Dorset’s Toby Samuel finished as a beaten finalist at the Grade 2 U10 Boys Winter National Tour Finals at the National Tennis Centre in London. The young star won three matches on his way to the final but couldn’t manage a fourth victory after he was beaten by Surrey’s Arthur Fery.
Samuel, who has experienced a strong start to 2013 with a tournament victory, third-placed finish and now a runner-up place in his last three tournaments, had a less than straight-forward start in the first round. His opponent Euan Baker raced out of the blocks at took the first set 4-2, however, Samuel showed his character and he stormed back to take the next set 4-2 and then won the decider 10-4.
The second round was a more controlled result for Toby. He kept his opponent, Max Basing of Surrey, under wraps and duly took the match with a dominant display, he won 4-0, 4-2 and progressed to the semi-finals where he faced Lancashire’s Peter Alam, who had won two of his last three tournaments.
Alam edged the first set 5-3 and Dorset’s Samuel came under some considerable pressure from his opponent in the second set as well, but he was able to level up the match by winning 5-3 to send the match into a decider. In a match with very few margins between the players, Dorset’s star was able to edge out his opponent and secure the win by taking the decider 10-8.
After this marathon match, it would be hard not to be fatigued for the final which was began only three hour after the start of the semi-finals. Samuel showed glimpses of his tournament form but was unable to get past his opponent Fery, who had had a straight forward win in his semi-final. Fery took the first set 4-0 and the second 4-1 to complete the victory.
Samuel has been in great form so far in 2013 and is sure to push on as the year continues. Toby has won six of his last ten tournaments, with a runner-up finish as well as two third-placed finishes as well.
Click Here for more information on the U10 Boys Winter National Tour Finals.
By Harry Lund