20 May 2014 | Tennis Queensland

The final of the North Tennis League (NTL) was held on Saturday night at the Western Suburbs Tennis Club between Kalynda Chase Cavaliers and home team Western Suburbs Magpies.

The 250-strong audience was in for a nail-biter, with each team boasting equally strong teams of North and Far North Queensland’s best talent.

It was the Cavaliers who opened the night with gusto taking two convincing rubbers in the men’s and women’s doubles to set up a chase for their opponents.

The Magpies were quick to hit back, sending the home club’s leading coach/player Brad Clews into battle to answer with a 4-1 4-0 win in the men’s singles.

With the night heating up, a game-changing result came in the women’s singles where team spearheads Natalie Rogers and Taylor Douglas went head to head to put their respective teams in place for the home stretch. It was Rogers who played it cool under pressure and stormed home with a 4-0 4-3 result.

The Cavaliers continued their impressive form throughout the remainder of the night to earn first rights to the NTL trophy, hand made by the North region, with an eventual victory of seven ties to three.

In the play-off for third place, the Burdekin Barras impressed with a 9-1 overhaul of the North West Heat to finish the season in high spirits.

In the maiden year, the NTL brought a fresh, fun and music-fuelled new take on the sport to the North Region through its five rounds of top tennis. The success of the competition and the popularity with local audiences will see it return bigger and better in early 2015. It has also set up a fail-safe structure for more local leagues across the state, potentially starting with Far North Queensland.