Shropshire contingent enjoy playing at ITF World Tennis Masters Tour Wirral tournament

Five Shropshire tennis players took part in the MT200 Wirral tournament, part of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour calendar, as they impressively represented the county.

The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour is a global tennis Tour that provides players aged 30 and over with a high quality and enjoyable competitive experience.

The Shropshire contingent relished the opportunity to enter the prestigious Wirral event, held on the indoor courts at Bidston Sports and Activity Centre, and they produced some fine performances.

Rob Rue, who plays at David Lloyd Shrewsbury and also represents Wales at international level, added another ITF title to his growing collection as he teamed up with Mike Webster from Lancashire to win the men's over-70s doubles.

They held their nerve to beat Yorkshire players Stephen Batte and Alan Cockman in a third set tiebreak to complete a 6-3, 4-6, 10-3 victory in the final.

Rob also reached the semi-finals of the singles competition in the same age group with his run eventually ended in the last four by Edward Green from the Bahamas.

"I was very happy with my performance," said Rob, reflecting on his busy week.

"I played as well as I could. I lost in the singles semi-finals because I played a better player.

"Mike and I had a really tough match in the doubles final. We always do some post-match analysis and Mike reckons it was our best doubles performance since we won the Ipswich tournament a couple of years ago, so that was pretty good.

"We've got a good record in this Wirral event, which has been rebranded from the Liverpool tournament. We won it two years ago and then lost in the final last year."

Tennis Shropshire chair Mark Wilson, who plays at Wem Tennis Club, and Shrewsbury's Calum Kennedy, a member of David Lloyd Shrewsbury, teamed up well to reach the final of the men's over-60s doubles for the second year in a row.

The Shropshire duo enjoyed two good wins before eventually losing 6-3, 6-1 in the final against Andrew Hibell and Neil McPherson.

"We were finalists last year as well, so hopefully third time lucky next year," said Mark.

Cecely Holliday, who plays at David Lloyd Shrewsbury, was a semi-finalist in the ladies over-60s singles, while John Turner, a member of Ludlow Castle Tennis Club, reached the semi-finals of the men's over-60s doubles alongside Russell Bluff.

Tennis Shropshire chair Mark added: "It was a very good week. We had a number of players from the county taking part which was good to see. It's one of our local events and we had some good results.

"It's always an enjoyable atmosphere, very friendly, whilst being extremely competitive, so it was a pleasure to take part."

Several Shropshire players are now looking forward to competing in the next ITF World Tennis Masters Tour event, the MT400 Leicester tournament at the Leicestershire Tennis & Squash Club, later this month.

Pictured: Shropshire tennis player Rob Rue, second left, partnered Mike Webster to victory in the men's over-70s doubles event at the MT200 Wirral tournament.

Pictured: Shropshire duo Calum Kennedy and Mark Wilson enjoyed an impressive run to the final of the men's over-60s doubles.