Sam hits new heights on way to semi-final in Riga

Friday, July 01, 2011
Spondon's Sam Ferguson has been in fine form at the Riga Open in Latvia.

Spondon junior Sam Ferguson produced some fine form to reach the semi-finals of the Riga Open in Latvia.

The 12-year-old did not drop a set and only conceded six games in his first two matches in the boys' under-14 section of the Tennis Europe tournament.

He beat Estonia's Kristjan Tamm 6-0, 6-3 in his first-round match and followed it up with a 6-2, 6-1 win against eighth seed Przemyslaw Michocki of Poland.

The victory saw unseeded Ferguson, the under-12 British number one, set up a quarter-final encounter with Russian Grigory Potemkin, seeded fourth.

It took the Derbyshire boys' player of the year three hours to win 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-6 (7-1) and book his place in the semi-finals, following rain delays.

Dad Graeme said: "It's probably Sam's best ever result and his coach said he played so well – at a seriously high level. He said it was a class effort."

Ferguson, who recently competed in the Longines Future Tennis Aces junior tournament at Roland Garros, lost his semi-final 6-0, 6-2 to second seed Kenneth Raisma of Estonia.

He had more success in the boys' under-14 doubles, reaching the final with compatriot Marcus Walters.

The unseeded pair won 6-0, 6-1 in the first round against Estonia duo Artur Erik Lindmaa and Martin Valdo Randpere.

They then went on to beat second seeds Tadas Babelis and Lukas Zvikas, of Lithuania, 6-0, 1-6, 10-8 in the quarter-finals.

In the last four, they won 6-0, 6-4 against Artem Kapshuk, of Ukraine, and Russia's Yaroslav Prostakov.

Graeme, whose son trains under the MyTennis programme at Loughborough University, said: "Having had a three-hour singles match and not a lot of rest, Sam and Marcus beat the number two seeds.

"Then, having just sat down on their chairs from finishing this match, their semi-final opponents came on court.

"Thankfully – and I'm not sure where the energy came from – they won. I think it's a great testament to the fitness coaches at Loughborough."

In the doubles final, Ferguson and Walters lost 6-2, 6-3 to top seeds Raisma and fellow Estonian Christopher Robin Klettenberg.

 
 

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