Congratulations to the Kent 12U Boys team who reached the finals of the Aegon County Cup with convincing wins Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey.
Played at West Worthing Tennis & Squash Club, Kent beat Buckinghamshire 8-0, Dorset 6-2, Hampshire 6-2 and Surrey 4-4
Report by Team Captain Max Robinson:
I have had the honour of being the boys County Cup Captain for five years now and in those five years; I have never experienced a County Cup like this year. It was full of emotional ups and downs for the players as well as me and full of twists and turns throughout the weekend.
Kent started on the Saturday morning with a favourable draw which saw us play Buckinghamshire in the first round of matches. With a strong line up of Anton Matusevich, Michael Owen, Harvey Conway and Martin Thomas Kent were more than ready to start the campaign.
Within record time, Anton took a very early lead and was never troubled by the opposition to see him take the first set comfortably within minutes. The second set followed suit and again in no time at all, Kent had the first rubber on the board. Whilst Anton was finishing up, Michael Owen had taken the first set in his opening match and Kent seemed to be cruising to a two rubber lead and shortly after some dominating play mid court, Michael wrapped up his win. Harvey Conway was next up and didn’t disappoint as he made no trouble in beating the Buckinghamshire number three in quick fashion.
Anton and Martin Thomas stepped up to play the doubles rubber and certainly enjoyed themselves by varying their play and using conventional doubles tactics as well as the Australian formation and eye formation and again very quickly with Martin picking off volleys Kent won the match in straight sets.
In the Second round Kent were up against Dorset, Which again had to be the ideal County to play as Kent started to dominate in all matches and within quick succession, Kent were again Three singles rubbers up and all players at a confident high. After a good team talk, Kent knew that we were to play Hampshire Isle of Wight in the semi finals the next day and to be ready for a battle.
Sunday morning was here before we knew it and the Kent team were itching to start the matches. After a solid warm up Anton stepped on court and was a man possessed, as he carried on where he left off on Saturday and after the twentieth winner and no errors, Antons opponent had enough and shook hands at the net with Kent one rubber up. Up next was Harvey. Harvey knew straight away that he was in a battle from the first point and for the first few games was toe to toe with his opponent, but unfortunately, when it mattered, Harvey lost faith and his opponent’s game rose to a higher level and took the match. Kent were now one rubber each. Michael Owen recognised the importance of his match and played an incredibly solid game with great discipline from the back and backing it up with brave finishing from mid court which soon gave Michael the win that Kent needed going into the doubles. Thinking that Kent were in cruise control, may have been the kiss of death as I don’t think I have ever seen worse doubles being played by the Kent pair in all my life. With no confidence, no intercepting and no communication, Kent were suddenly down a set and looking like we will have to go to a shootout to decide who wins and who goes through to the final. However, the second set was a different match and after some encouragement from the team, Anton and Michael displayed some tennis which proves their rankings. Hampshire never knew what hit them as Anton was darting all over the court with Michael picking off anything that came his way and stormed to a second set win. The tiebreak for the third set was over before you could blink as the Kent pair carried on the momentum and took a convincing victory to put Kent into the final against rivals Surrey.
Anton was up first again against a very inform Jack Draper and unfortunately for Anton, he did not possess the mental strength to stay in the rallies and Jack soon took a standard win against the Kent number one. Harvey Conway was battling out his match on the other court, and to be honest could not have done anything more as the Surrey number two took the first set and was forming a strong lead in the second. Harvey started to play more attacking from the middle of the court but could not quite put the ball away on the slow macadam courts and came up short in the second set. Kent were now two rubbers down needing a win in the last singles to have a chance of taking it to doubles.
Michael Owen followed the tactical advice to the letter and was the most solid he has been at the back of the court and not getting dragged into a moon balling contest. Michael maintained the pressure throughout the first set and took a vital lead which he then saw through to the end. Kent were back in it and Michael was in the fight of his life. Michael stuck to the game plan but did not execute as well as he did in the first set which saw the Surrey number two take the second set with some good play and solid hitting which meant Kent were in a tie break for the third set. Michael fought hard and worked for every point but it was not good enough as he was soon eight five down!!! With a good overall from the umpire, Michael was back to eight six and played some of the bravest tennis I have ever seen with two drop shots and a drive volley, Michael came back from the brink of defeat with a huge win, giving Kent a glimmer of hope for the doubles.
Anton and Michael started slowly in the doubles, maybe because Michael was emotionally drained from his singles but we had to stick with the first pair as they were our best chance of winning. The first set came and gone with Kent not imposing themselves enough. The second set however, turned in our favour with Surrey missing a few opportunities and Kent raising their level and ended up with Kent taking the second set. This meant again that Kent had to win the tie break for the third set to go to a shootout to decide the fate of County Cup. Anton and Michael played some of the most incredible doubles with reflex volleys and great overheads, Kent took the tie break and were now in a first to ten point tie break for the Cup. Kent took the initiative and drove every return at the volleyer with pace and nearly took the heads off the Surrey team over and over. With this established pattern, Kent took the lead and never looked back as they continued their assault and took an amazing victory over the Surrey pair.
Once again, I would like to thank the parents for their support and Dominic Cobby for helping me with training and decisions over the weekend. It was the most memorable County Cup I have ever experienced. National Finals in Bolton next.
The Finals of the 12U Aegon County Cup Event 2013 takes place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July (inclusive) at Bolton Arena – entry is free of charge - all supporters welcome!