Injuries - those that you could play through and those you couldn't - had a large influence on the LTA Summer Series finals at Heaton.

There was only one retirement, but it spoilt the best contest - the men's top division clash between Richard Oades and Martin Parkes.

An aggressive start by 22-year-old Parkes from Addingham brought him the first set 6-3.

But after Heaton's assistant coach Oades had taken the second set 6-1, Parkes had to give best to tendonitis in his left knee.

It was the first time Parkes had taken a set off Oades in five meetings, but the American university student said: "Sometimes you don't have to think 'How will I feel tomorrow?', but 'How will I feel in six weeks?'

"You have to play with your head rather than your heart. After my third or fourth service game it was painful and my co-ordination went a little bit.

"At the start of the second set he raised his game and I couldn't raise mine."

Oades, himself suffering from muscle weakness in his right knee, said: "Martin came out aggressively and caught me by surprise.

"But once the balls had lost some of their speed I was okay. It is a pity the contest had to end with a retirement because it was a good match."

A recurrence of an injury may have cost Parkes his chance, but another couldn't prevent Heaton's Will Thorpe from taking the Men's Division Four crown.

The 21-year-old Bradford University student defeated Rawdon member Simon Barraclough 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a contest that lasted an hour and 35 minutes.

"I thought I was going to lose from the start of the second set," said Thorpe, whose serve has been timed at 119mph.

Suffering from tennis elbow, he couldn't hit his massive delivery with anything like his normal regularity. However, he came through a tense final set to defeat the 33-year-old from Morley, despite throwing away a 3-0 final set lead and surviving a break point at 4-4.

Barraclough had a shocking start, serving ten double faults, including several foot faults, in his first three service games alone.

Baildon's Krista Royston, handicapped by an injury to her left wrist that meant she could only play a single-handed backhand rather than her usual double-hander, lost 6-4, 6-0 to aggressive 14-year-old left-hander Francesca Crawshaw from Lightcliffe.

Keighley's Jenny Nemeth - daughter of England basketball coach Laszlo, who was among the spectators - won the main women's crown, defeating Rawdon's Rebecca Sowden 6-2, 6-3 in a hard-hitting Division Three finale.

"My ambition is to go to an American university," admitted 14-year-old Nemeth, who is coached by LTA Coach of the Year Steve McLoughlin at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Alexa Sowden - younger sister of Rebecca - won the Women's Division Seven final for the loss of three games, despite a sore ankle, against Heaton's Rehana Jomeen, and displayed a steady serve and forehand and a liking for the volley.

Gary Townson, 18, was a double winner, taking both the Men's Division Five and Six titles, but said: "I would swap both the racquet bags and trophies I have won to be still playing against the likes of Will in Division Four."

Mark Harrison, like Townson from Eldwick, won Men's Division Seven.