The Kent team consisting of Tommy Harrison, Vaughan Watson, Matthew Pickering and Maxsim Balas took the courts at Bromley Tennis Centre for the 2016 12&under boys County Cup.The mood in the camp was upbeat and high expectations were on the cards.
Kent played Berkshire first round with Matthew and Vaughan up first .Matthew won in comfortable fashion against Leonardo Fergusson however Vaughan lost to Ethan Dillon in straight sets.Tommy was up next against George Webster and fell short but at times showed fantastic discipline in his shot selection and hard fought games.
Kent went on to win the doubles match and the deciding shootout with the aid of Maxsim and his sharp reflex volleying which kept Kent ahead throughout the rubber.
Round two saw Kent play Buckinghamshire in a closely fought encounter.Matthew had a solid performance at no.3 and a good win.Vaughan had a marathan match and found himself a set and break down before finding his huge forehand and firing winners from anywhere on the court.Quickly Vaughan turned it around and took the set and the breaker to win the match.Tommy lost a close match at no.1 however he and Maxsim made up for it by taking the doubles rubber and another victory for Kent.
Day two saw Kent face Oxfordshire in the semis.Kent were favourites to win but still expected tough opposition.All the Kent players came out the blocks quickly and before we knew it, Kent had won all three singles rubbers with great performances all round.Tommy was rested for the doubles rubber so Matthew and Maxsim paired up for an entertaining match.The Kent pair lost in a tight match but played with confidence and no fear as they practised their net skills at all times during the game.
Kent were in the final versus Hertfordshire who had not lost a match to date so we knew it was going to be tough.Matthew lost his singles after having his opponent on the ropes however Ben Feltham responded to the pressure and outplayed Matthew on the clutch points.Matthew was dissapointed with himself but his mentality was excellent and he battled from start to finish.Vaughan played Chris Smith but unfortunately lost easily as it became apparent his unforced errors were becoming his downfall.Vaughan hit some incredible winners but could not find that balance between power and control.All eyes turned Tommy for a much needed win for that singles rubber.Tommy was to face Sam Harriss who we knew was favourite to win.Tommy started and finished like a robot as he did not miss a ball for the next two sets and made the match look like a drilling session as he moved his opponent from side to side.Kent were back in the tie even though we were two rubbers to one down.The doubles was an epic!!
Tommy and Vaughan were selected to play the doubles for a little added firepower as I knew it was going to be a close encounter.The first set was lost in a one sided affair as Hertfordshire just made more balls and did the basics better however the second set was not so easy for them.
Kent turned it around in the second set with a great display of serving and discipline and got a well deserved break of serve which we then capitalised on and took the set.Kent was heading for a third set deciding tiebreak.If we won the tiebreak, it would go to the wire in a another shoot out for the match and to win County Cup.
All four players were nervous as the quality of each rally dropped however Kent kept the score level at seven points all.Hertfordshire remained solid and made Kent play as many balls as possible and unfortunately took the next three points in succession to win the match and put and end to our campaign for the year.
It was a great team effort from all players and huge support from the parents over a very long weekend but one of the most memorable County Cups I have captained and I am already looking forward to next year.
Max Robinson
Captain