Aegon County Cup 2014 – Bucks 9U: Report by Team Captain Tom Edis
Team: Calum Fairey, DJ Mentiply, Josh Oakley, Maja Chin, Millie Day, Annie Townsend
Oxstalls Sports Centre in Gloucester was the venue for Bucks in group H of the 2014 9&u County Cup. The team were up against familiar opponents in Herts, Middlesex and Oxfordshire in what promised to be an exciting and competitive day, with the format comprising 6 singles rubbers (3 boys, 3 girls), boys doubles, girls doubles and mixed doubles against each other county. Everyone was on a big adrenaline ‘high’ for the early morning kick-off which followed an overnight hotel stay. None more so than Josh who got Bucks off to the perfect start with an unbelievably efficient performance against Oxfordshire #3 Monty Slater. His 7-0 7-1 win took just more than 5 minutes, with many of the travelling spectators still finding a good vantage point! This was followed up by an impressive 7-4 9-7 win for DJ against #2 Arthur Manson, and then the first of many 3-set marathon encounters of the day, as Calum triumphed over the talented #1 Bobby Hornby 7-4 3-7 7-5.
With Millie managing to get the girls off the mark as well with a 7-4 7-5 win against #2 Susanna Wright, Annie’s close 3-set defeat to #3 Hannah Denly (7-4 7-9 7-3), and Maja’s 7-4 7-3 loss to #1 Jasmine Conway only required Bucks to record one more win out of the 3 doubles encounters to secure overall victory against Oxfordshire. This was achieved with aplomb, as first Millie and Annie in the girls (7-5 7-3 against Susanna and Florence Tuthill), and then Calum and Maja in the mixed (8-6 3-7 7-5 against Jasmine and Bobby – a particularly enjoyable match) came through, meaning Josh and DJ’s 3-7 7-4 7-4 defeat against Arthur and Monty was a dead rubber.
The team knew that tougher tests lay ahead. Group favourites Middlesex were next and the Bucks players were determined to give everything against a notoriously tough county. DJ had some great chances against Dhruv Velani in a high quality match that saw both players really stretch each other physically. His eventual 9-7 7-5 loss was a shame, but DJ was playing some of his best tennis by this stage. Josh too maintained his fine form against #3 Zak Radziwillowicz and put up a great fight against the older and more physically-imposing Essex player, before bravely going down 6-8 7-5 7-4. Calum’s battle against awkward customer and Middlesex #1 Raahim Agha was one of the highlights of the day despite Calum, too, ending up defeated. The quality of the tennis was relentless as players, coaches and spectators witnessed an enthralling encounter finish 7-5 10-12 7-3, with Calum just running out of steam. Even though Millie and Annie subsequently lost their singles rubbers to Sophya Devas (7-3 7-3) and Ruby Hart (7-3 7-5) respectively, Maja then became one of the only players to take a set off the stand-out girl of the day, the Middlesex #1 Ranah Akua Stoiber. The 1-7 7-2 7-4 defeat was certainly something from which Maja took great heart.
The doubles once more saw the pairing of Calum and Maja excel, as a combination of bad luck and inspired play in the final set from their opponents Zak and Ruby eventually saw them go down 3-7 8-6 7-4. Millie and Annie were unfortunate to come up against a pair in such fine form as Ranah and Sophya, who beat them 7-4 7-1, and Josh and DJ came frustratingly close once more in their tough game against Raahim and Dhruv. Although of course by this stage their 9-7 7-2 loss was of no consequence to the overall score against Middlesex.
This left the final tie of the day against our friends from Herts, who themselves had had a tough time against Middlesex in the morning. As with Bucks’ clash with Oxfordshire, the team couldn’t have wished for a better start as Josh and DJ set about dismantling their opponents in straight sets. DJ seemed to go up 3 gears when he managed to beat #2 Oliver Raath 7-5 7-5, and that standard was mirrored by Josh who ran out an 8-6 7-3 victory over #3 Oliver Welsby. Calum was mightily unlucky not to take at least a set in his 7-5 8-6 loss to #1 Sean Neveling – a player he had also narrowly lost out to in a competition a fortnight previously. The girls unfortunately couldn’t quite come as close, and met some very strong performances from the Herts girls. #1 Ekua Youri powered past Maja 7-0 7-2, #2 Dascha Brazier was equally impressive in beating Millie 7-4 7-0, and Annie couldn’t capitalise on a tight first set against Hannah Read, finally going down 7-5 7-2.
There was still a chance for Bucks in the doubles that followed however, as 3 wins from 3 would clinch 2nd place. What played out was some fantastic court coverage from all the Bucks players, as the team looked to close the net at every opportunity and put pressure on their opponents. Each match provided Bucks with a clear chance of victory, only for them to fall agonisingly short. DJ and Josh lost to Ivan and Oliver 7-4 5-7 7-4, Annie and Millie lost to Dascha and Hannah 7-3 5-7 7-5, and Calum and Maja lost 8-6 7-1 to Sean and Ekua.
So an overall 3rd place finish for Bucks after a thoroughly enjoyable (and mentally draining!) day. There was certainly a sense of ‘if only’ at the end from the players, as they came so close in some of the key rubbers in which they were eventually defeated. Yet on the other hand, there was a strong sense of optimism going into the summer holiday tournament schedule, where all the players will take great confidence from their County Cup performances when they compete over the coming weeks.