Fervent team wins Bolton mixed doubles title

In the Bolton Tennis Club mixed doubles tournament, Jeff Morris and Yuliana Vovk (left) beat Bonnie Livingston and Alan Liczyk (right) in the final 6-4, 7-6 to win their first club championship.

The suspense was high as a new duo and a veteran pair battled intensely in the mixed doubles championship of Bolton Tennis Club recently.

When the final shot was unleashed a new champion had emerged in the fervent team of Yuliana Vovk and Jeff Morris, playing in their first tournament together. They rose to the challenge throughout the two-day event which culminated with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory in the final over long-time doubles partners Bonnie Livingston and Alan Liczyk, who had held the mixed doubles trophy on 10 occasions in the last 14 years.

Vovk and Morris jumped to big leads in both sets, then held off the surging comebacks of their more experienced adversaries.

Throughout the match Vovk was dominant at the net with her powerful volleys while Morris was steady as a rock at the baseline with his snapping forehand groundstrokes. Livingston held steady at the other baseline while Liczyk gambled at the net a few times trying to intercept the cross-court rallies.

In the first set, the Vovk- Morris combo soared to a 5- 2 advantage, only to see Livingston and Liczyk close the gap to 5-4. As Morris was about to serve for the first set his cheering section then arrived and spurred him on to a hold of service and take the first set.

In the second set, Vovk and Morris were again fast off the mark, going in front 3-0, but their never-say-die opponents rallied to tie the count at 4-4. Liczyk then looked like he was going to hold serve as he and Livingston went up 30-0 in the next game, but three points later they found themselves down 30-40. On break point, Vovk was at the net and attempted a drop shot towards Liczyk which clipped the net cord and dropped short, commonly known at the club as a "Jeff shot." In a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to reach the ball, Liczyk nearly flipped head first over the net as he charged forward.

Despite falling behind 5- 4, Livingston and Liczyk regrouped to break Morris's serve in the next game and then Livingston held serve for a 6-5 lead. Livingston and Liczyk then had their one and only set point as Vovk served at 5-6 and 30- 40, but that was quickly erased when during a short rally Vovk crushed a forehand drive down the line past a bewildered Liczyk. Vovk went on to hold serve to force a tiebreak which she and Morris won 7-4 to take the title.

The action got even hotter during the post-match handshakes at the net, especially when Liczyk couldn't resist planting a big smooch on the luscious lips of the voluptuous Vovk whose bouncing and jiggling had him totally mesmerized during the match.

The two teams reached the final after placing in the top two positions after round robin play. Vovk and Morris topped the group with 40 points, winning all four of their matches which included victories of 10-6 over Livingston and Liczyk, 10-4 over defending champions Gisela Nouisser and Gary McCaslin, 10-6 over Ecaterina and Ion Manea, and 10-3 over Anne Mills and Robert Mrowca-

Migiel. Livingston and Liczyk placed second in the group with 36 points. Their other matches included wins of 10-4 over Nouisser and McCaslin, 10-3 over the Maneas and 10-4 over Mills and Mrowca-Migiel.