One of the highlights of Championships Finals day is of course the 065’s Men’s final which again will be scheduled early in the day on Saturday with the Semis taking pride of place on Friday evening. Early rounds took place yesterday and today and while this reporter could not be in attendance my trusty Junior assistant Michael Butler has sent through on the wires a summary of yesterday’s and today’s Round Robin series.

Do not be shocked as I was to recognise some names participating in the over 65’s who by evenings light have also been playing in the main event. No doubt afternoon ‘Naps’ were in vogue this week for some!

Day 1 Tuesday 24th August

The first round of matches were played this morning and produced nail biting conclusions amid some controversy. Post-match discussion on the balcony continued for some time, alas in the absence of our Event Director sunning himself in Italy. He is returning post haste and will impose order on his return. Nevertheless his pairings have been inspired with two of the three ties going right to the wire.

Dermot Ennis & Paul Murphy proved too strong for Michael Butler and Jimmy Morrissey. Dermot’s pin pointing lobbing (he is not the only notable lobber named Dermot) proved crucial with a steady partner to win out 8-3; 10-8.

Ken Browne and the ever green Liam Donnelly eventually saw off Declan Hynes and Colin McCrea 6-5; 14-12. It all hinged on the tie break …how close can it get!!

Finally Peter McCartney and John Richardson had a photo finish against the redoubtable Pat Giles and Bill Godwin, with final score of 5-6; 12-10. Controversy arose with a final shot at the net by P. Giles ….was his racket over the net when hitting the ball…he said not….McCartney however stated that his foot had touched the net, and rightly claimed the deciding point.

This game concluded at 12.10, way over 12 noon deadline. The issue of ‘time faults’ arose and awaits the return of the Event Director.

Day 2 – 25th August

The second series of matches were played Wednesday 11am in warm sunny conditions. All ties were hotly contested and resulted in the following –

Pat Smyth and Len Irvine edged out Jimmy Morrissey and Stephen O’Brien, replacing the injured Michael Butler by the narrowest margin 6-5; with Jimmy and Stephen exacting some measure of revenge winning the tie break 10-5.

Ken Browne, fresh from his exploits of the previous evening, and Liam Donnelly succumbed to the formidable forehand driving of Giles Kerr and Pat Leamy 4-7; 6-10. Methinks Ken was more tired than fresh, although the commitment was undiminished.

Finally and controversially Ken Peare and Michael Keane at 12.10, 10 minutes over time, saw off Pat Giles and Bill Godwin 7-4; 16-14. Giles claimed that time faults didn’t apply due to the longevity of the tie break. His partner Bill lamented that his devastating net game deserted him at a crucial point.

Onward to the final series of matches Thursday 11am, with all 4 semi-final slots up for grabs.

Only one immediate thought comes to mind gentlemen and that is of course ‘Carpe Diem’