Joy for Wiltshire coaches in deaf tennis finals

11:12am Tuesday 6th May 2008

There was joy for Ramsbury coaches Cathy Graham and Lewis Fletcher who won three titles at the National Deaf Tennis Champiosnhips.

But there was disappointment for Devizes' Dan Tunstall who missed out for the seconmd year running in the men's singles final at the championships in Gloucester over the weekend.

Graham won the ladies' singles and doubles crowns, while Fletcher won the men's doubles.

Twice former title holder Tunstall, who coaches at Devizes Tennis Club, was again beaten by defending champion Peter Willcox on Monday.

Last year Tunstall took the first set of the final off Willcox, but this year the decider took on a different complexion as top seed Willcox raced out of the blocks and never let Tunstall back in to the match as he went on to seal a 6-0, 6-0 victory in 59 minutes.

The ladies' singles final followed a similar pattern as top seed and defending champion Graham raced through the first set against Southampton-based coach Sharon Templeman to take it 6-0.

Templeman showed signs of a revival in the second set as she broke Graham's serve to move in to a narrow 2-1 lead, but the comeback was short-lived and Graham reeled off the next five games to seal a 6-0, 6-2 victory in one hour and 10 minutes On Sunday Graham and Templeman regained the ladies' doubles title from Oxfordshire twins Alex and Beth Simmons.

The Simmons sisters took the first set 6-4. In the second Graham and Templeman then had points for a 4-2 lead, but again missed out on their opportunities before finally securing a breakthrough to move 5-3 up. The Simmons sisters managed to break back to level the score once more, but a second break gave Graham and Templeman the set to force a decider.

In the final set Graham and Templeman established an early 3-0 lead, which Alex and Beth Simmons slowly clawed back to move to within one game at 4-5.

But Graham and Templeman proved the stronger as they converted their third match point seal a hard won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory in the longest match of the day, lasting two hours and 27 minutes Fletcher picked up his second men's doubles title in four years on Monday partnering Willcox.

The top seeds needed exactly an hour to seal a 6-3, 6-1 victory over second seeds Anthony Sinclair and Darren O'Donnell.

Fletcher and Graham were then beaten in the mixed doubles final by Willcox and Templeman 7-5, 6-2.