Another world silver for ace Candy

The St Leonards-based talent was part of the Great Britain over-55 women’s squad which reached the final of the Maureen Connolly Cup at the ITF Seniors World Team Championships.

Seeded two, Britain began the event in Antalya, Turkey, by topping group B with three wins out of three. They firstly dropped only two games in thrashing the host nation 3-0 with Candy cruising past Sebile Narman 6-0, 6-1 in the number one women’s singles match.

It was a similar story against Ireland the following day. This time Britain lost four games in the three rubbers and Candy saw off Ellen McCartney by an identical scoreline to her victory against Turkey.

The final group game against Switzerland proved a much tougher test before Britain pulled through 2-1 by winning the deciding doubles match in three sets. Candy, in fact, suffered a rare defeat, going down 2-6, 6-4, 0-6 at the hands of Susana Villaverde.

Britain overcame third seeds France 2-0 in the semi-finals after Candy edged an epic three-and-a-half-hour battle against Elisabeth Michel 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4.

Yet again Britain’s hopes of glory were snuffed out by a formidable United States side in the final. Rye LTC coach Candy lost 1-6, 0-6 to Diane Barker as Britain were beaten 2-0.

Candy won a second medal in Turkey by reaching the semi-finals of the over-55 doubles at the ITF Seniors World Individual Championships. Seeded four, Candy and compatriot Anne Clark got off to the perfect start with a 6-0, 6-0 first round whitewash of Brazilian pair Elizabeth Cecilio Drummond and Lunamar Sousa Rezende.

They then saw off Canadian duo Marcia Jackson and Gillian Shea 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter-finals, but conceded their semi-final against top seeded Americans and eventual winners Tina Karwasky and Susan Wright as Candy was unwell, meaning they bagged a bronze.

Unseeded in the singles, Candy had a bye in the first round before stunning third seed Rosangela Fritelli, another Brazilian, 6-1, 6-1. She didn’t drop a game in her third round tie against Turkish player Fatma Divan only to withdraw from her quarter-final against Karwasky when trailing 0-5 because of that illness.