On a scorching hot day, the fixture began with the top two seeds, Harrison H and Seb C, competing in singles matches and the third and fourth seeds, Theo T and Ned W, competing in doubles.

Harrison battled well against Rugby’s strongest player, who was made to work hard to win points, but unfortunately fell short 6-2 6-2. Seb initially found his opponent tricky to manage but quickly grew in confidence and used his power to take control of points. This became a fantastic game to watch as the two players battled out long points, with Rugby School eventually taking the win 6-3 6-3.

Meanwhile, Theo and Ned were playing outstanding doubles on the court next to Seb. The pair worked well together, with Theo hitting consistently well from the baseline and Ned using quick hands at the net. This, combined with strong serving, was too much for the Rugby School pair and led to a 6-1 7-6 win for Warwick.

Going into the second round of fixtures, this meant Rugby School was leading 4-2 in ‘rubbers’. It was now the turn of Theo T and Harry W to take on their opposites in singles. Theo started where he had left off the doubles and raced into an early lead, with a combination of powerful hitting and clever tactics to manipulate his opponent around the court. Theo’s dominance meant he won his singles comfortably 6-2 6-0. Harry also took control of his match well, winning the first set 6-2 with a combination of good baseline hitting and variation of spin.

In the second set, Harry’s opponent raised their game, and it meant the match became tied at one set apiece. The tie-break that followed was a must-win for Warwick to ensure we still had a chance of winning the overall match. Through resilience and composure, Harry played some of his best tennis, running his opponent around the court to breaking point, winning 10-3.

These two wins in the singles lifted the spirits of the team and swung momentum in favour of Warwick.

In the second doubles match, Harrison and Seb played well together. The combination of Seb’s serves and Harrison’s groundstrokes complemented each other well, but the Rugby School pair remained resolute and won 6-1 6-3. This meant that after three hours and fifteen minutes of play, the fixture was tied at 6-6 and the match would go to a ‘shootout’. This consists of one player from ‘Pair 1’ and one from ‘Pair 2’ from each team, playing doubles in a Championship Tie-Break to 10 points.

Having battled through the afternoon heat, the team’s hopes lay with Harrison and Ned. In a tense encounter, Ned’s volleying game yet again came to the fore, ruthlessly putting away anything that came near him. Harrison found another dimension too; with renewed vigour, his trusty forehand drove the Rugby pair back in the court to give us the advantage.

This fantastic combination meant that after three hours and fourty five minutes, Warwick won the shootout 10-5 and the match was over with Warwick beating Rugby School 7-6. Congratulations to the team on an incredible performance and good luck in the regional semi-final.