Melbourn 2 Make Winning Start on the Road at Berkhamsted

Melbourn won 10-4

Melbourn 2 made an excellent start to their away campaign on Tuesday evening, recording a convincing 10–4 victory over Berkhamsted 4 in their first away fixture of the Hertfordshire Summer League Division 4 season.

First on court were the number ones, where Moises Estrelles Navarro faced Roger Greenfield in a fiercely contested and at times heated encounter. The match featured plenty of long rallies alongside numerous lets, strokes and disputed decisions as both players battled hard for control of the tempo.
Roger looked to keep the pace high from the outset, often rushing Moises when serving, and the Berkhamsted player edged a scrappy opening game 15–13 as Moises struggled to find his accuracy. The Melbourn player responded well in the second, tightening up his game and slowing the match down to disrupt Roger’s rhythm, taking the game 15–10. Roger, however, reasserted himself strongly in the third, winning it 15-8 to regain the lead before both players began to tire in a gruelling fourth game. Despite some determined rallies and a hard-fought tie-break finish, Roger eventually closed the match out 17–15 to give Berkhamsted their only win of the evening.

The third strings were next on court in the second match of the evening, where James Storer faced Adam Dyett. James quickly established control of the contest, taking the opening game comfortably 15-6, despite Adam’s obvious ability to strike the ball well. The difference came through shot selection and variation, with James using deceptive delays effectively to repeatedly wrong-foot Adam and force errors.
In the second game, James’ concentration briefly dipped and Adam took full advantage, racing into a 14–9 lead. However, James regained his composure at the crucial moment, fighting back strongly to edge a tense tie-break 16–14.
The third game followed a similar pattern to the first, with James reasserting control through smarter shot choices and sustained pressure. Adam began to struggle physically after picking up a niggling knee injury, and James finished the match in control, closing it out 15-8 to complete a straight-games victory.

Last on court were the second strings, where Matt Walker faced James Barron in a challenging match against an unorthodox opponent. Barron is a tricky player with a very unusual style of receiving the backhand serve whilst standing tight to the wall and taking it as a forehand, along with an uncanny ability to strike winners from seemingly nowhere.

In the opening game, however, Matt’s more traditional style and overall quality proved too strong, taking it 15-7, with James struggling to get into the rallies or impose his game. James responded well in the second, with his unusual receiving position on the backhand court paying dividends on a few loose serves from Matt as he levelled the match 15-12.
The third game was a far closer contest than the 15-11 scoreline suggested, with Matt just edging away at the end to regain control of the tie. In the fourth, Matt’s consistency and control told as he closed out the match 15-9, with the classic squash game ultimately proving too strong for the unorthodox approach.

With two match victories plus the bonus points, Melbourn sealed a deserved 10–4 success and made an impressive start to their away fixtures for the summer.