Guernsey retain hope of top-four finish

GUERNSEY'S men suffered another defeat despite a battling performance against a strong Chesham Bois side in the Lawn Tennis Association's National Clubs League. For the third time in as many outings this season, the Bank of Bermuda-sponsored side were tied at 2-2 after the singles.

A thrilling final doubles almost saw Guernsey take the match into a tie-break decider, only for Chesham to fight back from a break down in the third to notch a 4-2 victory.

Their win at Longcamp took the visitors to the top of the NCL Division Two southern section standings, with just one to play.

However, even with this result, Guernsey's hopes of a fourth-place finish are still alive, with everything resting on their final two matches next month.

Chesham got off to a flying start.

Guernsey's youngsters Rob West and Patrick Ogier, playing at one and two, both suffered straight-set defeats to higher-rated and much more experienced opponents.

However, captain Chris Hickling began a fightback in the third match with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

That left Danny Strappini, making his first appearance this season for Guernsey, to level the scores going into the two doubles. He won the first set on a tie-break only to lose the second, before battling back to take the match 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.

With honours even going into the doubles, Strappini teamed up with 17-year-old West, but they were no match for their opponents as a 6-0, 6-3 win saw Chesham restore a slender advantage.

The final doubles turned out to be a nail-biting encounter. Hickling was paired with Ian Robinson and they took the first set 6-4 before Chesham fought back to level at a set apiece.

The home side then gained the upper hand in the deciding set, taking an early break to lead 3-0. However they failed to make this count and the Chesham pairing broke back to level the scores.

Hickling and Robinson then saw what was potentially a match-winning position disappear.

Serving at 5-5, they handed the advantage back to Chesham, which they duly took for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 scoreline.