Junior tennis in Gloucestershire is in good health going by the evidence of this year’s Junior County Closed. 7 players arrived fresh from being involved at the year’s National Championships in Bournemouth and backed up their credentials with a good showing. Throughout the entire field a healthy attitude to competition and good levels of self control were demonstrated.
The East Glos Club in Cheltenham staged the 6 days of competition for under 12s to under 18s age groups culminating with finals on Saturday.
One of the stories of the week was the performance of Nader Murad (Esporta). In his final appearance at the junior event he defended his 18 & under title without conceding a single set. In the final he defeated Matthew Morrow (East Glos) in what was a repeat of last year’s final 6-1 6-2. He was later crowned 18 & under doubles champion with partner Chris Cole (St Peters). This gave Nader a hat trick of titles as earlier in the week he triumphed in the men’s singles event. Laura Eales from Cirencester also enjoyed a stellar week as she picked up the girls 16 & under (defeating Judith Richards 6-1 6-2 ) and 18 & under (defeating Sophie Brazell 6-2 7-5 ) singles titles. She then combined with sister Jenny to triumph in the 16 & under doubles.
Megan Webb (Esporta) is another who can look back at the week with a lot of satisfaction. Demonstrating poise and presence she defeated Jordan Rawlings in the 12&U singles final 6-2 6-2. In the 14 & under category she faced a determined Ella Mora (Oxstalls) and was defeated 6-3 6-2. Compensation for this came in the 14&U doubles where with partner Judith Richards she overcame the resistance of Ella Mora and Elsa Pool.
The most dramatic and keenly fought of the finals involved Miles Johnson-Manley (Riverside) and Charlie Chapman (St. Peters). Miles eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 after more than 2 hours of battling. Charlie’s courage was fully displayed as he saved a series of match points with stunning winning shots. Success for the host club was provided by Chris Morrow in the 16 & under singles (defeating Matthew Bennion), Joel Price and Matthew Bell in the 12 & under boy’s doubles and Eleanor Findlay in the 12 & under girls doubles.
Other results from East Glos club courts were Sam Tullett (Oxstalls) defeated Caleb Dyer in the 14 & under singles, Cobi Ho and Ben Reid (Esporta) defeated Sam Tullett and Chris Bell (East Glos) in the 14 & under doubles.
Oxstalls Tennis centre in Gloucester, operated by Aspire Sports & Cultural Trust, hosted the Mini Tennis Championships 2011 events for the first time in the County’s history. Over 185 matches played involving 87 players confirming the next generation of junior players is well established.
After a series of qualifying events for the Mini Red competition from tennis clubs around the county, produced a record entry of 36 players for the boys & girls event.
Reece Ihle-Matthews (East Glos) defeated Frederick Merrett from Lechlade 10 – 7 in the final after a thrilling semi-final against Joseph McCoubrie (Oxstalls) winning 18-16.
In the girls event Suzie Carter (East Glos) narrowly won against Anna Barnes (Oxstalls) 10-8 in the final.
In the under 9s age group for the boys saw close match encounters between the three winners of their qualifying boxes, all boys won a match but the playback on the number of sets won & lost saw Daniel Hallam (Oxstalls) take the title over Samuil Vrabchev (Oxstalls) having to settle for runners-up medal. In the girls event the outcome was more conclusive with Olivia Rook (Oxstalls) winning all her matches and dropping only 1 set to the runner up Charlotte Russell (Esporta)
In the under 10s events an impressive display by Danielle Gibson (Esporta) became county champion only losing 3 games throughout the tournament, though runner up Lizzie Udale (Beckford) had only lost 1 game before playing Danielle. In the boys’ event the outcome was a little closer going to the third set, the match went to Seth Price (East Glos) defeating James Holden (Oxstalls) 10-2 in the Championship tie break
Other results Danielle Gibson & Seth Price added a second title in the under 10s doubles events. Danielle partnered Louise Ryder (Oxstalls) to defeat Lizzie Udale & Lydia Ward (Beckford) 4-0 5-3. Seth Price joined forces with James Holden to retain their title, a first in the history of the event, by defeating Oxstalls pairing of Harry Emmett and James Elliott 4-0 5–4 with 10-2 in the tie-break.
Photos courtesy of Katie Knock and Helen Stevens.
Authors:
Simon Corbishley, Tennis Manager, East Gloucestershire Club
Helen Stevens, Tennis Development officer, Aspire Sports & Cultural Trust based at Oxstalls Tennis Centre on behalf of the Oxstalls Tournament Committee