Weather stalls the Thomian charge
S. Thomas’ College, who dipped into deep reserves of gutsy and creative play at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts yesterday, had their strong charge against perennial rivals Royal College halted by adverse weather, as the 2-1 lead they enjoyed in the Under 19 clash for the E.F.C Pereira Memorial Trophy was postponed for next week.
S. Thomas’ tethered the annual encounter’s momentum after Avishka Perera endured a stern test from Royal’s Dhanushka Abeywardena to triumph 9-8 (7-3), in a battle between two gifted players of the local junior circuit.
The Thomian duo of Venuka Hulangamuwa and Sebastian Sansoni strolled to an easy win. Pic by Amila Gamage
Both Perera and Abeywardena leaned into their ground strokes with fearsome power, mercilessly lashing at anything short or meek. The Royalist though was the superior mover, constantly forcing Perera into an extra stroke with his relentless pursuit of the ball to all parts of the court.
Initially, this drove Perera to commit a number of unforced errors as he tried to adorn his strokes with an extra burst of power. On multiple occasions he sent what should have been easy winners sailing long or wide, and handed the scoring and mental edge back to his opponent.
But Perera was able to flatten out his forehand and narrow his focus as the match wore on, and continued holding his service, which like Abeywardena’s, stayed strong right up to the tie-breaker.
With things tied at 8-8, he roared to a 6-3 lead in the decisive breaker after a brief moment of controversy regarding a contested line call. He clinched victory with a booming serve, which fizzed past and eventually felled his tenacious adversary. The win put the Thomians 2-1 up, with a singles and doubles match to be played.
Royal College was the first team to draw blood, striking through Eroo Samarasinghe, who overwhelmed a talented but young Jerique Rajapakse 9-5.
However, S. Thomas’ struck a frighteningly venomous counter-blow with a 9-1 demolition in the first doubles match. Venuka Hulangamuwa and Sebastian Sansoni came armed with a decimating arsenal of rattling volleys and ground strokes, which dismembered the already loose-fitting game of Ashiru Liyanage and Murad Wafa.
Meanwhile, S. Thomas’ clinched the Under 15 segment of the traditional fixture, finishing their round of matches 3-2. In the Under 13 category, Royal College also emerged victorious by securing three out of their five matches.
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