Pipkorn and Jeff Friberg won the final set of the match in a tiebreaker against Drung South's Dylan Emmerson and Logan Casey, sending Kalkee onward into a preliminary final against Horsham Lawn.

If the result was reversed, it would have been the Drungsters moving into the next round.

Pipkorn said he was not aware of the high stakes during the contest.

"We knew it was close but we didn't really know what the score was; nobody told us while we were playing," he said. "Everyone was holding back at the clubhouse. I'm not sure if nobody knew the score or if they just didn't want us to get too nervous about it. I think next time I'd prefer to know."

Pipkorn praised his veteran partner for the win.

"I was very fortunate to be playing with Jeff I think," he said.

"Dylan is a very good player, and Logan was probably playing the best tennis I'd seen him play. It was a tight match and it probably could have gone either way."

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Exciting and high-quality contests such as these were what attracted Pipkorn to join Kalkee several years ago.

Pipkorn, 51, used to play in the Nhill and district tennis competition, but said he was keen to play the highest standard of tennis available in the region while he still could.

"I probably prefer to be beaten playing good tennis than win playing bad tennis," he said.

"I was looking around a few years ago to play some more competitive tennis and I've got some friends at Kalkee who invited me down to have a hit."

Pipkorn has since found his stride with Kalkee, and said he had loved the welcoming atmosphere.

"I'm so fortunate they've welcomed me in, there's some really talented players here," he said. "I'm very fortunate to have found a spot in the team. They really carry me to be honest.

"I probably won't be playing at this level for too much longer; they've got some really promising young players coming through so I'm happy to step aside when the time comes.

"For now I'm just enjoying playing."

With the semi-final win, Kalkee have now gone further than they have in the past several seasons. They are a chance to upset Horsham Lawn for a spot in the grand final when their match kicks off at Central Park at 1.30pm on Saturday.

"Finals are always different. We've had some great wins against Lawn in the past but things can turn around in finals quite quickly and quite easily, so it's hard to know what to expect," Pipkorn said.