On an ideal day for tennis, 2 out of 6 teams  managed a win.

Tennis Victoria Winter Pennant

Grade 5 Section 3 Maccabi 5-5-47 defeated Mount Martha 1-3-41

Asaf Nagar/ Marty Schwarz 2-6 4-6
Jonny Henquin/ Steve Gostin 2-6 6-4 (12-10)
Asad Nagar 8-4
Marty Schwarz 8-3
Jonny Henquin 8-4
Steve Gostin 9-8

It was a glorious day for tennis, no wind and sunshine. We started with doubles. Jonny and Steve started slow, losing the first set. However, with some impeccable baseline shots and well placed volleys, Steve and Jonny come back to win the second set 6-4. They played some incredible tennis (and some insane shots from Jonny) to win a nail-biting tie break 12-10. Highlight of the day. On the other hand, Asaf and Marty didn’t take their chances and missed too many, going down 2 and 4. In the singles, Asaf outclassed a slightly older player (who would have been top talent in his prime), winning 8-4. Marty played some very consistent tennis, putting away anything short and took his chances to win 8-3. Another very solid performance from Jonny, with his usual killer and lightning fast baseline shots, winning 8-4. Steve battled hard in an almost 2 hour match. Steve ended up winning in another nail-biting tiebreaker 7-5. Overall, we played some fantastic tennis to defeat a team that is closely matched with us on the ladder.

- Marty Schwarz

Grade 7 Section Maccabi 0-034 defeated by 6-8-58

Geoff Rosenberger/ Arvid Kreimer 2-6 6-7 
Jamie Muscatel/ Jan Tenenberg 3-6 6-7
Geoff Rosenberger 6-8
Arvid Kreimer 5-8
Jamie Muscatel 4-8
Jan Tenenberg 2-8

A demoralising loss which continues our poor start to the season.

On a positive note we welcomed back Arvid (after a long injury) and he showed many glimpses of his capabilities. 

Whilst our opponents today (and in past weeks) are playing to a high standard, we are off the pace and need to improve quickly before the season gets away from us.

- Geoff Rosenberger

Grade 8 Section 3 Maccabi 3-4-47 defeated Kings Park 3-4-40

Ryan Behr/ Daniel Henquin 6-4 6-1
Ilay Givoni/ Gilad Nagar 3-6 6-3 (10-5)
Ilay Givoni  6-8
Gilad Nagar 7-9
Ryan Behr 8-1
Daniel Henquin 5-8

Up against local rivals Kings Park it was always going to be close. Switching the doubles match up worked well, with Gilad & Ilay winning in a nail biter. Daniel & Ryan cut back errors to win three love games in a row to take out the first set and then cruised in the second.
One singles win away from victory proved was rather elusive. Gilad went down fighting in yet another close battle. Daniel was on the receiving end of a talented lefty who powered through the match. Ilay played well with his usual cracker serves and, despite improving his French, said au revoir to the win. Ryan luckily got the win before the lights kicked in and we took line honours in a very very close encounter. Strong effort team!

- Ryan Behr

Grade 9 Section 3 Maccabi 1-2-29 defeated by Glenburn 5-6-51

Joel Rabinov/ Wayne Myers 1-6 6-7
Daniel Goodrich/ Ian Altman 6-3 3-6 (5-10)
Joel Rabinov 2-8
Daniel Goodrich 1-8
Wayne Myers 2-8
Ian Altman 8-5

We played at Glenburn (in Glen Waverley) on their mod grass.

Joel and Wayne didn’t get going in the first set (1-6): Joel unable to land a serve or return, Wayne missing slices. However they lifted in the 2nd set against a big serving pair and had chances, however lost the tiebreak 2-7.

Daniel and Ian continued on from last weeks win with a 6-3 opening set. However they started hitting errors (along with their opponents using their forehands) to drop the second set 3-6 and then dropped the match tiebreak 5-10.

Joel got to 30all in most games, however couldn’t win those games in a 2-8 loss. 

Daniel just couldn’t get going, going down 1-8.

Wayne played a leftie (who was fresh after being subbed in after the doubles). Unfortunately he just had the answers to Wayne; a 2-8 result.

Ian played in the closest singles with both players having frustrating moments (Ian having numerous 40-0 games but unable to close out games). After playing a bit passively, Ian stepped up to take the final 4 games for a 8-5 win.

Overall: A tough loss, but there is enough there for us for the return bout. Joel’s opponent actually played grade 4 last winter (yep, in a higher grade than our top team). Joel was just hoping to avoid a bagel, given he had been battling an injury, covid and playing on his worst surface, a 2-8 loss was actually alright against the best player to have hit a court this season in our season (however he is beatable, provided Joel couldn stop hitting everything either short, down the middle or out). A few home games to get us back on track. 

- Joel Rabinov

Grade 10 Section 3 Maccabi 0-0-13 defeated by Dendy Park 6-8-56

Ben Pollak/ Saul Jayes 2-6 0-6
Sebastian Raboy/ Ash Raboy 2-6 1-6
Ben Pollak 1-8
Saul Jayes 3-8
Sebastian Raboy 2-8
Ash Raboy 2-8

I’ll keep the summary pretty short and sharp today, unfortunately in all 6 matches we were outclassed. Although the effort was there, each player struggled against a good opposition.   Onwards and upwards to next week where we can hopefully see an improved performance.

 - Ben Pollak

Grade 10 Section 4 Maccabi 0-0-7 defeated by Highmoor Uniting 6-8-56

Jacob Nathan/ Paul Kovacs 0-6 0-6
Stephen Gorenstein/ Stephen Kleid 1-6 0-6 
Stephen Gorenstein 0-8
Stephen Kleid 5-8
Jacob Nathan 0-8
Paul Kovacs 1-8