Men's Summer County Cup Report

After three years of Division 1 tennis, Northants have sadly been relegated to Division 2 at Roehampton.

A first-day 4–5 loss to Surrey got the week underway. Rae & Smith and Tyler & Bonnett both picked up two wins, but unfortunately there was nothing to show for debut pair Graham & Sitwell. It was a tough first taste of County Cup for Albert against the eventual champions, with Surrey's top pair, including world top-200 player Mark Whitehouse, proving the difference.

Day 2 against Middlesex was heartbreaking. Northants led 3–1, with Smith & Rae in a match tie-break and Tyler & Bonnett a set up and in a second-set tie-break. Unfortunately, all three tie-breaks went against Northants, leaving the score level at 3–3 at the break. Joe & Jakob then made it 4–3, but after Max & Kacper were beaten, it all came down to another match tie-break, which Smith & Rae narrowly lost 11–9. Another 4–5 defeat.

Day 3 against Warwickshire proved a tough day, with the team's only win coming from Graham & Laskowski, alongside two more match tie-break losses.

Day 4 against Cambridgeshire was a must-win match, and Northants started brilliantly with two excellent wins from Graham & Laskowski. However, the dreaded match tie-breaks struck again, with Smith & Tyler losing both of theirs as Northants went down 3–6. 

The final day against East of Scotland was a slight anti-climax, with relegation already confirmed. However, Albert Sitwell celebrated his first County Cup victory alongside Max Graham, which was a real highlight despite the 1–5 defeat.

The team did unbelievably well to compete in the highest division of county tennis and came incredibly close to staying up, despite missing four players who would normally have started — Alex Ward, Jack Haworth, Harry Collins and Charlie Swallow — due to injuries, visas and paternity leave.

I'm incredibly proud of the team's efforts. We'll regroup, come back stronger, and go again next year.

Mark Taylor