each other’s over hit shots, trading the first 4 games to 2/2. The 5^th game was again very tight with Godfrey edging it to take a 3/2 lead and as he did in the first set rode on the momentum to a 5/2 lead. Michael tried to fight back taking the next game but it was Godfrey who managed to close out the match with a 6/4 6/2 win in a fantastically exciting match that was far closer than the overall result suggests.

Hertford Cup Div 2

The next match on court was the Hertford Cup Divison 2 Final between defending champion John Savage and Maxi Ansell.  As many of our members will know Maxi has been improving very fast over the last 2 years.  2 years ago he was winning the division 4 title and now here he was in the division 2 final which is quite an achievement in itself!  As defending champion and a few points better John would have started as slight favourite despite not playing quite as much as usual recently but it was Maxi who started much the stronger, moving 2/0 and then 3/1 ahead with a combination of tighter serves, an area of his game he has improved dramatically in recent weeks, as well as more consistency and some impressive target hitting when he had opportunities.  John wasn’t doing anything particularly wrong, Maxi was just a little more consistent and consistency of play would prove to be the deciding factor in this match.  The players swapped games to make it 4/2 to Maxi before it was John’s turn to be a little more consistent.  Maxi making a few more errors and getting slightly less penetration on his shots while John started retrieving much more consistently and was able to put Maxi under a bit more pressure, levelling the set up at 4/4.  Maxi’s match temperament is another aspect of his game that has improved dramatically in recent times though and he didn’t let John’s improved form unsettle him, winning a tight game to make it 5/4, a mainwall dedans force beating chase 2 to win it and then took the final game to 15 to close out the set. 

The second set followed a very similar path, Maxi starting the stronger, continuing his strong form at the end of the first set to move into a 3/1 and then 4/2 lead much as he had in the first set but this time he went one better making it 5/2 and it appeared the match was going to be over very soon.  John is a fierce competitor though and wasn’t about to give his title away without a fight and he noticeably moved up a gear, playing undoubtedly his best tennis of the match and Maxi was now in a real fight and John clawed it back again to 4/5.  Again though this is where Maxi has improved so much of late, not long ago that loss of momentum would have likely led to him losing the set and more than likely the match but again he didn’t panic and hung in while John put him under pressure.  At 0-30 down in the next game Maxi laid 2 great chases of better than 2 and 1&2 and managed to defend both before a crisp shot under the grille gave Maxi his first match point.  John successfully defended the first match point before a super cut shot into the corner gave Maxi his second match point and a chase of worse than 2 to defend which he managed to do to close out a very impressive 6/4 6/4 win.

Tufton Racket

After a really competitive knockout stage on Saturday it was Mick Stiffin and James Mott who progressed through to the final of the Tufton Racket and a 1 set to 8 game shoot out. James was the more experienced player on paper so had to give the handicap of Owe 15 / Love against Mick but it was Mick who started the strongest out of the pair taking the initial games to 3/0 up. James went through his variety of overarm and railroad spins serves that usually would have foxed his opponents but Mick was seeing the ball well and managed to pick his shots at the right moments and finding a great length and width into the corners that James couldn’t respond to. Mick is still relative new to the game and he will have undoubtedly benefitted massively from having a full day of tennis the day before and he really was playing well above his handicap.  Throughout the match there were many games that were close and James played some fantastic shots himself but Mick’s consistency saw him through the match winning it 8/0 with really impressive constant and clinical play to take the 2026 title.  

Hertford Cup Div 1 

The premier Level Singles Final was between Will Todd and Joe Thompson and even though Will was 6 handicap shots better on paper, Joe had already knocked out the number two seed in the Quarter-Final and had an impressive Semi-Final win against another lower handicapped player, so the question was could he do it again!  The match started with Joe serving tight backhand drags to Will and the initial point Will hit a classy worse than a Yard chase followed by Joe dictating play from very tight serves to take a 40-0 lead which was enough to see out the game despite Will getting back to 30/40.  Joe then opened up from the receiving end, attacking the ball with good paced forces, either hitting targes or causing loose shots from Will that he then put away racing to a 4/1 lead. Despite the immense pressure from Joe, Will stayed focused and started to tighten up every part of his game, serving a better and tighter length and also now retrieving anything Joe was throwing at him, as well as finding targets of his own on the big points and started to chalk up games of his own and pulled all the way back to 4/4 and from there carried the momentum on, clinching the first set 6/4.The second set Will just didn’t let Joe back in, both players played some fabulous rallies but Will’s relentless consistency on the floor and target hitting eventually came through, which in turn made Joe hit more errors when trying to find a way back into the match. Will took the set 6/0 to take the 2026 title in a really high quality final.

Peter Brodie Trophy

The second handicap final of the day was for the Peter Brodie Trophy and was between the most successful player in the Club’s history Nick Lloyd, taking on Graham Clark where Nick would have to give away Owe 15 – Rec 30, 1 serve and banned the tambour.  Nick is a multiple winner of the Club Singles and Doubles titles as well as a winner of the Handicap Doubles and a 2 time winner of the Tufton Racket so this is the only trophy he is eligible for that he hasn’t won so he had an added incentive to get over the line.  What took place ended up being undoubtedly the tightest and most entertaining final of the day.  The first set was incredibly tight all the way through, one player moving a game ahead, only for their opponent to level it up straight away all the way through to 5/4 in Nick’s favour.  The tennis from both players was of an incredible standard.  Nick playing with superb control, predominantly avoiding the tambour bar one small blip and serving tightly but Graham for his part was retrieving incredibly well, learning as the match went on what Nick’s tactics were and how he could deal with them and consistently making Nick play one more shot.  Pretty much every point Graham won was thoroughly earned with a tight shot into a corner after a long rally, or a shot towards the dedans either dropping in or forcing an error from Nick’s volley.  At this stage it was impossible to call and at 40-Owe 15 it looked like we were heading for a deciding game.  Nick fought back to 30-40 before a bit of bad luck, his shot towards the winning gallery clipping the edge and ending up a hazard chase meant he would have to finish the set from the hazard end but 2 more tight shots did just this, closing out the set 6/4 and giving him the edge in the match.

The second set followed much the same path, players swapping games to 2/2 before Nick finally got a little bit of breathing space by moving 4/2 ahead and some small sense of control of the match.  Nick didn’t help himself in the next game though, his one and only fault of the match at 0/40 down immediately bringing Graham back within a game.  3/4 then became 4/4 and we were back all square.  At 40-40 game point we then had a little bit of controversy, Graham trying to defend a hazard chase, returned serve just the wrong side of the net post and despite originally being awarded the point and the game, the right decision was then reached and the game was given to Nick moving him one game away from the title.  At 40/40 again in the next game and with hazard chase 2 to beat Nick had a wonderful opportunity to finish the match but with a relatively comfortable shot to play, he managed to find hazard second gallery to lose the chase and the game and send us to 5/5.  A good force for the dedans from Graham forcing a volley error made it 40-Owe 15 and despite clawing a point back Graham won the next point and the set to tie us up and 1 set all.

If Nick was disappointed to have missed his earlier opportunity he put it aside incredibly well and moved 5/0 up in the deciding set and looked on track to a comfortable final set win.  Graham had done absolutely nothing wrong during any of these games with every game and most points still being incredibly hard fought but Nick at this stage was relentless.  A rare unforced error from Nick at 30/40 down in the next game gave Graham his first game of the set and suddenly things changed.  Graham quickly made it 2/5 and the comeback was on!  Nick clearly didn’t want to stay on court longer than needed though and had his 2^nd match point at 40/30 up in the next game only from a superb return of serve from Graham to make it 40/40 and Nick’s 3^rd match point.  Graham set a chase of 6 & ½ and we had a little more controversy as he tried to defend it, calling a ball out himself before playing on, leading to the point being replayed but a return of serve from Nick straight into the net saved the 3^rd match point and moved him back to 3/5. At 30/30 in the next game Nick had a little bit of a brain fade while defending chase better than 4.  He played a beautiful backhand cross court into the tambour, entirely intentionally, giving the point to Graham and followed it up with a racket error and suddenly it was 4/5.  Nick managed to fight back to 40/40 again and his 4^th match point, only for a return of serve from Graham to come back at his body and all he could do is shovel it back in the direction of the tambour and a clip on the edge was enough to give Graham the point and game and send the match into a deciding game.  Nick put the first point into the winning gallery and won the next point to make it 15/30 before a mishit volley moved Graham 40/15 and gave him 3 match point of his own.  The first one was Graham defending chase worse than the second gallery and he thought he had won it when Nick had to charge up into the hazards, only for Nick’s shot to fall better than the second gallery and win the point and make it 30/40.  Nick then set chase worse than 2 but Graham managed to beat it 3 times in a row, only for Nick to make him play one more and he failed to beat the chase at the 4^th attempt, moving us to 40/40 and Graham’s 3^rd match point and Nick’s 5^th!  A cut shot from Nick off Graham’s return of serve was enough to clinch it and end a truly fantastic and ridiculous game where both players were superb from start to finish and undoubtedly the best match of the day!

Club Level Doubles

The final match of the day was always going to struggle to follow that for excitement but it was still a superb match played between defending champions Henry Stuttaford & Chris Lintott against number 1 seeds Will Todd & Nick Baker.  The standard of tennis on show was the highest of the day with some exceptional rallies from start to finish and some superb shots.  Henry and Chris started the stronger of the pairs, moving 2/0 up before Will and Nick got a game back to make it 1/2.  The next 3 games were all tight affairs with some great shots from all 4 players but Henry and Chris managed to win all 3, taking the decisive points, spending more time at the serving end and generally just being that little bit more cohesive as a pair.  Nick and Will then made a tactical change with Will playing the back of the court and this proved very successful as they spent more time at the service end and proved incredibly hard to get the ball past as they moved back to 3/5. At this point though Henry and Chris managed to regain the service end and a sharp volley by Chris at the net, just dropping over the stroke line moved them 40/15 before they lost the serving end with a hazard chase of better than ½ a yard.  One of the rallies of the match followed before an equally sharp volley from Nick at the net dropped just short of the chase, falling hazard 1 yard and Chris and Henry took the first set 6/3.

The second set had a different start with Will and Nick’s tactics continuing to work well and with a few more mistakes coming from Henry and Chris they moved 3/1 up.  Will then had a slight reoccurrence of an earlier injury that made Will and Nick switch tactics to Nick playing back and despite them winning the next game to make it 4/1 this changed the momentum somewhat as Henry & Chris cut out the mistakes and started playing a more aggressive game, forcing defensive shots or errors from Will and Nick and gradually they started to claw some games back.   There was still some superb tennis from all 4 players, Chris in particularly as the highest handicap on the court by a few points really held his own, not just at the serving end where he is always very solid but even at the hazard end, mixing his shots well and regularly cutting the ball down well into the corners.  From then on it was pretty much one way traffic although the games were close, Henry and Chris won 5 in a row to take the win 6/3 6/4 and defend their title!