The Bucs season has been long and hard for the tennis Blues who have ploughed the motorways of Britain and flown through snow to Scotland without yet recording an overall victory. Perhaps that should come as no surprise. In the Northern Premier Division, they have played Loughborough first and second teams, Leeds Metropolitan University, Stirling and Manchester, all of which, save the latter, provide bursaries for sport. And so it was, then, that they confronted their penultimate match of the season, against Loughborough first team, with no great expectations.

Their worst fears were realised in the four singles which opened the fixture. At number one, Johnston of Christs faced Jonny Kinsella, a former world-ranked player which a whip-crack serve and knife of a slice backhand. The two seemed evenly matched in the early stages of sparring, with Johnston serving well and flowing on the forehand to repeatedly peg Kinsella back to even terms. Yet such was the placement and spin of the Loughborough man’s slice deliveries, that his victory in the tiebreak seemed inevitable. So it proved. In the second set, Johnston allowed his concentration to waver, allowing Kinsella to wrap up the match 7-6, 6-2.

Despite his spirit and tenacity, Kenny Taubenslag was always facing an arduous task to overcome Scott Dixon at number 2. Employing a serve and volley, chip-charge style reminiscent of Edberg and Henman, Dixon dominated in the early stages by crowding the net and punching the volleys away. Kenny served well and used his forehand to good effect, but the greater athleticism of his opponent eventually took its toll.

Nick Jenkins, the Cambridge captain, played well at number three, was solid on his serve and fluid on his groundstrokes. It was a shame then, that his opponent was just slightly more consistent after many years of repetitive drills. Rob Legg brought his customary flair and bonhommie to court at number four and competed strongly in a high class encounter in which both players seemed to be competing at times to pull off winners worthy of Federer. Again, his opponent was slightly steadier and won through.

In the doubles, Jenkins and Legg quickly lost, after being forced to pick volleys off their shoelaces and watch volley winners sail past them. It was a much closer-fought encounter between Johnston and Taubenslag and Kinsella and his partner. By serving well and closing the net quickly after good returns, the Cambridge pair broke early, only to return the favour only a few games later. In the tiebreak at 6-6, Johnston stuck out his racket to spoon a backhand volley for a clean winner and set up a set point, which Taubenslag then converted with a high kicking second serve. The Loughborough pair then upped their game to take the second set, 6-3, and send the contest into a match tiebreak to ten. An early forehand winner from Johnston augured well, and at 8-8, Taubenslag hit a high backhand volley for what his partner thought to be a clear winner, only for Kinsella to drive the ball past him down the line. It was a fitting end to a day on which chances had been few and far between.