Junior tennis players served up a spectacular end to the 2013 season with fine performances in the PwC Masters last month.
Harrison Clough, Bobby Lomax, Nicky Polloni and Daniel Reid swept all before them, winning their respective age groups.
The Masters is the eighth and final PwC junior tournament of the year, reserved for the eight top-ranked players in each category. This tournament also determined the players’ final rankings points for the year, thereby producing four 2013 champions.
In the 10 & Under division, Harrison Clough, 10, plowed past two strong players, Jake Serpell and Jack Lomax, to reach the final, where he faced a determined Oskar Bjuroe.
Bjuroe, 9, who knocked out Lauren Fullerton and William Priaulx on his way to the top, put up a good fight but eventually succumbed 4-6,0-6 to Clough’s superior fire power. A play-off between Priaulx and Jack Lomax for third place resulted in a win for Priaulx.
In the final rankings, though, Jack Lomax, 9, emerged as 2013’s 10 & U PwC champion, with no less than 35 match wins and just seven losses over eight tournaments.
Bobby Lomax, 11, who has held on with ease to the No.1 ranking in the 12 & Under section since the start of the season, again proved his domination in this age group with a series of easy wins in the Masters.
Lomax, one of Cayman’s most talented young players, brushed aside Harrison Clough 6-1, 6-0 in the semis, and then trounced John-Ross Clough, age 12, 6-2, 6-1 for a fine end to a fabulous season. Jona Narborough and Calum Lindsay treated spectators to a long and impressive battle in their first-round match in the 12 & Under group, with Lindsay squeaking though 7-5,4-6, 11-9 to meet John-Ross Clough in the semis. Hard-working Lindsay lost that semi but beat precocious Harrison Clough in the decider for third place.
Bobby Lomax collected both the Masters 2013 trophy and the 12 & U 2013 PwC champion trophy, having amassed an impressive 33 match wins and four losses over eight tournaments over the year.
In the 14 & Under division, top-ranked Nathan McLaughlin came up in the semis against Nicky Polloni, 13, whose on-court talents are such that he usually plays in the 18 & Unders.
Polloni pulled out his winners, and overpowered McLaughlin, going on to confront Jade Wilkinson, 13, in the final.
Wilkinson, who has established herself as Cayman’s top female junior player, likewise proved unable to withstand Polloni’s superior fire power but hung in for a respectable 2-6,4-6 score.
Polloni thus snaffled the Masters trophy, but it was McLaughlin whose accumulated points of 2,100 over eight tournaments earned him the 2013 14&U PwC champion title, with Wilkinson as runner-up.
After dominating this year’s 18 & Under on-island tournaments, Daniel Reid, Cayman’s top junior, went into the Masters as No.1 seed.
The only player who had some chance of beating him was long-term rival Callum Theaker, 13. Ever-consistent Reid dismissed Nicholas Leonard 6-4,6-0 in their semi, while Theaker knocked out Matteo Polloni 6-2,6-4 on his side of the draw.
The Theaker-Reid final failed to reach its potential as a close-fought battle, with Reid pulling away 6-2,6-1 for a comfortable win.
Reid was the well-deserved winner of the Masters 18&U 2013 and was the PwC 18&U 2013 champion. The rivalry between Reid, Theaker and Leonard should produce some more excellent tennis this year.
The junior tennis circuit is wholly sponsored by PwC, and run under the aegis of the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands, with the help and support of local pros.
The circuit has become increasingly popular, with 56 youngsters playing in at least one tournament in 2013.
Most played in four or more. Those wanting more information on playing in PwC junior tournaments are asked to contact their local pro, the Tennis Club or the Courts at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. There is also considerable information about junior tennis on the TFCI’s Facebook page.
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