BUDE Tennis Club’s A team won the County Team Championships in a thrilling sudden-death shootout against Redruth A on Sunday, June 10.

Given home advantage in the final, which was played in front of a record crowd, the quartet of Andrew Troop, Alex Hunter, Matt Bosustow and Gary Bickle showed remarkable resilience and skill to take the title.

Ahead of the match, there was a real buzz in the air as the surrounding benches and vantage points were full.

But once the contest started, the match was close throughout. With the score at 3-3 after four singles matches and two doubles games it came down to a tie-break.

First, Troop and Hunter were selected to play yet another singles match against their respective opponents but after one win and one loss, the scores remained neck and neck, meaning it came down to Bosustow and Bickle, who worked successfully together to defeat Redruth in the final doubles play-off.

After what can only be described as a tennis marathon, lasting over four hours in blistering heat, both teams retired to the clubhouse for refreshments with the Bude team triumphant.