Belgium get their revenge on Brits at La Manga tennis competition
The muscle from Brussels gave their UK opponents their comeuppance at the Micasamo Nations Cup last weekend
The fourth edition of the Micasamo Nations Cup took place on September 28 and 29 in La Manga Club, with Belgium playing the British Isles team for the second time.
After the first edition was won 12-6 by the British Isles team, Belgium were out for blood.
Under a nice sun and with a great atmosphere, both teams were welcomed and received a welcome bag including water, energy drink, energy bar, banana, sun cream and more goodies.
The umpire reminded participants of the rules and allocated the courts. The event kicked off on the Saturday morning with the ladies’ teams and the men’s team competing in doubles matches, which were played in two winning sets, a potential third set being a championship tiebreak in 10 points.
This first day saw the British Isles team take a small advantage over the Belgians, with the scoreboard at the end of the day showing a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, the first competition day saw the Belgian team losing quite quickly one of their key players after just the first game. A visit A&E at Santa Lucía hospital gave a diagnostic that was better than expected, with no fracture but a huge muscle tear.
When the last game was finished, all competitors moved to the bar to share some drinks and thoughts, and some did 'replay' the game.
To end this first day of competition in style, both teams had a fantastic 5-course lunch at Los Molinos. This was really enjoyable… maybe the wine helped a bit!
Day 2 saw the mixed doubles competition start. After a very close result on Saturday, both teams sharpened their weapons. Most of the games were very close and three of them ended with a championship tie break! Finally, after a long day full of suspense, the Belgian team emerged and closed the day with a 6-3 win, bringing the overall score to 10-8 for Belgium!
Captain for the Brits, Avril, said, "This event, which is played in a fun but competitive spirit, gets better every year. Many of the matches went to a deciding tie-break which made for a lot of excitement at the end. Our congratulations go to the Belgian team."
Captains for the Belgians, Pia & Jean said, "We have had a fantastic tennis weekend. We are so proud of our team. They did a fantastic job to present and defend Belgium. Thanks also to the British Team for their fair play and warm welcome and some great after tennis.
"None of this would have been possible without Alain Hendrickx, our organiser. He has been present in every decision and without his fantastic effort none of this would have happened."
Organiser Alain said, "We had an incredible, funny, competitive but friendly weekend. All the feedback I got from the players and the spectators were unanimous! They enjoyed their weekend.
"We had some great and fierce games, lots of ending with a tie-break. The final result was uncertain till the last game ended!
"I want to thank our sponsors Micasamo and Gimlet. Without their support we couldn't organise such a nice event.
"We will be back next year for the deciding game!"
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