Eliz Maloney & Kira Reuter capture Junior National Title
24th August 2012
Junior tennis players Eliz Maloney from Bournemouth, Dorset and Kira Reuter from St Ives, Cambridgeshire have won the girls’ doubles 12U AEGON British Junior National Championships after defeating Emily Appleton and Jodie Lawrence-Taylor 7-5, 2-6, 12-10 at the West Hants Club in Bournemouth.
The number two seeds started off strongly capturing the tight opening set 7-5. However top seeds Appleton & Lawrence-Taylor fought back to even, taking the second set with speed at 6-2. The claim on the title was then to be decided in a thrilling third set match tie-break which saw rallies of over 20 shots on numerous points. However it was Maloney & Reuter who edged the win, saving a match point in the process.
Speaking after their victory, the Reuter said: “We feel amazing and we are really pleased, we really wanted the win badly. We knew it would be quite close, once we won the first set; we dropped focus and made a few more errors. The match tie-break was really tight and we just got the edge.”
Maloney added: “The match tie-break was close all the way through; we had to work hard to hold our nerve.”
Meanwhile, there were shock exits in both the boys and girls U14 category today as Jazzi Plews and Sam Ferguson were defeated by Gabriella Taylor and Marcus Walters respectively.
Gabriella Taylor the No.3 seed who defeated Plews 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 was pleased with her win: “That was a really tough match. I have only beaten Jazzi once before and it was two seasons ago in the U12 category where the match also went to three sets.
“I am feeling pretty confident in my game at the moment I have just come back from the World’s and I beat some pretty good players, so I am happy with the way I am playing at the moment.
“I am playing Katie Swan tomorrow who is a great player, she is young in this age category but she is a really strong opponent so it should be a great final.”
Sam Ferguson was victorious in the doubles final with partner Jay Clarke but fell short in his singles semi-final match against No.4 seed Marcus Walters. Nottingham player Walters defeated the No.2 seed 6-3, 7-5.
Walters said: “I am really pleased to have won that match, it was a difficult game and it almost went to three sets.
“In the second set I was 5-1 up and had three match points and I allowed Sam to fight back, but he is a great player and I expected it. I am glad I managed to keep my head in the game and win in two sets.
“I am feeling confident about the final as I know I am playing well and my game is getting better and better as the tournament progresses, so hopefully I can perform tomorrow.”
Walters now faces No.1 seed Jay Clarke in tomorrow’s final after he edged out Vincent Gillespie 6-2, 6-2.
Elsewhere in the U18’s Scott Clayton defeated Callum Poland-Smith to book his place in the semi-final against Julian Cash who edged out Andrew Watson 7-5, 6-4.
Alicia Barnett continued her winning form beating Kim Schmider 6-2, 7-5 this afternoon. The top seed will face Dominique Covington in the semi-final after she defeated Holly Reid.
In the U16’s there were more shock exits as top seed Lewis Roskilly lost to Shakeel Manji in three sets 6-3, 6-7, 2-6. Manji who is un-seeded will now face Sam Rice in the semi-final. Rice defeated No.5 seed Sam Price 6-4, 6-3.
In the girls top seed Freya Christie appears unbeatable as she breezed through her quarter-final match against Laura Hopton 6-0, 6-3.
Katie Swan made quick work of her semi-final match against Jodie Burrage, the 13-year-old conceded only two games beating Burrage 6-1, 6-1.
In the doubles Nottingham duo Jay Clarke and Sam Ferguson were victorious against Vincent Gillespie and Calum MacGeoch in the U14 final whilst Livvy Tomkins and Emily Arbuthnott defeated Georgina Axon and Katie Swan to take the trophy in the girl’s tournament.