A FATHER-SON tennis double act from Pangbourne strutted their stuff on the big stage at the National Finals of the Quorn Family Tennis Cup.

There is a 41-year age gap between Greg and Leonardo Santoro-Fergusson, but they proved a formidable partnership at state-of-the-art National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, where top stars Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund hone their talent.

The dynamic duo, who play together regularly at David Lloyd Heston, performed well at the event despite missing out on overall victory, which went to Joe Hart and James Griffiths from Stourbridge.

Greg, 55, revelled in the chance to play six competitive matches alongside his son, whose talent he reckons can take him all the way to the hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon.

“I feel playing with my son is the best part of my life,” said Greg, who coaches Leonardo.

“The stress he feels is he thinks of me as a coach when we play together.

“The Family Tennis Cup is a very important tournament. I wish we had more tournaments in clubs like this.

“We looked forward to this, it’s one of the highlights in our calendar. It’s the people you meet and seeing the standard improve ever year.

“Tournaments like this are good for him because when he gets to Wimbledon to play doubles, which I think he can with his ability, he will look back on this as very useful for him.”

The fourth edition of the Quorn Family Tennis Cup, an increasingly unique opportunity for adults and juniors to play doubles together, brought the top 16 family pairings in the country under one roof.

The competitors were whittled down to finalists through hard-fought, regional competition – Greg and Leonardo prevailed in qualifiers staged in Heston, West London.

It was a yellow ball event, targeted at juniors from 10 and 18, with the LTA also staging red ball versions, aimed at kids under the age of 10, where 7,000 players take to the court nationally.

Greg and Leonardo were given treatment worthy of tour professional during the weekend, offered the same trappings and luxuries as Murray and Edmund when they train in SW15.

All families took advantage of accommodation on-site, free meals, kit giveaways and even could record their games for posterity via the venue’s cameras.

Leonardo, 14, does not exactly find the prospect of playing with his dad relaxing, but revelled in the experience of playing at the home of British tennis.

“I prefer doubles to singles so this is a cool experience,” said the Reading School pupil.

“It’s a bit more stressful playing with my dad and your errors are magnified sometimes, but it’s special getting to play with him.

“I want to go to university in the States and experiences like this will help me on my way.

“Getting to play at the National Tennis Centre is great and it’s really inspiring.”

The Quorn Family Tennis Cup has red ball events for Under 10s as well as yellow ball events for juniors up to 18. All the events are fun, family focussed and are always doubles events where parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents get to play as well. Find out more at www.lta.org.uk/quorntennis