The postponed mixed doubles tournament at Sidmouth got under way in bright sunshine, with 12 couples taking part, writes Lesley Cranston.

This year the competition was played in a round robin format with pairings picked at random, names being drawn from a hat.

The players were divided into two sections playing five matches each with the winners of each going through to the final.

There were some closely contested matches with no clear front runners emerging until the last round of games; in one section it went to the wire, any one of three couples could have won through. With dusk descending, the finalists took to the court. Vici Topping and Guy Patton took on Carole McCallum and David Thornley in the best of eight games. It was a tense affair as the two sides battled for honours, in the end it is Topping and Patton whose names will grace the trophy. Well done to them and to all who competed plus a big thanks to the organiser, Nicki Keele ably assisted by Martin Truman.

Finalists: Vici Topping, Guy Patton, Carole McCallum .