Royal Melbourne Tennis Club

The Royal Melbourne Tennis Club Newsletter – June 2009

Forthcoming Events:
June 8    – Queen’s Birthday H’cap Doubles    June 13/15    – Alan Hamer Doubles
June 20/21    – Melbourne Masters Doubles (40s, 50s, 60s, 70s)

The old RMTC Porterhouse is back and club lunches are picking up once more on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Also, come and join the President and Pros for lunch on Thursday when Andrew cooks up a storm!

President’s Blog – Andrew Gould
May was another busy month in the Club, particularly for the Treasurer and the staff with the preparations for the AGM, which was held on May 6th.  The meeting was followed by the annual trophy presentations and a lively question time.  It was great to see so many people taking a passionate interest in the workings of the Club, topics of particular interest included proposed changes to Associate membership as well as the rationale of the Club’s Long Term Investment Fund, I hope all members will continue to feel free to voice any opinions or problems to any member of the Committee: dealing with Club problems is part of our role (it is not the role of the professional staff or Robyn).  The upshot of this discussion is that we are undertaking an independent review of the Associate Membership category (Ed. – perhaps we should order a Rudd style Green paper).

World Championship
The dates are now set as Tuesday May 4th (7pm), Thursday May 6th (7pm) and Saturday 8th May (2pm).  The continuing GFC is playing havoc with our sponsorship plans!  I call on all members to help us in our quest for funds.  You can help in many ways:

•    you or your firm may wish to:    help us find a sponsor – large or small
•    advertise in the program
•    hire the mezzanine for a day’s play (including drinks and commentary)
•    donate products or services for auction or for the players’ use

The applications for seats and the social program will be released in the next month or two.  Demands for all seats will be high, and, as a proportion of seats must be held for the players, match officials and overseas visitors, please apply early to avoid disappointment.

Club Doubles Championship
The Hamer doubles final will be held on Monday June 15 starting at 6pm.  It promises again to be the highest standard amateur doubles on the planet, and there will be dinner afterwards – what more could you ask for?  Please sign up for the dinner at the Club by Thursday 11th June.

Mark Mathias
The Club will be hosting a very talented young UK amateur player on his gap year from September onwards. He will be helping out in the pro shop with side trips to Ballarat and Hobart planned also.  If you can provide a billet for him for even a couple of weeks, please contact myself, Frank or Julian.

US Tour
After yet another unsuccessful South Carolina campaign, I have had some good news.  Ed Hughes, the former USCTA Chairman, has offered to help coordinate a tour leading up to the Knox trophy next April.  It would be short and sharp and involve play at Tuxedo, Lakewood, New York and Aiken, with an (very) outside chance of the Whitney court at Greentree as well.  There would also be golf at Tuxedo and Aiken. Let me know if there is any interest!

May Tennis
Exhibition Street Cup – Julian Snow
There were 44 entries in the Exhibition St. Cup singles over the weekend of May 16/17.  Although nominally an RMTC members’ tournament, the rules were sufficiently flexed to allow us to welcome 5 players from Sydney as well as a prial of Williams from Ballarat.

Encouragingly, the event proved to be a triumph for the junior section of the club.  Myself apart, the ages of the semi-finalists were 16, 19, and 21, and it was the youngest competitor of all, Michael Williams, who came through to win.  Michael, who played off 29 (a mark he won’t see again), started Sunday by defeating our aspiring young professional Chris Chapman (2.5) by 8 games to 3, and then showed that he paid no heed either to age or reputation by bashing me up by the same margin.  In the other half, Ed Welch (28.4) progressed to play Simon Carr (22.9) in the semi-final.  It was a very good match of contrasting styles; Simon played fast with a traditional railroad service, whereas Ed played more carefully and relied on a sidewall serve.  In the end the classic game got the better of the faster game, the match ending with Ed playing an exquisite cross court backhand to the base of the tambour.

The final was a wonderful match, with so much to commend both young players, who demonstrated an exceptionally mature understanding of match play and strategy.  I might also add that the match was played with flawless court manners from both boys, and in an excellent spirit. Getting only owe ¼ 15 as a handicap, in the end Michael ran out a convincing 8-4 winner.  Not only does he have a good eye for the ball, but Michael is also extremely strong and quick.  One or two of his forehand volleys, as well as the occasional rocket-like force were genuinely unreturnable.  I had no doubt that I was watching a future champion.  Michael shared with me afterwards that he is keen to emulate his older brother Daniel who won the U21 Ford Strachan Trophy in 2007 and 2008 (but is no longer eligible); he would not have to improve much more to make that a realistic target later this year.  Then he can start chasing some of the overseas youngsters – there is a 17yo at Seacourt, Hayling Island, with a handicap of 7.7.

There was also doubles – for early singles losers and doubles specialists. Josef Brunhuber, the winner in 2007, generously donated a most intriguing trophy, which was won by Andrew Gould and Owen Guest, who beat Fiona Hewson and Vince Scopelliti in the final.  The P and VP were much too steady and experienced for their newly paired opponents.

May Results
Exhibition Street Cup Singles
M. Williams def. Ed Welch 8/4
Exhibition Street Cup Doubles
A. Gould/O. Guest def. F. Hewson/V. Scopelliti 8/2

Sherwood Street Cup
J. McAdam def. T. John 6/5 6/2

Quarterly Medal
Group Winners: D. Callaghan, Charles Foster, Nick Shelton and Brendan O’Brien.

Here and There – Mike Garnett
A Gutsy Operation
A young boy in country Victoria can thank the efforts of a local doctor and RMTC’s David Wallace for saving his life.  13 year old Nicholas Rossi fell off his bike at Maryborough and fractured his skull, resulting in the tear of a tiny artery between the bone and the brain above the ear.  Local GP Rob Carson recognised that there was internal bleeding which if left untreated, would prove fatal.  The small country hospital was not equipped for such an emergency, and did not have neurological drills to perform the difficult operation.  So Rob located a household drill knowing that he had to penetrate into Nicholas’ skull to relieve the blood clot from the brain.  With expert advice from neurosurgeon David Wallace, who was able to talk him through the complex procedure over the phone, the doctor was able to operate successfully until the blood clot fell out.  He continued to treat Nicholas successfully until he was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.  Two days later Nicholas Rossi was able to return home much to the relief of his mum and dad.  Well done David! (Ed. – if you intend to have a brain injury in the club you should do it at around 6AM Monday’s or 9PM Wednesday’s.  Alternatively, if you would prefer our brain surgeon to be available a little earlier on the Wednesday you can join the “bring back permanent bookings” gaggle)

World Doubles
The Australian combination of Robert Fahey and Steve Virgona has once again taken out the World Championship Doubles by defeating the impressive pairing of Ricardo Smith and Bryn Sayers at Seacourt.  The top seeds had defeated James Male and Chris Bray in the semis, and the Smith/Sayers combination had defeated the fancied pair of Nick Wood and Camden Riviere (No.2 seeds).  Fahey and Virgona have now held the title on each of the three occasions since 2003 – hopefully we will see them win their fourth when it is held in Australia in 2011.

The Bandies of Fortune
This is a great addition to tennis history by RMTC member Geoff Hiller – a scholarly appraisal of how tennis was seen through the ages from medieval times.  Geoff has dug deep to locate obscure writings from those who used tennis as their model in verse, poems and other literary works.  Great value – a sign-up sheet is on the club notice-board.

Burroughs Safe – For Now
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the Burroughs Club has been resolved for the next two years.  Now renamed the Middlesex University Real Tennis Club (MURTC), the club is managed by three separate entities: the Luck-Hille Foundation, the Middlesex University and the Tennis & Rackets Association.  The professional is Rod McNaughton, whose main priority is to lift the profile of the sport amongst the students.  The fate of the club will be reviewed in March 2011.