MONDAY evening saw the first appearance of the top two seeds in the men’s singles and, predictably, both progressed comfortably.

Number one seed Simon Roberts beat Jordan Halsall 6-1, 6-4 while second seed Chris Nott saw off Dean Bolton 6-0, 6-1.

Nott then played his first doubles match with Charlie Foley and beat the relatively inexperienced Lostock pair Matt Dearden and Matt Brindle 6-1, 6-1.

Another singles result of note saw Adam Thomson win 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 against Richard Lane who has been a consistent performer in recent years.

There was a heavy emphasis on Monday on the handicap events. There is usually some controversy over the handicaps given to each couple.

How effective the handicapping is can be judged by the closeness of the final scores.

Of the 14 handicap matches played seven went to three sets and only three were comfortable wins. A pat on the back, therefore, for the much-maligned handicapping committee.

Kath Taylor took part in the longest match to date.

Playing on the excellent artificial clay surface at Meadow Hill and paired with Gill Pearl they took two and a half hours to overcome Sue Shepherd and Lindsay Thomas 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

If that was the longest match the latest to finish saw an all-David Lloyd Bolton match. Handicaps were level and another three-setter resulted in a win for Janet Riley and Simon Ellery over Glenda Maxwell and Brian Pike.

The match finished under floodlights at Lostock at about 9.40pm.

Monday’s results

Under-18s boys’ doubles round robin: Jack Butterworth and Elliot Massey bt Charlie Dixon and Joseph Jackson 4-1, 3-4(4).

Men’s doubles round one: Charlie Foley and Christopher Nott (1) bt Matthew Brindle and Matthew Dearden 6-1, 6-1.

Men’s doubles handicap round one: Ian Nutter and Andrew Westmoreland bt Colin Bowers and Tommy Kallerdahl 6-1, 6-1.

Round two: Steve Percy and David Wride bt Matthew Cavaliere and Ben Tinniswood 5-6, 6-4, 6-3. Majid Ali and Omer Butt bt Steven M Knowles and Paul Mccarren 2-6, 6-0, 6-4. Ian Nutter and Andrew Westmoreland bt Dean Bolton and Samarnath Sen 6-1, 6-2.

Men’s singles round one: Jordan Halsall bt Andrew Hibbert 6-4, 6-3, Adam Thompson bt Richard Lane 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Christopher Nott (2) bt Dean Bolton 6-0, 6-1.

Round two: Simon Roberts (1) bt Jordan Halsall 6-1 6-4.

Men’s singles handicap round two: Joshua Sabery bt Rhyan Fletcher 6-2, 6-2.

Mixed doubles round two: John Nuttall and Louise Taylor bt Chris Blackshaw and Catherine Jameson 6-1, 7-5.

Senior mixed doubles handicap quarter-final: Andy Taylor and Janet Maxwell bt Roy Platt and Marilyn Sweet 6-2, 6-4. David Brownlow and Carole Langham bt David Bedford and Kath Taylor 6-3, 6-5.

Veteran ladies’ doubles handicap quarter-final: Gill Pearl and Kath Taylor bt Sue Shephard and Lindsay Thomas 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Christine Glassbrook and Carol Shacklady bt Julia Bennison and Susan Francis 6-4, 6-4.

Veteran men’s doubles handicap round one: Gary Daley and Stuart Roach bt John Morris and Darren Rogerson 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Quarter-final: David Gregory and Bernard Kirkbright bt David Brownlow and Jackie Smith 6-2, 6-4.

Veteran mixed doubles handicap round one: Phillip Mansfield and Lisa Victoria Morley bt Dominic Kneafsey and Karen Hosker 4-6, 6-5, 6-4. Simon Ellery and Janet Riley bt Bryan Pike and Glenda Maxwell 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Women’s doubles quarter-final: Natasha Lomas and Sarah Shacklady (3) bt Rachel Branagan and Vicky Coxon 6-1, 6-3.

Mixed doubles handicap round two: Alex Murphy and Nina Baxter bt Andrew Parton and Sophie Parton 5-6, 6-4, 6-2. Olivier Cavaliere and Yvonne Hunt bt Brad Gould and Anne Vosper 6-2, 6-5.

U18s mixed doubles round robin: Matthew Bowers and Catherine Jameson bt Ian Axford and Hannah Vosper 2-4, 4-1. Ian Axford and Hannah Vosper bt Ben Tinniswood and Eve Gould 4-2, 4-1.