Whilst playing on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, Dorset’s Harry Butler has shown the kind of promise that has seen him progress into the top 500 players in the continent within the under 14s age group.
His wild card entry into the AEGON Junior International Teen Tennis competition at the Bolton Arena, UK, saw Butler into the first round of the main singles draw where he faced a very tough test in the form of Sweden’s Joel Akerlund, ranked at 56 in Europe’s under 14s age group.
Butler was unable to keep up with his Scandinavian opponent and the Swede duly took the match away from the Dorset player, winning 6-1, 6-3 to bring Butler’s time in the singles draw to an end.
But that wasn’t the end of the tournament for the youngster. A wild card entry into the doubles gave him another outlet to display his talent. Alongside his partner, Warwickshire’s Jake Hersey, he set about showing why he is rated among some of the top young players in Dorset and in Britain.
The pair battled through the first and second rounds, beating the fifth seeds in a mammoth contest in the latter. They showed great strength to come from a set down to win on a deciding Champion’s Tie-break 6-7 (3), 6-2, [10-7].
Their run ended in the next round where they faced French duo Matteo Matineau and Corentin Moutet, who had beaten the top seeds in their second round match. A defiant performance wasn’t quite enough for Butler and Hersey as they were beaten 7-5, 6-2.
Butler currently stands in 496th place in the under 14s rankings for Europe, a position which is likely to improve as the young star develops and progresses throughout 2013 and beyond.
Click Here for more information on the AEGON Junior International Teen Tennis event
Click Here for the singles draw results
Click Here for the doubles draw results
By Harry Lund