Guernsey find the going tough in the south-east

IF GUERNSEY'S first south-eastern Kia National Club League Division One match was a baptism of fire, then this was their confirmation. After a successful season in the south-west Division One, the Sarnians were moved to the much stronger south-east league. For their opening match last weekend, they travelled to Raynes Park where they were comprehensively whipped 6-0 by a four man team that had three professional players.

Yesterday, Guernsey played hosts to Hampstead club Cumberland at the Longcamps Tennis Centre and again they experienced a 6-0 whitewash.

'I'm quite philosophical about it,' said Guernsey captain Chris Hickling.

'Again it was a tough match but there were some good games. We've just got to keep it going for the whole match and not just for points.

'But at least everyone is enjoying it.'

Hickling took the number one spot for the home side as he came up against Ekow Carboo. The young Cumberland player, who had a great image with a wild blonde hairstyle, is planning to train in Spain for the summer to try to break into the professional ranks.

He showed his class as he wasted no time in dispensing with Hickling 6-2, 6-2.

The New Zealand-born Hickling admitted personal errors had contributed to his downfall.

'It was enjoyable but I'm disappointed,' he said.

'I had my chances in the second set but he was too good for me. In the first game of the second set, I was 40-love up and I had five double faults to give him the game.

'It was only the first game but if you are serving, you want to go one up.'

Guernsey's second and third players, Andy Privett and Jimmy Wood, also went down in straight sets, while on the end court at the indoor centre, big left-hander Stefan Cloete had an epic battle with Cumberland's number four, Felix Faber.

South African Cloete took the first set 7-6 before the Hamburg-born Faber, who honed his skills in the German national league, bounced back to win the second again after a tie-break. He kept the momentum into the third as the match pushed over the three-hour mark to win it 6-2.

The match was noted for Cloete's regular bursts of racket throwing, shouts of Afrikaans that resonated off the metal roof and his dramatic gestures to the gods of tennis, when things did not going his way. He is certainly quite a character.

'At five-all in the second, the whole match hinged on two points,' said Cloete.

'I was two points away from the match and he was serving onto my backhand and I lost them. There you are.'

Into the doubles matches and the vistors continued with their dominance. Hickling and Cleote struggled with the power of Carboo and Faber while on the next court, Wood and Privett had the same problem with Craig Edmondson and Toby Clark.

Both Guernsey pairs succumbed in straight sets.

'It was good fun,' said captain Edmondson about the match.

'We got a good start and that took the pressure off us so that we could enjoy ourselves.'

Guernsey's next match is against Bath University, who lost to Cumberland last week, on Sunday 23 April at Longcamps.