TAUNTON Tennis Club’s men’s team beat Sherborne B 10-0 on Friday to preserve a clear lead at the top of Division 2 of the Yeovil & District League. 

Oli Knowles and Laurence Paul hit a real purple patch on the night, defeating David Lyscom and Nick Chapman 6-2, 6-1 and then Edmund Matts and Phil Sutherland 6-0, 6-0.

It was a night when everything went right for them. 

Elliott Rugg and Shingo Yamada also made no mistake during the match, beating Matts and Sutherland 6-0, 6-2 and Lyscom and Chapman 6-4, 6-4.

The team’s 15-point lead at the top of the table looks unassailable now after seven matches, so the men’s team are on course for promotion back to Division 1.

Nonetheless, Taunton team captain Oli Knowles said: “I’m not counting any chickens just yet.

“There are another five matches to go and you never know what can happen with injuries.”

ELMS Lawn Tennis Club are running ‘Lil Miss Hits’ activator sessions for anyone interested in helping get youngsters into tennis.

‘Lil Miss Hits’ is part of the ‘She Rallies’ initiative, set up by the LTA and spearheaded by Judy Murray to introduce five to eight-year-old girls to tennis in a fun and safe environment.

To become a ‘She Rallies’ activator and help run the events, head along to Elms Tennis Club on Linden Road, Taunton, for a free three-hour course.

It is a non-technical course, meaning activators do not already have to be coaches to deliver it.

The event at Elms gets underway at 10am on Thursday, July 12.

STOKE St Gregory took on Queen Camel in the Yeovil & District League with a team of Kathy and Nick plus Ann and Dan.

They didn’t fare too well against the formidable Sharon and Roy, losing 6-2, 6-3. 

Serving was difficult with a surprisingly strong gusting wind influencing the serve. 

In their second round of rubbers against Marian and Sam they raced away with the first set 6-0. 

The second set was much more competitive, but the pair fought hard to win it 7-5. 

Ann and Dan got off to a great start, both playing wonderful shots, including Dan’s strong forehand drives. 

They won the first set 6-3 against Marian and Sam, who came back strongly & took the second set 6-4. 

At one set all, the resulting first to 10 points tie-break was extremely close. 

Stoke’s two celebrated a win at 10-9 not realising they had to be two points ahead, but held it together to get the next point and win.

Ann was playing in pain but struggled on bravely, with Dan having to do some extra running.

They started their rubber against Sharon and Roy, but at three games down in the first set Ann sadly had to stop, it being obvious that she couldn’t continue. 

This meant the team had to concede the two sets 6-0, 6-0 – a real shame, as they had been playing so well together. 

So the final outcome was four sets to five in QC favour, Stoke’s set tie-break counting as an extra set for them.