COVENTRY’S David O’Leary suffered a loss today in the semi-final stage of the 18&under boys singles at the AEGON British Junior National Championships at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
The 18-year-old had been in commanding form, fighting hard in every round of the competition and coming through tough matches victorious, but he was unable to continue his title campaign against fifth seed James Marsalek losing in straight sets with a score of 6-0 6-3.
The talented youngster seemed confident throughout the week even though he continued to meet tough opponents, commenting after his quarter final match yesterday [Wednesday]; “Despite the result, I still think that I’m not on top form, I was playing really well at the start but I got nervous in the second set which definitely affected my game and is something that I need to work on.
“I’m really excited to have got to the semi’s and am confident that I can win the match, obviously I’ll need to be on form tomorrow in order to do that but I’ll go out there ready to win.”
Unfortunately, O’Leary could not gain a win in the semi-finals against the fifth seed but during his championship campaign, he did topple the sixth seed Richard Gabb in the second round and the number one seed Ahmed El Menshawyin the quarter finals.
The AEGON British Junior National Championships is the highest domestic accolade available to Britain’s most promising young players and past champions included the current men’s and women’s British number ones, Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong.
Last year’s 18 & under title was won by Dan Cox who beat Berkshire’s Marcus Willis 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-1 in the final, while Willis and Berkshire’s Neil Pauffley won the boys’ doubles.
This is the first year that the prestigious competition has been supported by AEGON, a leading life assurance company. In September 2008, AEGON was announced as the first Lead Partner of British Tennis. AEGON backs the game at all levels, from grassroots programmes through to international events.