Spectators attending the Southend and District Jubilee Cup final at Westcliff Lawn Tennis Club received a treble treat.

The weather was good for mid-January, the tennis great and the sportsmanship was excellent as Westcliff Lawn and Westcliff Hard Courts met in the 17th final of the cup.

Westcliff Hard Courts won the event after taking the glory in the ladies' and men's doubles, while the lawn club won the mixed doubles.

Each side fielded one very good senior veteran player in Steffi Rodriquez for the hard courts tennis club and Bryan Rivers for the lawn tennis club.

Westcliff Hard Courts had perhaps the most higher quality players in Essex's Simon Bonham, and husband-and-wife pair Tracey and Simon Cheshire.

However, the lawn had Richard Barham, a current Essex player, among their trio.

The men's doubles saw Cheshire and Bonham far too good with their strong serve and volley game.

The mixed doubles displayed some scrappy tennis, where the strength and talent of Barham was switched on and off, and matched by that of Lance Owen.

Richard Barham ably partnered by Gill Sanderson and they won comfortably in the third set, however.

The ladies' doubles was the key win for the hard courts in which some high-standard tennis was played with an all-round court game by both pairs.

Each set was tightly contested, but the experienced Tracey Cheshire, ably supported by Sophie Cockerell, had too much consistency for Karen Rivers, the daughter of Brian, and Lindsey Watt.

Steve Wynn presented the cup to the winners.

"There were some very close results this year which was good," said Mr Wynn. "The standard of the tennis was higher this year than in previous years."

The finals were delayed for a few weeks due to the heavy rain.

This year's Jubilee Cup competition is due to start in late October.

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