To our dearest supporters and fans, it is with great pleasure that SMU Tennis announces its return!
After arduous weeks of mugging in the library, countless sleepless nights and a pack of shiity grades, we traded our books for rackets and hit the bright and sunny courts of Kallang Tennis Centre for 2 hours of intensive matchplay.
Matchup 1:
Men's Doubles - Kamil/Nick vs Jason/Josh
In a repeat of the clash of the titans, this doubles was again anything but heart-stopping. Jason, who had been keeping fit by playing hours of cage soccer, was eager to prove that their win in Laguna was anything but a fluke. Nick, who was deeply sore about the previous loss, was out to prove the point that the court surface was crucial factor in the last tie. The match began with Jason opting to serve first and although he had almost all his first serves in, he just could not hold serve. A combination of solid service returns and slick volleying ensured that Jason's first serves were neutralised. However, Nick went on to double fault thrice in the next game to hand the advantage back to Josh and Jason on a platter.
Josh - fresh from his victory in the Intermediate tournament - went on to dish out a service masterclass and held his game to love. With the score at 2-1, it was left to Kamil to even things out. Alas, inspired returning and cool heads at the net allowed Josh and Jason to break the Kamil serve and at 3-1, the tie seemed destined to end in double J's favour. Again, Lady Luck refused to smile on Jason and Nick and despite good service percentages, both failed to hold serves. It was no surprise then at 5-2, after Josh had held his serve again, that Kamil and Nick were in a do-or-die situation. Thankfully, solid nerves prevailed and at 5-3, hope of a comeback appeared in the distant horizon. The turning point finally arrived in a thrilling point in which there were no less than 2 brilliant "gets" by Nick. The first was when Jason hit a short crosscourt forehand which evaded Kamil at the net. Nick, showing that he was still up to speed, dashed a good 10m to the ball and just managed to flick a high looping return. The point was kept alive but moments later, another short ball threatened to end the point and Nick was again on hand to rescue it; this time, he stretched forward and nicked it (no pun) just above the flailing arms of Josh. Jason, covering the baseline, sprinted across to the other side and somehow contrived to keep the ball in play. However, it was not enough as Kamil soon ended the most exciting point of match with a sublime volley at the net.
This was enough to ensure Kamil and Nick remained in the game and they rode their momentum and went on to win the next 4 games to win the match with a score of 7-5. Jason could be heard muttering loudly (as usual) about how his footwork was off, his forehand was a huge letdown and how he wanted to quit tennis (for the 831509183651th time).
Matchup 2:
Mixed Doubles - Casimir/Clar v Josh/Jac
The 2 girls who turned up for training were visibly lonely while the guys were having the duel of their lives in the above doubles. Clar and Jac, in matching pink Yonex tops and carrying red water jugs, were contented to simply chill and play with Belly Button Quad-ry and had to be cajoled into stepping into the court and hit some balls. They lazyingly obliged but in typical slothy fashion, slugged their way around court. All this changed when Casimir arrived. Wielding his Prostaff 6.0 having ditched N-Code, Casimir appeared to be in great form as he offered to spar with the girls. Despite the numerical disadvantage, he peppered the girls with blistering groundstrokes that had the effect of getting the girls all worked up and excited about tennis! Josh then offered to play a mix doubles and the game got going after an unusually long warmup.
The misconception that mixed doubles was anything but fun was laid to rest once the game began. Josh, who was showing no mercy to his female teammates, pounded his huge serve not just at Cas, but at Clar too. The double Cs, however, were not overawed by the booming serves and carved out some brilliant returns that left Jac, the slow-mo, stunned at the net. Outstretched arms and desperate dives from Jac was not enough as she was passed repeatedly at the net. Josh was determined to make his opponents pay for bullying Jac and seized every opportunity to rush to his favourite zone - the net. Once there, his silky touches caused pandemonium in C&C's court and they looked like mice scurrying around looking for cheese as they scrambled after angled volleys.
After arduous weeks of mugging in the library, countless sleepless nights and a pack of shiity grades, we traded our books for rackets and hit the bright and sunny courts of Kallang Tennis Centre for 2 hours of intensive matchplay.
Matchup 1:
Men's Doubles - Kamil/Nick vs Jason/Josh
In a repeat of the clash of the titans, this doubles was again anything but heart-stopping. Jason, who had been keeping fit by playing hours of cage soccer, was eager to prove that their win in Laguna was anything but a fluke. Nick, who was deeply sore about the previous loss, was out to prove the point that the court surface was crucial factor in the last tie. The match began with Jason opting to serve first and although he had almost all his first serves in, he just could not hold serve. A combination of solid service returns and slick volleying ensured that Jason's first serves were neutralised. However, Nick went on to double fault thrice in the next game to hand the advantage back to Josh and Jason on a platter.
Josh - fresh from his victory in the Intermediate tournament - went on to dish out a service masterclass and held his game to love. With the score at 2-1, it was left to Kamil to even things out. Alas, inspired returning and cool heads at the net allowed Josh and Jason to break the Kamil serve and at 3-1, the tie seemed destined to end in double J's favour. Again, Lady Luck refused to smile on Jason and Nick and despite good service percentages, both failed to hold serves. It was no surprise then at 5-2, after Josh had held his serve again, that Kamil and Nick were in a do-or-die situation. Thankfully, solid nerves prevailed and at 5-3, hope of a comeback appeared in the distant horizon. The turning point finally arrived in a thrilling point in which there were no less than 2 brilliant "gets" by Nick. The first was when Jason hit a short crosscourt forehand which evaded Kamil at the net. Nick, showing that he was still up to speed, dashed a good 10m to the ball and just managed to flick a high looping return. The point was kept alive but moments later, another short ball threatened to end the point and Nick was again on hand to rescue it; this time, he stretched forward and nicked it (no pun) just above the flailing arms of Josh. Jason, covering the baseline, sprinted across to the other side and somehow contrived to keep the ball in play. However, it was not enough as Kamil soon ended the most exciting point of match with a sublime volley at the net.
This was enough to ensure Kamil and Nick remained in the game and they rode their momentum and went on to win the next 4 games to win the match with a score of 7-5. Jason could be heard muttering loudly (as usual) about how his footwork was off, his forehand was a huge letdown and how he wanted to quit tennis (for the 831509183651th time).
Matchup 2:
Mixed Doubles - Casimir/Clar v Josh/Jac
The 2 girls who turned up for training were visibly lonely while the guys were having the duel of their lives in the above doubles. Clar and Jac, in matching pink Yonex tops and carrying red water jugs, were contented to simply chill and play with Belly Button Quad-ry and had to be cajoled into stepping into the court and hit some balls. They lazyingly obliged but in typical slothy fashion, slugged their way around court. All this changed when Casimir arrived. Wielding his Prostaff 6.0 having ditched N-Code, Casimir appeared to be in great form as he offered to spar with the girls. Despite the numerical disadvantage, he peppered the girls with blistering groundstrokes that had the effect of getting the girls all worked up and excited about tennis! Josh then offered to play a mix doubles and the game got going after an unusually long warmup.
The misconception that mixed doubles was anything but fun was laid to rest once the game began. Josh, who was showing no mercy to his female teammates, pounded his huge serve not just at Cas, but at Clar too. The double Cs, however, were not overawed by the booming serves and carved out some brilliant returns that left Jac, the slow-mo, stunned at the net. Outstretched arms and desperate dives from Jac was not enough as she was passed repeatedly at the net. Josh was determined to make his opponents pay for bullying Jac and seized every opportunity to rush to his favourite zone - the net. Once there, his silky touches caused pandemonium in C&C's court and they looked like mice scurrying around looking for cheese as they scrambled after angled volleys.
