THERE were popular winners of top annual events over the weekend.

Denbigh Tennis Club hosted its popular annual men's and ladies singles tournaments recently, with victories being claimed by Gareth Jones and Val Fletcher.

The busy weekend began with the men's singles tournament.

Now in its fourth year, a total of 14 entrants took to the Lower Park courts.

Last year's runner-up Marc Shaw opened proceedings on court one in good form with a 5-0 win over youngster Sam Carter.

Meanwhile, 2015 champion Gareth Jones eased to a 4-1 victory over Tony Jones.

Group A also saw early favourites Marc Shaw and Gareth Jones meet in an entertaining clash, which resulted in a 4-1 victory for Jones.

Both players progressed through to the semi-finals as the top-two in the group, however they were closely followed after close competition from Russell Jones and John Plumb, finishing in third and fourth.

The duo narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot of their own by two and three points respectively.

Group B saw new recruit Huw Roberts top the pool in his competition debut.

He claimed 4-1 and 3-2 victories against Philip Shaw and Arwel Jones.

Jones would complete the semi-final line-up with his second-placed finish in the group B and he competed well in his second year in the competition.

Gareth Jones and early favourite Huw Roberts both performed well in their semi-final victories.

Gareth beat his twin brother Arwel Jones 6-2 in a well contested match on court one.

Elsewhere, Huw overcame a 4-1 deficit on court two against Marc Shaw, and he took five games in a row for a well earned 6-4 success.

The final, which was played over a set, saw Gareth Jones win the Denbigh men's singles tournament for a second time.

He become the joint most successful player in the competition, along with Alastair McNab.

The match was closely contested in the early stages, with Gareth taking an early 2-1 lead, before striding to a 6-1 victory in the final.

The great rivalry between Alison Godwin and Valerie Fletcher continued into the 2018 ladies' competition.

Topping the group stage with 21 points was Alison, following some great play throughout and perseverance against Valerie in a 3-2 win.

Fletcher was close behind on 20 points and they both won their semi-final matches in style.

Alison took on Helen Thompson in a 10-3 tie-break win, while Valerie took on outside favourite Meinir Hughes in a thrilling 10-5 tie-break triumph.

The 2018 final, which was also played over a set, was just as entertaining.

Godwin took an early 2-1 lead, before Fletcher then eased into a 5-2 advantage.

Alison then took a game back on serve to make it 5-3, but could not prevent some outstanding serving from Valerie Fletcher, who took the first ladies singles title in its new era.