Warwickshire and Sutton Coldfield’s Max Stewart won the 2013 Nike Junior Tour International Masters 14U boys event
It had been a tough couple of days for Max who was seeded 6th for the event. He not only had to overcome three tough opponents but had to cope with a dose of flu as well. Max told Nike Tennis that;
“I wasn’t feeling great this morning. My throat was sore and I threw up before the match,” he said. However, once of court the adrenalin took over and I didn’t feel that bad.”
To make matters worse he grazed his finger on the court in the fourth game of the first set and had to have the trainer on to bandage it up. Nonetheless, he managed to keep his queasiness under control long enough to beat Argentinian Juan Otegui 3-6 6-4 6-1.
In fifth-seeded Juan he faced a foe on fire and it took a set and a half before Max was able to douse the flames. Juan played near perfect tennis to take the opening set. “I just needed to change my game style,” said Max. “Until then I had been a bit passive. I needed to be more aggressive.”
It was only after a protracted seventh game in set No 2 that Max made the significant breakthrough.
In a game in which he had five break points and his opponent several opportunities to hold, Max finally cracked the Argentine’s serve and then held for a 5-3 lead.
“That game at 3-3 was massively important and I was happy I won it.” Once he had the second set under his belt Max had the momentum and Juan started to battle, especially with his serve. Max was reading it well and making the Argentine pay for any errors.
“I’m super happy I won the tournament, I felt I could do well if I played well enough. To win it is really massive,” said Max.
Congratulations Max from everyone here at Warwickshire tennis.