Club Champs Order of Play & Highlights Day 6

Dear All,

Day 6 of the Old College Championships brought 30 degrees of sunshine and 100 degrees of drama—but the blazing heat didn’t stop the players from serving up a scorcher of a day.

Here are some of the highlights from Thursday's action:

Miguel Viera stole the show with a Federer-esque single-handed backhand passing shot down the line that had jaws dropping and opponents frozen mid-split-step. It was smooth, stylish, and undeniably the shot of the day. Unfortunately though it did little for Miguel and Mahv's scoreline in their mixed double's clash against last year's runner's up Hannah Pulford and Joe Tyndall , who eased to a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

Meanwhile, James Ireson gave us the tournament’s most unforgettable moment—winding up for a monster forehand, only to miss the ball completely and send his racket flying over the fence. But, in true crowd-pleaser fashion, he bounced back with a drop-shot volley, so cheeky it had shades of Alcaraz. Bolstered by this turnaround, James and his wife Charlotte Ireson went from strength to strength, going on to win the mixed double's tie 6-1, 6-3 against the Monforts .

In more dramatic action, despite losing the first set 6-0, Alyson Fox found a way to edge past Sonia Whitehead 11–9 in a championship tiebreak. Aly sealed the win with nerves of steel and a forehand of fire.

Elsewhere, Gill Kirwan (with a racket grip older than both of her opponents combined) and Nick Stott , brought out a tennis masterclass to outwit the powerful but less-seasoned Odgers siblings.

But perhaps the standout story of the day came from 14-year-old Livia Odgers , who fearlessly took on 4th seed Jess Bosi and gave her a scare. Livia’s fearless hitting and relentless energy had Jess scrambling—and the crowd whispering, "Is this the future of the tournament?" One thing’s for sure: Virunee Viravong … she is coming for you!

The seeds continue their steady march, but the juniors are knocking loudly on the door—and occasionally kicking it in.

Tomorrow's matches to watch:

Tomorrow’s action features the sly spins and trickery of Ivan Savage and Simon Godfrey , sure to bamboozle and bewilder in equal measure. But the must-watch match? That’s got to be Joe Reeve and Amy Sargeant vs. Joe Tyndall and Hannah Pulford — a mixed doubles showdown so hot it might just melt the court.

Grab a seat, grab a snack ( Anne Traynor will be behind the bar), and get ready—Day 7 is coming in swinging.

Friday 20th June: Order of Play

5.15pm
U12 Boys: Monty Coletto vs Zac Canham

6.30pm
MS: Chris Alstadt [7] vs Ediz Persson
MS: Sidartha Lal vs Alasdair Bradley [12]
MS: Karanvir Anand [8] vs Charbel Akhras
WD: G.Kirwan/S.Schubert vs J.Cheung/R.Taylor
WD: C.Beck/E.He vs J.Bosi/A.Fox [4]
WD: A.Leslie/M.Roseghini vs A.Iyengar/S.Whitehead
WD: K.Binedell/C.Govett vs S.Marchand/M.Michael
XD: E.Michell/L.Hymas [1] vs L.Butler/M.Baylis

7.45pm
MS: Marc Baylis [15] vs Takero Shimazaki
MD: S.Foster/Alec Williams vs M.Feeney and S.Lal
MD: A.Bradley/T.Hladick vs C.Casey/J.Casey
MD50+: I.Macdougall/M.Wansbrough-Jones vs A.Lock/P.Mathon
MD50+: S.Godfrey/I.Savage vs J.Burnett/P.McKay
MD50+: V.Dekime/N.James vs J.Hall/R.Henderson
XD: J.Tyndall & H. Pulford vs J. Reeve & A. Sargeant