Jeremy Cross and Sarah Newman once again dominated the finals of the 75th annual Pembrokeshire County Open.
Finals day was the culmination of two weeks of competition held at the Parade, the home of Haverfordwest Tennis and Bowls Club.
There were an impressive number of entries for 2024, with 106 players in the draws for the singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions.
Rain had been forecast for Saturday, but it held off throughout the day and a large crowd assembled for the day’s tennis.
In the men’s singles, Cross beat club coach Tom Richards in a thrilling final, with Richards on the top of his game to go toe-to-toe with the British over-45s indoor champion before losing the first set 7-5.
Cross then showed his class in the second, winning 6-2 to retain the title he has now won three times in four years.
Newman also picked up her third ladies singles championship with a comfortable 6-0 6-0 victory over Angela Scourfield, who had an incredible run having not played since she was a junior some 40 years ago.
Cross joined forces with Richards in the men’s doubles and earned their billing as top seeds with a 6-0 6-1 victory over Marco Coronado and Peter Warren-Lavis in another hard-hitting match-up.
In the ladies doubles, Newman formed a new partnership with Val Alder in the absence of the injured Laura Davies, with whom she had won the title with for past the four years.
Unfortunately for their opponents, Ceri Coleman-Phillips and Rominy Colville, they were no less impressive as they eased to a 6-1 6-1 victory.
Coleman-Phillips would get some success though in the mixed doubles where she re-formed her partnership with Cross to win their fourth title in a row.
But the match against Newman and Nathan Jones was a hard-fought contest, with the defending champions eventually emerging 6-3 7-5 winners.
In the plate finals, Gigi Wong produced a spectacular comeback to beat Suzanne Owen 7-5 6-2, while Reuben Williams beat David Roch James 6-1 6-1.
Club chairman Dean Richards said there had been some “tremendous tennis played” over the fortnight and was delighted to see entries up by a third compared to last year.
“It was wonderful to see so many new faces enter the tournament and for some to reach the finals,” he said.
“I would like to thank the volunteers who worked hard to make the event run smoothly, especially tournament referee Tom Richards who has worked tirelessly over the fortnight.
“Next year Haverfordwest Tennis Club will mark its 90th anniversary and we hope the tournament continues to go from strength to strength.”
Cross and Newman retain county tennis titles