WITH Helensburgh hero Gordon Reid surging to a fifth Australian Open doubles title last week, his friends at Helensburgh Tennis Club got into the spirit of all things ‘down under’ by holding an ‘Oz Open’ social doubles tournament.

While the quality of the play on the club’s new artificial clay courts might not quite have been up to the standards set by Sabalenka or Djokovic, the weather was at least a little Antipodean, with blue skies and sunshine replacing the usual grey of the west of Scotland in January.

And a good time was had by all – with some even down to T-shirts and sitting out enjoying the warmth of the sun for refreshments in between matches. 

After some closely fought group ties, the eventual winners were Ann Mckelvie and Trish Schooling - congratulations to both.

The event was the first in a series of social events planned for this year to coincide with the season’s four Grand Slams - the next, with a French Open theme, will be played on Saturday, May 27.