Three out of six Maccabi teams won on a pleasant November's day. 

It was great to see the return from serious injury of Jack Stock in the doubles for our Section 9 team. It was also heartening to have inspirational wounded skipper Joel Rabinov in attendance to cheer on his Section 8 team to a nailbiting win over 2nd placed Hawthorn.

A reminder that all Maccabi Tennis Club members, players, spectators and visitors are expected to abide by the Code of Conduct. This includes behaving respectfully towards teammates and opposition players, taking care of MTC facilities and equipment and staying until the completion of all matches to support your teammates and enjoy afternoon tea.

BRTA Summer Pennant

Section 3 Maccabi 4-6-48 defeated BLTC 2-2-26

Jordan Jaffe 3-8
Jonny Henquin 8-1
Jarred Krowitz 8-2
Rob Minc 5-8
Jordan Jaffe/ Jonny Henquin 6-1 6-0
Jarred Krowitz/ Rob Minc 6-3 6-3

In very not Maccabi fashion, both doubles pairings had fantastic performances. Jordan and Jonny were incredible from the get go, controlling every point and playing at an extremely high level to only concede 1 game. Whilst Jarred and Rob, playing with each other for the first time, enjoyed the left-right combination to win 6-3 6-3.

In singles, Jordan struggled to win the consistency battle against a solid young kid, going down 8-3. Jonny was too strong for his opponent, winning 8-1. Jarred in his first competitive competition match in 10 years, didn’t miss a beat, winning 8-2. Unfortunately, Rob didn’t reach his best, going down 8-5 against an opponent he knows he couldn’t definitely beat if played again.

 

A very solid win by the team - continuing our streak of wins since round 2.

- Jordan Jaffe

Section 5 Maccabi 3-4-50 defeated by Kings Park 3-5-48

Ilay Givoni 4-8
Saul Muscatel 6-8
Marcus Frajman 8-3
Luka Federman 8-3
Ilay Givoni/ Saul Muscatel 6-7 2-6
Marcus Frajman/ Luka Federman 6-1 3-6 6-7

A very close loss. Strong performances from all players weren't enough. Marcus and Luka will rue their slight drop off in the second set after a bright opening set. Saul and Ilay also were in a tiebreak in the first set and we were unfortunately edged out by one set despite being ahead on games.

- Marcus Frajman

Section 6 Maccabi  3-5-49 defeated Overport 3-4-52

Nathan Rapoport 6-8
Daniel Henquin 2-8
Darion Pohl 8-6
David Guberek 2-8
Nathan Rapoport/ Daniel Henquin 6-3 6-1
Darion Pohl/ David Guberek 7-6 2-6 7-6

Starting with doubles, Nathan and Daniel teamed up again. They met plenty of challenges in the first set and then powered home in the second. As they sat down to rest, on the next court Darion (playing his first match of the season) and David (filling in for the second time) were in the midst of their first set tiebreaker, which they won after a marathon first set. Their opponents had the edge in the second set, setting up a match tiebreak, but Darion and David steadied and won the sealer.

By this time Daniel had already finished his singles, unfortunately his opponent was too strong and steady.

Nathan had the same experience with his opponent showing his talents and aggression, putting away any ball that dropped short. After a gallant fightback from 2-6 down, Nathan fell just short.

David fought hard in his singles too, especially after the long doubles and against his much younger opponent. 

It then came down to Darion in his singles. He started brilliantly, getting out to a 5-2 lead, but his opponent kept challenging, closing the lead to get to 6-6. Darion then showed his experience, sealing the win 8-6, and claiming victory for the team by 1 set.

- Nathan Rapoport

Section 7 Maccabi 2-3-50 defeated by Langwarrin 5-6-57

Steve Bendel 8-5
Adam Needleman 6-8
Daniel Vertes 8-5
Blake Golden 2-8
Steve Bendel/ Adam Needleman 6-7 6-4 6-7
Daniel Vertes/ Blake Golden 5-7 3-6

Playing a team that could win the section in Langwarristan, on bouncy fast hardcourt, in perfect conditions was always going to be a challenge for us. Once again the team did the club proud , fighting and scrapping,  making it  a real contest . Special mention to Steven Bendel and Daniel Vertes who won very hard fought singles to give us a sporting chance going into the doubles. On a different note their number 4 had the biggest serve I have seen for quite a while. I don’t think Blake will come up against an opponent with this sort of weaponry in a very long time !

 - Adam Needleman

Section 8 Maccabi 4-6-61 defeated Hawthorn 2-4-50

Henry Orner 8-4
Aden Minaker 8-4
Stephen Gorenstein 3-8
Daniel Brami 8-2
Henry Orner/ Aden Minaker 6-2 4-6 6-7
Stephen Gorenstein/ Daniel Brami 6-4 5-7 7-6

Henry had a competitive start, but once his opponent’s level dropped, he took control for a convincing 8-4 victory.

Aden played a left-hander and was able to dictate the match on his terms, earning his first singles win of the season in strong fashion, 8-4.

Stephen knew it would be a tough match, having played his opponent before. His opponent was simply too strong on the day, and Stephen went down 3-8.

Daniel, despite still recovering from a cold, dominated from the start. His opponent struggled to get into the match, and Daniel secured a comfortable 8-2 win.

Henry and Aden started well, taking the first set 6-2. However, their level dropped and they lost the second set 4-6 and the match tiebreak 3-10.

Daniel and Stephen played a competitive match, winning the first set 6-4. They had a chance to go up a double break in the second, but momentum shifted and the Hawthorn pair took it 7-5. In the match tiebreak, things weren’t going Maccabi’s way, but at 3-5 down Daniel hit two strong first serves to level it at 5-5. From there they closed out the match 10-6, securing the overall win for the team.

- Daniel Brami

Section 9 Maccabi 1-2-28 defeated by BLTC 5-7-59

Ben Pollak 1-8
Sebastian Raboy 2-8
Ash Raboy 3-8
Stephen Kleid 4-8
Ben Pollak/ Jack Stock 0-6 1-6
Sebastian Raboy/ Ash Raboy 6-2 4-6 7-6

Unfortunately today was a rough day and not much to talk about singles, all 4 of us gave it our all but outclassed by better players.
In doubles, big shout out to the father-son pair of Seb and Ash, was able to finish the day off on a high. Was a very topsy turvy match and very much like a roller coaster but fantastic to get the win.
Second shout out to Jack, unfortunately we played far superior players in doubles, we played some good points here and there but it was a great milestone for Jack who played his first match in 100 days since he badly injured his ankle. So onward and upward, we have the bye next week and then attack the second half the season.

- Ben Pollak