TYKE Petroleum Men’s Tennis League champions David Lloyd York made a winning start to the defence of their crown with victory over Poppleton.

The division one winners beat Pop - who won the title for three consecutive years between 2015 and 2017 - 91-17.

Last year’s runners-up Wigginton also got off to a flying start with an 89-19 win against newly-promoted Sherburn.

The other newly-promoted team, Copmanthorpe, were beaten 32-76 at David Lloyd Harrogate.

Wigginton 2 are the very early leaders of division two after a 83-25 victory at Poppleton.

Division three saw opening-day victories for York, David Lloyd Harrogate 2 and Appleton Roebuck, while Rowntree Park 2, Wigginton 3, Wetherby 2 and Knaresborough secured wins in division four.

A 20-game haul by Bradley Austin and James Hirst helped York 3 to the narrowest possible win (55-53) against Heworth in division five.

Pocklington had a convincing 71-37 win over Bishopthorpe to become early leaders in division six, thanks to 26 games from Richard Hart and Jim Holding, and 25 from Ross Gleig and James Eaglesfield.

Sheriff Hutton are the initial front-runners in division seven, thanks largely to 26 games from Joshua Williams and Andrew Frank.

The league season opened on Easter Sunday with a single rearranged match in division eight between Strensall 2 and Knaresborough 2.

The new Knaresborough team made their debut by fielding three father-son pairings - Andrew and Nathan Little, Mike and Brad Triffitt, and John and Mike Forster.

A close match saw the teams equal on points after two rounds but Strensall took all the rubbers in the final round to secure the 9-3 win.

First pair James Whitwell and Ross Welsh were the top scorers, winning 26 games and all three points.

Division eight also saw the day’s only draw, with Bishopthorpe 2 and the newly-formed Wigginton 5 picking up 54 games each.

The 2019 season marks a milestone for the league’s sponsors, for whom it is the 40th consecutive year of support.