S PORTS
Tennis
Convenor: Soenke Langhoff | Article by: Vishal Vijay
Victorious Mens A team won the final match against Tanglin Club!
SCC TENNIS MEN’S A TEAM WIN STA INTERCLUB SINGLES LEAGUE 2020 February and March were all about the Interclub singles league and SCC set a new record again with the number of teams submitted with eight across the Men’s and Ladies’ categories. Across all of Singapore there were only 64 teams submitted so it is clear the strong market share is a testament to the enthusiasm for the sport at the Club! Our teams were faring well when the season got curtailed due to the Covid-19 shutdown, with the Men’s B and C teams qualifying for the semis and the Ladies’ A teams both well placed for silverware in their league. However there was enough time for our Men’s A team to win all four of their matches and come home with the title! This was a seminal moment for the Section as the last time we won the title was more than a decade ago with our current President Sher Baljit Singh captaining the side at the time to the title. This time Andrew Hill led his charges expertly, with a team that blended the vigour of youth and the experience of a former pro in a perfect combination. The final match with Tanglin Club was a vociferous affair with a strong turnout from SCC descending to Orchard to watch our boys take home the title. Former World No. 162 Guillermo Olaso played in the first singles match and won easily to put the club 1-0 up. Then it was left to Aneish Sawney and Varun Banati, two of our strongest JSMs to take it home. Varun came up short against a quality opponent but Aneish displayed moments of tremendous skill and nerves of steel to vanquish his opponent in two tight sets and bring the title home. Soenke our Convenor luckily had a bottle of bubbly on hand to celebrate the occasion which turned out to be the last bit of tennis before the season was called to a halt. Hopefully the tournament can continue in 1-2 months but for now we have happy memories to take us through this period
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THE PADANG MAY / JUN 2020
From top: Previous Mens A champions from a decade ago; Our Convenor with the bubbly handy to celebrate the win!
of no tennis. For our Section Members, while we all are missing the courts, do take this time to volley indoors against a wall (thanks Rodger!) and watch your favourite classic match highlights on YouTube (Sampras Becker Masters Cup 1996 anyone?). This period will pass and we will all be back to playing tennis soon!
