Having failed to record an overall victory in the BUCS season thus far, the tennis Blues’ last chance of salvaging some honour came in the form of a weakened Loughborough II.

That these guys were no duffers, however, soon became apparent as Johnston and Caterer lost the first set of their doubles match 6-3 with a string of sloppy volley errors. The Cambridge pair turned the tables in the second set, though, by dominating on serve and returning low to their opponents’ feet. Their momentum carried them into the lead in the deciding third set tiebreak, a lead they never relinquished. By contrast, Zavodov and Taubenslag barely broke sweat in their defeat of the second Loughborough doubles pair. Preying on their opponents serves, they consistently crunched their returns cross-court, rushed the net and dictated the course of the points.

In the singles, the story was much the same as Cambridge ran away with the tie. At number one, Johnston served impeccably in a 6-1, 6-1 victory and racked up an average of three aces a game. Taking advantage of the exceptionally fast David Lloyd carpet courts, he sliced his first serves wide on the deuce court and allowed the surface to do the rest, the ball curving and dying into the side netting. Bombarded on both sides, his opponent lost confidence early on and moved sluggishly in what became a brief, staccato match.

Zavodov had little more trouble at number two. The Magdalene PhD student is something of a legend in Cambridge tennis circles. Having played the likes of Youzhny and Berdych as a junior in Russia only to turn to his second love, land economy, when his body failed him, Kirill has won five successive Varsity tennis matches and will be competing for a sixth on June 28. His booming serve and heavy backhand were too much for a petulant opponent, who, with an unorthodox, eastern forehand grip, was forced to scramble and retrieve on every point.

Bruno Monteferri was a new addition to the Blues squad this year and has brought with him to Britain all the tenacity, competitiveness and consistency that he cultivated in his native Peru. These qualities shone through as he doggedly chased down the drives of his flashy opponent and returned them deep, neutralising the Loughborough man’s advantage. On the same day that David (Ferrer) brought down Goliath (Nadal) in the Australian Open, Bruno put in an inspired performance to win 6-1, 6-0.

With Cambridge leading 10-0, it was up to Greg Caterer of St John’s to wrap up the tie. Having played for four successive years in the Blues squad, Greg has a wealth of experience which he put to good use in the early stages of the first set. He broke to lead 6-5, but failed to convert his opportunity, lost the tiebreak and was outplayed in the second set.

All in all, it was a good performance that bodes well for the club matches to come.