Alfie Hewett became just the second British player to win the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters boys' singles title on Sunday as the world’s premier tournament for wheelchair tennis players aged 18 and under came to a thrilling climax in Tarbes with Hewett upsetting Argentinean top seed Augustin Ledesma 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(7).
Fourteen-year-old Hewett remained unbeaten in all three of his round-robin matches earlier in the week, which included first time wins over Dutch players Rody de Bie and Jeroen Staman. He then defeated Dutchman Carlos Anker 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday's semi-final to join current British men’s senior No. 1 and No. 2 players Gordon Reid and David Phillipson as the only three Brits to reach the boys' final in Tarbes.
With Ledesma almost four years older than Junior Masters debutant Hewett and 85 places higher than the Brit in the senior world rankings, the Argentinean looked to be on course for victory after taking the first set 6-2, but Hewett made a remarkable start to the second set, taking a 5-0 lead before finally levelling the match on his third set point.
He proceeded to break at the start of the third set and, although Ledesma then reeled off five games in succession, Hewett dug deep to force the final set tie-break and take the title.
“When I came into the tournament I never thought I’d win it, so I’m feeling slightly overwhelmed right now," said a delighted Hewett after clinching an extraordinary double, having partnered Ledesma to beat de Bie and Staman 7-6(5), 2-6, (11-9) in the doubles final.
“In the first set Augustin played a very solid game, seemed to get everything back and forced me into making too many errors, so at the start of the second my plan was to get everything back into court and it worked.
"Augustin was also a great doubles partner and although it was out first time playing together against an experienced duo that were like a brick wall in the final, we gradually overhauled them and to come home with both titles and become only the second British boy to do it is incredible.”
26/01/2012
Britain's Alfie Hewett completed the first day of the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters with an unblemished record after two wins from his two boys' singles round-robin matches.
However, while Hewett registered two opening wins on his debut in Tarbes, fellow Brit Lauren Jones was unable to capitalise on a bright start in her first girls' singles match.
World No. 3 ranked junior Hewett defeated Jeroen Staman of the Netherlands 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in his first match of the day.
American Ryan Nelson provided 14-year-old Hewett's second challenge of the day, but despite several close games Hewett took the opening set after securing a double break to make it 6-2. Nelson snatched the first game of the second set, but once again Hewett opened up a 4-1 lead and he maintained the advantage to complete a 6-2, 6-3 victory after 67 minutes.
Hewett still has Dutch player Rody de Bie to play in the round-robin phase of the competition after de Bie ended the first day by edging his compatriot Staman 7-5, 7-6(3).
Sixteen-year-old Jones also looked to be on course for a winning debut in Tarbes as she built up a 4-1 lead over Turkey's Busra Un and went on to comfortably take her opening set 6-2. But the 17-year-old Turkish player made her greater experience tell as she wrapped up a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
Jones will now play Colombia's defending champion Angelica Berna and American Shelby Baron in her remaining round-robin matches.
25/01/2012
Reigning National Junior Champions Alfie Hewett (pictured) and Lauren Jones take part in this week's Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters in Tarbes, the premier annual wheelchair tennis tournament for players aged 18 and under.
Just eight of the top ranked boys and four of the top ranked girls on the junior rankings published by the ITF qualify to take part in the four-day tournament, which is being preceded by a few days training this week at the venue near the Pyrenees.
The prestigious tournament takes place alongside the final four days of Les Petits As, a tournament for able-bodied juniors aged between 12 and 14, where Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters were all champions or finalists in the earlier stages of their careers.
Hewett is currently the No. 3 ranked player in the world junior boys ranking. He makes his debut in Tarbes this year, after two seasons in which he's not only shown his credentials as a leading junior player, but has also made significant progress in the senior ranks of the game.
In 2010 he became the youngest Brit to ever gain a senior men's singles world ranking and last season he won two senior men's second draw singles titles in Belgium and the Czech Republic.
Jones has achieved similar success after taking up wheelchair tennis in early 2010. Last year she won her first senior National Championships women's doubles title with British women's No. 2 Jordanne Whiley and went on to win her first international women's doubles title at the Esporta Cardiff tournament in October, partnered by British No. 3 Louise Hunt. Jones is currently No.6 in the international junior girls ranking.
Hewett lines up in the boys event alongside Argentina's world junior No. 2 Augustin Ledesma, Dutchmen Carlos Anker, Rody de Bie and Jeroen Staman, American Ryan Nelson, Brazil's Marcos Sousa and Zimbabwe's Shepherd Banda.
Jones has qualified for the girls events alongside American Shelby Baron, defending champion Angelica Bernal of Colombia and Turkey's Busra Un.
The tournament gets underway with the eight boys players competing in two round-robin pools of four players. All four girls will play each other in a similar format. The top players in each of the two boys pools at the close of Saturday's play will go forward to Sunday's final.
The top two players after the round robin phase of the girls singles will also go through to their final on Sunday. Boys doubles and girls doubles events will also be contested over the four days of competition