PICTURES: McWilliam and Hudson take singles titles at Grantown championship
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The rains finally relented in time for finals day yesterday at the Grantown Tennis Open Championship to allow two new singles winning names to appear on the silverware.
Sandy McWilliam claimed the men's title while Amy Hudson won the ladies trophy yesterday as the weather defied the forecasts of afternoon rain.
The showpiece finals were brought forward to noon from 1.30pm to ensure they took place.
Second seed McWilliam lifted the men's singles title for the first time by beating fourth seed Jack Mullan 6-2 6-3.
In the ladies competition, young second seed Amy Hudson got the better of top seed Inverness Bellfield's Kim Johnstone to win 7-5 6-4 in a tight encounter.
But there was a taste of victory for Johnstone when she doubled up with clubmate McWilliam to win the mixed doubles 6-2 6-3 against Peter Scott and Michelle Fraser to round off a busy day for the pair.
McWilliam said after his singles win: "It is my first win here at Grantown – I got to the men's singles final two years ago but I lost.
"I've had a lot of tough matches and faced some good competitors so I'm delighted to win.
"I did not drop a set but I was set points down in some matches and had a lot of tight sets and a few 7-6 games.
"I really had to battle through some of my matches to reach the final."
As for the final, McWilliam said: "I don't think Jack played at his best today and I managed to play really well. I was making lots of balls.
"Well done to him on reaching the final and on another day it could have gone another way so I am really happy."
McWilliam said he enjoyed playing on the clay at Grantown: "I think it quite suits my game. It is always physically challenging on these courts as there are so many long rallies but I think it suits my game quite nicely and I really enjoy it."
There was a good attendance at the club's historic pavilion to watch the action unfold through-out the day with play starting at 10.30am in case of bad weather which had been a feature of the week.
Amy Hudson and Kim Johnstone played a terrifically contested ladies final with some heavy hitting but it was the David Lloyd Dundee youngster's consistency which won the day.
Fifteen-year-old Hudson said: "It was a really close game and there were a lot of long rallies. It was a good match and I was happy with how I played.
"It has not been the best weather this past week but it has been a really good tournament and it is a lovely club."
There was a good clutch of local winners including Lyndajean Fishpool (Rothiemurchus & Aviemore), Diane Sellars (Grantown); Stephen Anniss (tennis coach for several clubs in the strath); Michelle Mccormick (R&A), Eve Wilkinson (R&A), Alistair Mcleod (Grantown) and Colin Mcleod.
Other finals day results:
Women's doubles 45+final: Lyndajean Fishpool & Diane Sellars (2) bt Jane Sim & Maureen Turner (1) 7-6 6-4. Men's singles 45+ final: Peter Scott (3) bt David Mcpherson (2) 6-3 6-0. Men's doubles final: Stephen Anniss & Logan Urquhart (1) bt Josh Crabb & Jack Mullan 6-4, 6-3.
Women's doubles: Michelle Mccormick & Eve Wilkinson bt Diane Sellars & Lindsay Tinney (2) 6-4 6-4. Men's doubles 45+ final: Alistair Mcleod & Colin Mcleod (2) bt Derek Grant & Brian Mackenzie 3-6, 7-5, 10-4.
Men's doubles handicap final: Adam Macleod & Bradley Scott bt Marcus Alliod & Aydin Gencer 6-3, 6-2. Mixed doubles final: Kim Johnstone & Sandy Mcwilliam (2) bt Michelle Fraser & Peter Scott (1) 6-2, 6-3.
Mixed doubles 45+ final: Jane Chisholm & Brian Mackenzie (3) bt Diane Sellars & Alistair Mcleod 6-3, 1-2 retired. Women's singles 40+: Marjorie Stronach bt Teresa Tait.
• Read more on this year's Grantown tennis open in the Strathy out on Thursday.
