The Aegon British Tour Masters gets underway at Nottingham Tennis Centre on Thursday, with a number of Nottingham based player’s making it through to the season finale.
32 men and 32 women are converging on the city, having qualified through points accumulated at the 40 events held throughout the country in 2013.
With £2,000.00 prize money for the winner, and a total prize money pot of £22,600.00 16 year old Freya Christie, from Hucknall, leads the local charge for the title. Having reached the final un-seeded in 2012, Christie seeded four this year, plays Grace Dixon in her opening match. The teenager, who has a junior world ranking inside the top 100, has had a highly encouraging autumn, with two back to back quarter-final appearances on the women’s pro circuit, and gaining her first pro ranking of 1031 this month.
Georgia Lawson, Ceire Mullins, and Alannah Griffin complete a quartet of Nottingham based player’s in the women’s draw, whilst Aaron Banasik, from Watnall, who like Christie has recently gained his first pro ranking, plays Sizya Kivanda in his first round men’s Match on Thursday.
Top seeds for the four-day event are Marcus Willis and Lucy Brown. 23 year old Willis, from Slough, has just returned from a successful trip to Greece, and arrives in Nottingham with a world ranking of 359, close to his career high in October. As top seed, he will be looking to win his first Master’s title, having lost to Richard Bloomfield at the quarter-final stage in each of the last two years. Whilst Brown, world ranked 596, is making her debut, having won two Aegon British Tour titles in North Oxford and Sutton in 2013.
Entry is free for spectators indoors at Nottingham Tennis Centre, with play scheduled day time Thursday to Sunday.
For further information on the Aegon British Tour go to www.lta.org.uk/aegonbritishtour