While Aussie tennis eyes have been fixed on John Millman’s exploits at the US Open this week, our attention will turn from Flushing Meadows to Strathfield this Saturday for the Men’s Autumn Badge semi-finals.
An impressive four out of our five Men’s teams have reached the last four in their division, with the three teams that will play at home all finishing on top of their respective tables.
So, while it may be spring, our tennis members are not quite ready to leave autumn behind. We wish all players the best for their match-ups and if you’re down at the Club this Saturday afternoon make sure you cheer them on!
An honourable mention must also go out to our Men’s Premier League team who finished runners-up after going down to Hills District in their Grand Final a couple of weeks ago.
Here’s an update from all our Club Captains heading into this weekend’s action.
Strathfield 2
SSC 2 claimed the minor-premiership in the Men’s 1.2 division by a whopping 28 points, losing just one match during the regular season.
They will host Kooroora this weekend, as they seek to claim the title and promotion to Men’s 1.1 for next season.
Captain Mark Padd reports the team have enjoyed great camaraderie this season, with all players much-improved under the tutelage of STA&C director Inhwa and coach Shin.
Strathfield 3
SSC 3 also finished the regular season on top of the table in the Men’s 2.1 division and are hoping to claim the double.
They’ll go into the semis in strong form, having only dropped six games in their comprehensive 8 sets to love victory last weekend!
This Saturday’s match-up will be a rematch of last year’s final against Killara 5.
While they’ll be without star players Sudeep Gurung and Alex Chen, captain Charles Hempel is confident they’ve got the depth in their squad to get the job done!
Strathfield 4
SSC 4 will be hoping to spring an upset in the Men’s 2.3 division after finishing the season in third place.
Captain Daryl Hart reports the team have been hit by a few injuries leading into the business end of the season as they prepare to play away against Chatswood this weekend.
They’ll be hoping to reprise the form they showed back in Round 2 at the same location, when they defeated their opposition 6 sets to 2.
Strathfield 5
SSC 5 had a barn-storming finish to the regular season, dropping just two sets in the last four rounds on their way to again finishing on top of the Men’s 2.5 division.
Despite finishing 13 points clear of their nearest rival, captain Robert Moh has warned his team against complacency as they prepare to face the Manly side who knocked them out of the finals last season.
If they’re able to exact some revenge they will face either Mosman, who was the only team to beat them during the regular season, or Marrickville, who they had an extraordinary draw – 4 sets, 40 games all – with in their only encounter.
Strathfield 6
Unfortunately, SSC 6 will not be part of the September action after narrowly missing out on fourth spot in what was an extremely competitive division following the merging of 2.5 and 3.1.
Their bid was cruelled by two ill-timed washouts against potentially weaker opposition, denying them the chance to claim maximum points.
Despite the setback captain Phil Low reports the team thoroughly enjoyed testing themselves against tougher opposition and will regroup for another campaign next year.