Birmingham tennis ace Bjorn Thomson is through to the quarter finals of the 12 & under boys draw at the AEGON British Junior National Championships in Bournemouth. The 11-year-old beat Ruaridh MacLeod in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) at the West Hants club to set up a quarter final clash with Sam Rice on Monday. 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.
Thomson, who is a member of the AEGON FutureStars development squad said: “That was a lot better than how I played in the first round. I was hitting the ball much better. “He played really well but I played well myself so happy to come through. I feel that I am growing in confidence as the week goes on. “If I could improve on anything it would be to have a few less double faults but all in all I’m happy.”More than 400 of the best boys and girls in the country have been competing across qualifying and main draws for the National Championships, which has been running for 101 years, at both the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton and West Hants tennis club.
As well as Murray and Keothavong, previous winners include former British number one Tim Henman, and the aim is that the AEGON British Junior National Championships will produce more British winners on the international stage. Keothavong for one is a big fan of the event. She said: "The AEGON Junior nationals are a great way to pit yourself against your peers and battle it out for the title of the best in Britain,” said Keothavong. “It's also a chance to see some of the most talented young players in the country compete against each other - hopefully we'll see some of them stepping up to the pro game in the future.” Since 2006 there has been a 300% increase in the number of young people who play six or more matches a year, but this is a figure British Tennis is driving to increase even further in order to create more winners.
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.