14U COUNTY CUP QUALIFICATION: OXFORD SPORTS LAWN TENNIS CLUB
Most people look forward to the first bank holiday weekend in May to have a nice long relaxing weekend without any problems or stress. This weekend is the exact opposite for the Oxfordshire 14U County Cup side. It is a time for blood, sweat and tears in County Cup Qualification. Three days of battle were ahead to repeat the feat of last year and qualify for the National Finals.
The team consisting of Connor Ferguson, George Slater, Gabriel Curreli, Oliver Broadhurst and Will Taylor were located in a group alongside Gloucestershire and Hereford & Worcestershire. The winners of this group would compete against the winners of the other group taking part at Oxford Sports LTC; Middlesex, Channel Islands and Somerset.
Day 1 saw Oxfordshire take on Gloucestershire. A quick start put Oxfordshire 1-0 up with a fine performance from Oli Broadhurst. Gabriel Curreli soon followed snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in a thriller in singles 3v3. George Slater then saved 3 set points in the first set of his first match and stole the first set on a tie break. This clearly affected his opponent and George ran away with the second set. Oxfordshire were 3-0 up early on and looking to secure victory. Connor duly obliged playing some sublime tennis in singles 1v1. Will Taylor stepped in for the doubles and within the hour Oxfordshire had delivered a 6-0 win. The dream to repeat last year’s success was on. Oxfordshire 6-0 Gloucestershire.
The opponent’s on Day 2 were Hereford & Worcestershire. The Oxfordshire boys had just watched H&W beat Gloucestershire so knew that this was a straight knockout for a chance at glory. Singles 2, 3 & 4 were crucial as the H&W number 1 player was looking very strong. Oxfordshire flew out of the blocks and were 2-0 up very quickly. Broadhurst and Curreli winning again. George Slater played a smart match at singles 2v2 and put Oxfordshire in a commanding position. One more rubber was needed. Connor unfortunately came up short against the H&W number 1. Some big powerful hitting meant Oxfordshire dropped their first rubber of the weekend. This did not affect the squad. They knew the task at hand. A fine doubles performance from Oliver Broadhurst and George Slater booked Oxfordshire’s place in the qualification final; a shot at the National Finals against Middlesex. Oxfordshire 4-2 Hereford & Worcestershire.
The Oxfordshire team decided to have a team bonding event at the Kassam stadium on the evening of Day 2. Luckily for all of the boys, their tennis skills are much better than their bowling skills. It was made clear that the service delivered in the final by the Oxfordshire boys would need to be of a higher class than the service at Frankie & Benny’s whose staff seemed to get as much as they possibly could wrong. The boys were full of terrible banter but were getting on well. A brief team talk explained what was expected in the Qualification Final the next day and the boys retreated for a well-earned rest.
Day 3 and the Final was upon us. Oxfordshire were clearly the underdogs. Everyone loves an underdog though!
Middlesex were the reigning National champions and did not want to go down in the Qualification stage. The Middlesex boys were ranked at 35, 45, 75 & 99 in the country which is way higher than the Oxfordshire team ranked at 40, 95, 180 & 235. The early moments looked bleak for Oxfordshire. We were a set down in 3 out of the 4 singles before the birds had stopped their early morning tweet. Tactical changes were encouraged and each player told to fight until the very last point. Middlesex completed at singles 2 & 3 playing some extremely consistent solid tennis. It was looking like a step to far for Oxfordshire.
However, Connor was playing extremely well and got a rubber on the board for the team. Just as Connor won his match Oli Broadhurst who had lost his first set 6-0 had levelled the match at one set all. This rubber was now key in the match and the court was surrounded by a large crowd. Oli had changed his tactics and was giving the bigger hitting Middlesex number 4 no pace on the ball with a variation of spins which he was struggling to deal with. Oli stormed into a 5-1 lead in the deciding set. Surely this would mean 2-2 after 4 singles rubbers. Within what felt like 5 minutes and 15 clean winners the fired up Middlesex player had levelled the decider 5-5. The tension was unbearable. The atmosphere was immense. Both players held serve to send the match into a deciding tie break. Those shots that seconds earlier were flying for winners began to find the net and tramlines and Oli eventually won the match. Surely Oxfordshire couldn’t beat Middlesex……could they??
There was clear tension in the Middlesex ranks. They did not expect to be level after the singles. The match was alive. Oxfordshire chose to give themselves the best chance to win both doubles and played Oliver Broadhurst & George Slater at 2 and Connor Ferguson & Gabriel Curreli at 1. The matches ebbed and flowed early with both teams winning several games at a time. Unfortunately both first sets went the way of Middlesex. It felt like the dream was slipping away. Middlesex wrapped up their doubles 2v2 match fairly swiftly. The pressure was now severely on Connor and Gabriel. The boys were a set and 4-2 down then the tactics seemed to click. The boys were taking control of the points down wind with some fantastic baseline hitting from Curreli and some brilliant volleys from the classy Ferguson. Oxfordshire levelled the match at one set all. A match tie break would finish the match. It was incredibly close. The tennis was exceptional. Oxfordshire moved to match point at 9-8 ahead but a volley was missed. The mutterings in the crowd thought that was the chance for Oxfordshire. Would they get another one?
Middlesex then took the advantage but squandered two Championship points. It was then Oxfordshire’s turn again at 14-13. A 30 shot rally saw Middlesex find the net. Oxfordshire had levelled the tie. A shootout would decide the team who would go through to the National Finals.
A player from pair 1 doubles and a player from pair 2 doubles must combine to play a doubles match tie break to 10. This felt cruel but it was the right way to finish the match. Oxfordshire selected Connor Ferguson & Oliver Broadhurst. The team talk was easy: ‘Be aggressive down wind, grind into the wind and always believe. If Leicester City can win the Premier League, Oxfordshire can win this.’
The boys had fought admirably against a very strong Middlesex side and the momentum was definitely with the Oxfordshire team. Everyone left at the venue surrounded the court. It was all down to a 10 point breaker; the pressure and tension was unbearable. Several early errors from Middlesex, a fine forehand volley from Oliver Broadhurst and a monster forehand from Ferguson put Oxfordshire into an 8-0 lead. It was all over…. Not even a team with as much class as Middlesex could fight back from here. 3 points later the tie was over. Oxfordshire had done it- 10-1 in the match shootout. For the second year in a row they had made the National finals. Oxfordshire 4-3 Middlesex.
One must remember it takes two teams to produce a match as exciting and thrilling as today. Our commiserations go to the Middlesex team who were brilliantly talented, fiercely competitive, yet gracious in both victory and defeat. No team deserved to lose that match and to deal with it in the manner they did was admirable.
I have written this piece several hours after the last ball was hit. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend with some brilliant tennis played by all the boys involved. For Oxfordshire today was simply sensational. It is amazing to think that a county as small as ours can compete against some of the biggest and best within the UK. A huge congratulations goes to Connor, George, Gabriel, Oliver & Will, a big thanks goes to Alison Jackson for refereeing, the OLTA committee for all their hard work and to the parents and friends who supported the team over the weekend.
See full results here: http://lta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/team.aspx?id=12C28C8A-0602-459B-AE5C-4EF9981C2099&team=6
Bring on Nottingham for the National Finals.
Who would have thought that Leicester City would win the Premier League and Oxfordshire would win through to the 14U National Finals on the same day?? Really??
Well done Oxfordshire 14U Boys!