Editors Report: by Peter Coath

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1 Guy Turner Reserve Tennis Club July 2012 Editors Report: by Peter Coath Right now it s hard to believe the year is approaching the half way mark. It feels like the year is flying by without time to think about the moment. In some ways I feel so we have just finished celebrating our New Years Eve party in balmy weather then all of a sudden it s freezing cold and having to rug up. One good thing about the half way mark is, of course, the Wimbledon Championships which gives us some cheer on those cold dark dreary nights in front of the warm fire. Just recently the French Open produced its dramas with Rafael Nadal cementing his name in the history books of Roland Garros claiming his recording breaking 7 th title. In the Final which went to an extra day due to the inclement weather, finally a relieved Nadal overcame Novak Djokovic in four sets to break the record of 6 previously held by Bjorn Borg. In the last 3 Grand Slam finals which were played out by Nadal Vs Djokovic, all going in Djokovic s way, the French Open was Nadal s best chance on his beloved clay to break Djokovic s 3 slam streak and stop him becoming the first person to win 4 Grand Slams in a row since Rod Laver in Either way there was lots of history at stake at the French open regardless of who won. In the women s draw they still have a long way to go to break the record holder of Chris Evert s 7 titles. Currently no woman player in this year s French Open Draw has won multiple French titles since the retirement of 4 time champion Justine Henin, so it looks as though Chris Evert s record will be safe for some time to come. The shrieking Russian Maria Sharapova created history at Roland Garros overcoming her French hoodoo to win her first French Open, becoming the 10th player to claim at least one of all the four grand slam titles along with Australia, Wimbledon and U.S Open. Now Maria can put herself in the same bracket alongside the Greats of M.Court, B.J. King, C.M. Evert, M. Navratilova, S.Graf, and S.Williams. Along with the excitement we now have Wimbledon to look forward to and question marks hang in the balance as to who will win this year. It will all come down to who is in form and maybe a bit of luck with the draw. Djokovic will have to be the best bet to win,

2 but Nadal will be full of confidence believing once more that he can take a shot at Djokovic. Surprisingly you never know 6 time champion Federer may hit the zone in his last opportunity to win before age catches up with him. Even in the women s side the mystery remains to who can win this year. Maybe Kvitova will strike back or Sharapova will be brimming with confidence from her French Open win or could the Williams Sisters now in their 30 s roar back with one last shot before age catches up with them too. One wonders how any of the Aussies will fare at Wimbledon this year. Could Bernard Tomic go one step further than his quarter final appearance last year? Sadly Leighton Hewitt our champion 10 years ago doesn t look like going far for his time has run out with age and injuries taking their toll. Our highest ranked woman at No.5 Sam Stosur surely can do better than lose in the first round as she has done the past 2 years and go a bit further in the draw to boost the morale of the declining state of Australian women s tennis.. Back to club Matters, now that it is mid Year it s a timely reminder to renew your membership payments for 2012/13. Unfortunately we regret that the price has gone up slightly due to Tennis Victoria raising the cost of the Insurance fee and the cost of maintaining the club s courts so we can have good courts to play on and so on. Also coming up in August is the club s AGM where we hope to see some more support from our members with new faces coming along. We welcome new people who have new ideas on running the club and fundraising. See date and details further in the newsletter. And for now enjoy your tennis and late nights watching Wimbledon. Happy Tennis Coming up in August Guy Turner Reserve Tennis Club AGM To be held on Friday 10 th August 2012 At 7.45pm in the Club Rooms All welcomee to come and support the Club. We Need New Faces

3 Night Tennis News Another season of Night Tennis has just concluded and players will be no doubt glad of the break between seasons and the chance to stay indoors and keep warm during these cold winter nights. Well done to all teams for their efforts, not only on the court, but for the smooth way the season has gone. Special congratulations goes to the Wednesday Section 1 team who won their Grand Final and well done to the Tuesday Section 2 mens team and the Thursday Section 2 (GTR 2) team who were runners-up. One of the benefits of coming to the end of another season is the chance to have a night out with team-mates and their partners. I m not sure how many other teams do this but I am aware of some. My team has experienced a wide range of dining options over the years from Japanese to Himalayan (surprising to find seafood on the menu!!). We have the same teams entered for next season with the exception of the Tuesday ladies team who will sit out the year but are keen to play again next year. They would welcome an extra member so if you know someone please contact me. The new season begins the week of Monday 16 th July and balls and fixture books will be available for pick-up during the preceding weekend (captains will be notified). So enjoy the break between seasons, put your feet up and soak up the warmth indoors before venturing out into the cold nights once again! Adrian Batt Night Tennis Rep A Friendly Reminder to all club members that the2012/2013 annual fees are now due. Please that Note Juniors need to pay club fees AS WELL AS ball money. You will receive a letter or from the Membership secretary soon with the new updated Forms for 2012/2013 to fill out.

4 Juniors news Back in March the annual 2012 Junior Club Championships were held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Congratulations to the Winners and Runners Up. Boys Champion: Josiah Roach Girls Champion : Tiffany Noonan Runners Up: Nick Antonellos Runners Up: Caitlyn Kohinga We hope that the Juniors are without too many washouts. enjoying their Winter Competition Why not visit the Extreme Tennis Website on for more details about what our club coach has to offer in tennis coaching programs, clinics, Adult programs, tournaments and much more... If you would like to contact us for further information please to Stuart and Diana Stutterby on contactus@extremetennis.com.au V..T.S Pennant News The 2012 VTS Pennant season is well under way. This season we have 3 teams, one Mens Grade 5 and two Ladies, Grade 4 and 6. So far into the season after 8 rounds, Mens grade 5 and Ladies grade 4 are sitting second on the ladder and looking to have a good second half of the season to consolidate their spots in the 4. The Womens grade 6 team, playing in their first season of pennant are sitting sixth.

5 Wimbledon Edition: Flashback to 25 years ago Aussie Pat Cash wins Wimbledon and Martina wins her 8 th Wimbledon Singles title. Pat Cash became the 11th Australian to win Wimbledon, joining Norman Brookes, Jack Crawford, Frank Sedgeman, Ashley Cooper, Lew Hoad, Neal Fraser, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe. Many American men have won Wimbledon, but somehow, for Australians, it is different. Australian boys pick up rackets and play tennis on grass and dream of Wimbledon. And, to win Wimbledon, Cash beat first Mats Wilander, then Jimmy Connors, and then the No.1 player in the world, Ivan Lendl, in the final. Not only that, he beat him in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, 7-5 to join the other Aussies. "There's one thing I wanted to do in my career," Cash said afterwards. "And I did it today." So overwhelmed was the earring-wearing Aussie, he skipped off the court, climbing up into the stands to the player's box to hug his girlfriend, family, and coach Ian Barclay. It is an iconic celebration that has been repeated by many players over the years. If 20th century women's tennis were to be immortalized for the world's post-microwave generations to see, a tape of the Martina Navratilova-Chris Evert semi-final at Wimbledon 1987 should be entombed. Competing in their penultimate match against each other at Wimbledon, as is tradition, Navratilova and Evert delayed their exit to curtsy to the Royal Box, where Princess Diana stood in an oleo-coloured frock and applauded. Navratilova, renowned for her athleticism, dived and body-rolled after Evert's shots as never before, taking the first set 6-2. Throughout the two hours, Evert played superb catch-up tennis, taking the second set 7-5, and she almost got there before time ran out, Navratilova sealing the win 6-4 in the third. She went on to win the title, defeating Steffi Graf in the final for her eighth Wimbledon singles title.