Playing in the national finals at the West Hants tennis club against the best eight men’s and ladies’ clubs in the country, they repeated their performance of 2001, losing in the semi-finals in a more than eight-hour tennis-playing marathon.They drew Esporta Croydon in the first round and despatched them swiftly with a decisive 4-0 scoreline that put them into the last four, obviating the need to play the doubles matches.The Jersey team was up against the number two seeds, Sutton Tennis Centre, and they went into the match knowing that they could go all the way to the finals.Team captain Pablo Giacopelli said: ‘I woke up that Saturday morning, knowing we had what it took to win the match and earn a place in the final.
I knew it would mean that everyone had to play to their highest standard but it was great to know we had a good chance.’First to play were Rhys Hanger and James Smith, after a start delayed by the heavy overnight rain.Playing at four and displaying some awesome tennis, Hanger defeated Rob Green 6-1, 6-2 while Smith battled from behind to defeat this year’s 18-and-under national champion, Tom Burn 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.Playing at two, Paul Hand was beaten by Nick Crawley, 6-2, 6-3 but Mike Ouvarov won his game against Nick Weal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to make the score 3-1 to Caesareans.Needing just one point to go through, their campaign stuttered as Ouvarov and Hand lost to Weal and Burn 6-4, 6-2 – particularly disappointing for Giacopelli after he gave up his place in the doubles to Ouvarov – and Hanger and Smith, despite having set points in the first set, were beaten 7-6, 6-4 by Green and Crawley.With the score now 3-3, the match went into a tie-break shoot-out, and after eight hours on court all the players were exhausted.Nevertheless the team gave their all but Ouvarov couldn’t hang on and lost 10-8 to Weal; then Hanger beat Burn 11-9 to keep Jersey in contention, but the doubles pair of Hand and Smith, leading 8-6 at one stage, were overtaken by Green and Crawley who finished with a score of 10-8.Disappointed, but philosophical, Giacopelli said that they had been so close that he was still having problems sleeping when he thought of those last two points.’Credit must go to Sutton who managed to hold off our challenge.
It is a great achievement for us to finish third from more than 900 clubs, but it is very hard to have been so close and yet so far away.’But he promised that the team will be back in action next year, determined to claim that elusive national title.The men’s mational team is sponsored by Bailhache Labesse.
