Vernon tennis player, Jeremy Bell, and his men’s doubles partner, West Martin-Patterson of Sicamous are undefeated in the 2013 outdoor tennis season.
On Sunday, Bell and Martin-Patterson claimed their sixth Men’s A Doubles Tournament title, winning in straight sets over Craig Tilander (Vernon) and Winston Pain (Salmon Arm) at the Salmon Arm Open Tennis Tournament.
Bell and Martin-Patterson began their undefeated streak at the Lakeview Heights Tournament in May of this year, beating Prince George brothers, Jim Condon and Kristian Kiland. Additional victories followed at the Hankey Cup in Vernon, the Alpha-Zulu in Kelowna, the Sunshine Open in Kamloops, and again in Vernon at the Labour Day Open. In six tournaments, they have claimed six doubles titles. In all their matches, they have dropped only two sets: one set in the very tight Sunshine Open Final against Alex Kotai (Abbotsford) and Al Lincoln (Kamloops), and another in the Labour Day Semi-Final against Kenneth Cheung and Uri Yarkoni of Kelowna.
Bell, 43, and Martin-Patterson, 35, often play against each other in the Men’s A Singles division where Bell currently holds a 4:3 edge in tournament meetings. The on-court singles rivalry is quickly set aside when they have to team up on the same side of the net. Their approach is to utilize their strong serves, and to always take control of the net as quickly as possible. It’s worked well in 2013.