By GREG CLYDESDALE

ROUND four of the Beechworth Tennis Club summer season saw a period of consolidation last week.

All players are becoming used to the true bounce of the new all weather courts and the evening light as the court lights take over.

Matches are closely contested and the evenings are being extended as results are close and rallies becoming longer.

The number one players are all consolidating with their teammates who are all improving.

It is not surprising that the players who have played each week are consolidating their results, while players who have made disrupted appearances are all improving.

Paul Stefaniak and Mick Cavellin are leading the aggregates while the mercurial Ben Croome is making all players improve with his presence after missing games early on.

His team Burder Industries is pushing up the ladder with a narrow win over Mick's team Nor Mac.

Ben is combining with Kimberley and Matilda Taylor who are showing their reliability with Kevin Ormrod, while Will Sargent, Sue Fendyk and Olivia Bennett are also improving each week.

Beechworth Coffee Roasters, with Will Stanisteet and the reliable John Sheehan, had a five sets to one win over Indigo Real Estate where Paul had a team of substitutes who battled hard but could not beat the combinations of Will and John backed up by Anne Henderson and Simone Sockett.

Team Alpine Indigo Accounting has the determined Adam Fendyk who gets better as the night goes on and Renee Rinaudo who are combining well with Angus Connolly and Anna McKinley to win some exciting matches.

Their four sets to two win over Shingleback Off Road was a good reward for their efforts.

Ben Sockett, Christie Bence and Karen Potter missed their usual number one Jeremy Schmolzer who was replaced by Rod Watson, who has been a very reliable substitute in past weeks.

The result showed the significance of playing with regular partners to improve the understanding of strengths.

Placements and movement are becoming more important as players become more confident of their shot making.

Teams Alpine Survey and Mapping and Myrtleford Timber and Floors were evenly matched to win three sets each, with Darren and Ruby McCormick settling in as reliable teammates alongside Alice Corcoran and Simon Maughan.

Greg Clydesdale gave Simon plenty of practice for his crisp volleying which was matched by Paige Campbell, who is building that aspect of her game.

The long arm of Shem Rinaudo kept his team in many rallies while the running Tom Holles efforts were not enough to drag his team to a win.

With every team competitive, next week's matches on February 21 see Alpine Survey playing Alpine Accounting, Indigo Real Estate playing Pritchard Plumbing, Shingleback playing NorMac Rural and Beechworth Coffee taking on Burder Industries, which will again show how even the competition is, but also how the combinations of regular teammates are likely to prevail.

Myrtleford Floor have the bye so Tom Holles, Shem Rinaudo, Greg Clydesdale and Paige Campbell, will have to consolidate their game on the practice court this week.