| Maidenhead Lawn Tennis Club |
| Home Page > Juniors > Cyprus Trip |
|
Home Page Contact Us Mini Tennis Competitions Junior Teams Road to Wimbledon Cyprus Trip Mini Tennis Junior Club Nights Forms Sponsors |
To view the PHOTOS of the Larnaca2006 click here. click on Member Sign in at top right . The email address is pmessing@tiscali.co.uk and the password is mltc. Click on view slideshow or double click on thumbnail pics And the Weeak shall be Strong.. Sunday by Tom Wright As we woke up this morning you could see round the faces of the boys tired from yesterday�s matches. It was another day of England v Cyprus, Weak v Strong, Cats vs. Lions. Tom, Ben, Lorne and Ollie were to face the Cyprus boys first. Tom played very well getting his 3rd win of the tour winning 7-5. Ben played some good tennis and hard hitting although he lost 6-3 his opponent didn�t know he had won, he thought it was still 30 all but really he had won the game 40-0. Lorne lost his match too, losing 6-1 but in the 4th game Lorne was starting to get angry and showed his emotions by hitting the guy in the balls. Now Ollie had to wear Aran�s Burberry hat because Aran had put his Chelsea one under the car and then lost it. Ollie lost 6-2 to a very good player, Ollie played some good tennis but even with an accidental framed drop shot it wasn�t good enough to take the win. When we all had finished it was the second round Lorne played against the same player Tom beat and won 6-3 even though he made it hard for himself. Ben played Bojan and, playing good tennis he managed to come out on top winning 6-4. Ollie played (Tall Guy) losing 6-3, and whilst Aran didn�t manage to win his match even though playing good tennis he went down 6-3. Now the 3rd round the 3rd wasn�t a good one from Tom, Lorne, Aran and Ollie all losing their matches but still playing very good clay court tennis. Lorne was in control of his match until a dodgy bounce and Lorne not finding the floor and falling over. The 4th round was a mix. It was a good win from Lorne beating (Tall Guy) 6-4, but Ben was to lose 6-1 to a very good player and he also played very good tennis but not good enough. Aran lost his match to the player Tom and Lorne beat, he played some very creative tennis with an under the leg shot managing to hit the pole then bounce of into the road and hit a moving car � a classic. We all had a good doubles match with Ben and Lorne playing some great doubles but Tom and Ollie having a weird match going 5-0 down managing to pull it back to 5-3, after Ollie had shouted at the player for raising his voice at him, he was annoyed chucking the ball around. Then after we all went on court to attempt to try and beat Nigel and Richard, this was a challenge with Richard smacking his serves at our body our Nigel hitting smashes at our head we managed to win 3 points off them. Then it was time to go to the hotel were we chilled out for a bit. Then it was time to watch the football after we had finished in the games arcade it was of to Pizza Hut to have a big meal, but once we had finished in the restaurant Ollie, Richard and Aran went of to get into a night club but when Aran had ditched Ollie, Ollie was stopped in his path and told to go away. Tom, Lorne - Yes you heard me right Lorne and Ollie were trying to get in again but once again Ollie was stopped in his path and told to go away so Nigel and Richard went in and had some fun and left us boys to go back to the hotel well that�s what they were hoping but really they came back with all of Us and had to stay in there room. Tom Wright Larnaca Here We Are Saturday By Ben Gauna We all thought it would be an early start, but little did we know it wasn�t to be. We set are alarm clocks for 7 in the morning but everyone got up at about 7:40. We had breakfast then we went to the coaches room to find out we had about an 1 and 30 minutes until we were on are journey to Nicosia, which was about an hours drive away. So after a bit of discussion, we hit the town of Larnaca. We went round a few shops then we found a little store around a corner. It had many items of clothing and Richard and Lorne brought a hat and brought one from another down the road. Then when we got back we had to tidy up our apartment and then we were off. After an hour of the journey we got lost and had ask for directions. With a bit a bit of perseverance, we then got back on track and we arrived at the National tennis Centre in Nicosia. We had a quick warm up and then all the matches started against the top national players in Cyprus. Tom Wright and Lorne Edmunds played two under 14 girls. Lorne played a girl that was national champion for under 14�s, 16�s and 18�s. Lorne battled but lost 4-1 4-2. While Lorne was playing, Tom was also playing a very good tennis player, but unfortunately, he lost 4-2. When the two matches had finished, the big guns went on court and played Cyprus under 16 national side. Ben was playing a person who was not dressed for the occasion, but he was a fine tennis player. Ben played well, but lost 6-1. Oliver was playing a big hitter and anything short would get put away. Oliver lost 6-2, despite playing some very good tennis. Aran played a Nadal look a like, he had the muscles and was wearing a sleeveless top. The Nadal look alike was extremely good at drop shots and Aran lost 6-2. We then moved onto the next set of matches and Ben had to play the person who Ollie played. He was very good and Ben lost 6-0. Ollie then had to play the Nadal look a like and once again he used the drop shot to great affect. Ollie also lost 6-0. Aran played a very good Cypriot and also lost 6-0. As lunch was coming up Richard said �I will just have a look to see how the bagels are coming along� it was probably the best line he has ever said. Everybody had an extremely tasty lunch, which they put on for us. Then afterwards we went onto the show court and played a game called �bluff�. Ollie was able to hit some gorgeous lob and everyone else showed some great touches at the net. When we finished are game, we then moved onto the under 14 national side. The first people on were Ben, Lorne and Tom. Ben played a very hard hitter even though he was a year younger. Ben played extremely well but went onto lose 4-1. While Ben was playing, Lorne played the under 12 national champion. He had a few chances to push the game a lot closer, but he also lost 4-1. Tom was also playing and played a small guy, he went onto lose 4-3.The next sets of matches were to through a surprise. Aran, Ollie and Lorne played. Ollie played a very good tennis player and he also went onto lose 4-1. Lorne played Bojan, he played very well but he lost 4-1. Now here�s the surprise, Aran, yes Aran won a match. He played extremely well and won 4-0,he beat the person that tom lost too. Then there were 3 more matches to go on before the doubles. Ben had to play 1 and so did Tom and Aran. Aran wasn�t on top form, so after his success he went onto lose 4-0. Then Ben had to play the same person and got off to a flying start winning the first game, and then the opponent won 4 on the trot and he won 4-1. Tom also played and played extremely well and he got the 2nd victory of the day and went onto to 4-3. Then it was time for the doubles, Ben and Lorne played together, so did Ollie and Aran. As we only had 5 people Tom played doubles with a Cypriot. Ben and Lorne went onto the fist game, but they lost the next 4 to lose 4-1. Aran and Ollie played two very good doubles players, they went onto lose 4-2. Tom and his partner won there doubles, so Tom had 2 victories to his name. The next set of doubles matches were of an extremely high quality especially from Ben and Lorne, they played the people Aran and Ollie lost too and just blew them off court, winning 4-1. Lorne hit some exquisite angles while Ben hit some very heavy groundstokes. While there match was going on Ollie and Aran played Tom and his partner. Aran and Ollie raced to a 3-0 lead, but then lost concentration and Tom and his partner made them pay. They brought it back to 3-3 making it a tiebreak. Tom and partner got off to a great starting leading 4-0, then Ollie and Aran hit back in vengeance and won the tiebreak 7-4. It was a fantastic day to play tennis and everyone learnt lots. We also know that Cyprus are no mugs when it comes to tennis as we only won 5 matches out of many. Everyone played very well and just rewards came out when they finally won a match. Ben Gauna Larnaca Friday by Ollie Hedley After Aran�s novel, I was finally able to access Nigel�s laptop. At approximately 6 o�clock, 2 hours before we had to get up; I was woken up by the shrieking cries from Aran Deol, who had visions of the ferocious wolf dog ripping him to pieces. With half a plate of coco pops and a tentative journey, we finally made it to our destination Larnaca. Richard said it was the cars fault, we all knew better. We had a hard vigorous session with Nigel and Richard pushing us to our full potential and learning to master the clay surface. We had a short 10-minute break where everybody apart from myself stocked up on the chocolates and crisps. We were then forced to work for half an hour, by now Aran had finished his 3rd paragraph. Meanwhile the rest of us were off to hit the town, only the Mann stood between freedom and us. Little Lorne escaped and was on the verge of freedom, only to be caught after the gangly Gauna was spotted a mile away. Later on we went to store up on our drink supply. Nigel was welcomed with open arms, whilst the rest of us shadowed in his greatness. I thought after the standing ovation he received, we would have at least got 50% off; sadly this was not the case. Then we visited the coliseum and enjoyed the splendid scenery whilst arguing which football team in England is the best. Shortly after our visit we went to play at the Aldiana Hotel on the smooth clay. After a quick knock we went straight into the tiebreaks, with lots of banter going on. By now it was approximately 7.30 and we were starving to death; eyeing up every fast food restaurant on the journey home .At long last Nigel gave in and KFC was on the menu. It was here that we achieved our first aim. We managed to finish the buckets of chicken in record timing. The oldies Aran and myself (not Nigel and Richard) took on the young Edmunds, Gauna and Wrighty at a game of pool. Is tennis really the sport for Edmunds, he�s a fine pool prodigy even though he potted the black when he still had his colours left. The oldies won!!! What made the win even sweeter was the deadly bet. The three young tennis chaps, had to say the phrase �How you doin.� To three Cypriot girls. After much discussion they made a run for it and avoided the gruelling task. We then headed home and went to bed after a quick game of poker. Ollie Hedley Larnaca We're on our Way Thursday 23rd November, Cyprus Tennis Tour 2006 The day started out with high hopes, by Nigel Mann and Richard Downs, of a quick check in, and to be ready to leave by 8:20am. This was nearly not achieved due to the shopping facilities proving a little too tempting for the boys. However, due to some brilliant leadership Nigel Mann was able to make us sit in the airport gate in time to board. Furthermore, this is when the mood changed; it was time for homework. The groans echoed around Terminal 1, and the staff could picture our discontent, therefore, they were quick enough to turn on the boarding sign before we could unfasten our academic material. On the plane everyone was looking forward to the showing of �Like Mike,� however, when Richard Downs whipped out his psp and put on Pro Evolution Soccer, everyone�s eyes lit up with exhilaration; the tournament had begun! Touch down in Cyprus; we had landed armed with our tennis rackets and ready to work hard. However, by the time we had reached the apartment we were staying in, it was already quite late, consequently, we were whisked off to the tennis courts. Here is where the England v Cyprus football match started, with Cyprus clinching the final goal just before our courts had become available. Due to some sloppy goalkeeping on the part of Thomas Wright the English were not victorious, however, we had decided to lose in style with two amazing, acrobatic goals by Aran Deol, proving to be the highlight of the game. Soon after we were whisked onto Laranaca centre court, the crowd were becoming restless waiting to watch the mighty Maidonians play. Due to most of the players not being used to the new, foreign, clay surfaces, the performance was not as sublime as we had hoped. However, we persevered on and within minutes we were playing our best tennis, due to some first-class tips by both coaches. Now the fine clay was not an obstacle we were starting to look like a real team; this could be seen on the faces of Cypriots, shock and awe are the words that came to mind. After some ferocious and high bouncing shots it was time to leave. We made way towards the exit; we could hear the crowd issuing an encore, however, we had grown restless with starvation and Nigel did not want to upset five hungry teens. With a wave and kiss goodbye we had left our place of worship and our indulgent fans. Cyprus is a well renown place for its exquisite restaurants and clubs, however, we started getting quite worried when we had left all of that behind and was heading down a back alley to what looked like a small fast food joint. There we realised he had done this for a reason, the little shack that we had gone to eat at, had some of the finest meaty snacks that I had ever tried. The only fault we could find with the restaurant was the wolf-dog that they had chained up, it was very frightening as the owner explained to us how it could open doors. Overall it was very exhilarating and exciting day with everyone looking forward to the day ahead. All five of us would like to place great emphasis of thanks to Nigel Mann and Richard Downs for bringing us on this brilliant tour. Aran Deol Larnaca Here We Come Nigel Mann and Richard Downs are taking a team of Maidenhead best Club Future Squad members to Cyprus for a training weekend with a series of matches against the top clubs in Cyprus. The squad will leave from Heathrow on Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon the training will start followed by two 2 hour on court sessions on Friday and a fitness session as well. On Saturday the team will train in the morning followed by a match against Larnaca on Saturday. The following day the team will play against Limassol. The training weekend will end with another intensive session on Monday with the boys catching a plane in the afternoon back to London. The trip to Cyprus won�t be just tennis! The boys will be visiting the ancient ruins at Kition and enjoying then Cypriot hospitality. |