AEGON British Junior National Championships come to a close
27th August 2012
The AEGON British Junior National Championships came to a close on Saturday in Nottingham. The U16 and U18 boys and girls final’s were the last to be played at the Nottingham tennis centre.
The first to claim their winners trophies were Julian Cash and Lana Rush who defeated Sam Rice and Freya Christie respectively.
Cash, the No.2 seed in Nottingham has had a fantastic tournament, only dropping one set throughout the championship.
The 15-year-old from Brighton looked confident from the off-set and Rice a wildcard entry struggled to break serve. Cash eventually defeated Rice 6-2, 6-2 to take the AEGON British Junior National Championships title in the 16 and under category.
Cash who is one of the youngest players in the U16s said: “I am really happy to have won, but I didn’t feel my performance today was a reflection of my best tennis. I played a better match yesterday in the semi-final.
“Throughout the tournament I have been getting better and better, with the first match probably being my weakest. I dropped the first set in my first round match which meant I had to battle back for the win. At the beginning of the championships it took me a little while to get used to the surface after playing on clay for the past month.
“This is my first title here and in fact the first time I have ever made a final at the Junior Nationals, so it’s great to have won and I am really happy with what I have achieved and the progress of my tennis.
In the girls draw it Lana Rush triumphed for the third time over Freya Christie in a Junior National final.
The two girls who are great friends off court have met in two previous final’s and one semi-final in this Championships, Christie’s only victory being in the semi-final.
Both Rush and Christie have had successful weeks with Rush dropping her first set in her semi-final match yesterday and Christie never losing a set until the final.
Rush breezed through the first set 6-2 but faced a challenge in the second when Christie came back from 1-5 to 4-5 unsettling Rush and pressing to take it to a third set.
However the 15-year-old held her nerve to take the second set 6-4 and to win her third Junior National title.
Rush said: “Freya and I are used to playing each other in this tournament and generally on the circuit, she is one of my best friends but when we walk out on court we have to put that aside and play the best we can.
“For a while in the second set I thought Freya was going to push me to a third set and I was getting frustrated but in the end I managed to keep my composure long enough to win the second set.
“I am really pleased with how I have played in this Championships because I haven’t competed at this level for a little while, I took a bit of a holiday and only went back to full time training a week before this, so to have won is a real boost to my confidence and I know I still have some work to do but this is a good platform for me to work from.”
In the 18 and under category both the boys and girls were interrupted by the rain and were forced to complete the matched on the indoor courts.
In the girls draw top seed Alicia Barnett and Beth Askew battled it out in a gripping three set final with Askew eventually taking the title.
Barnett took the first set 6-3 as Askew struggled to find her rhythm, however the 17-year-old who was runner up in last year’s final was determined to fight back, taking the second set 6-1.
The final set saw Askew defeat the top seed 6-3 to take the title.
Askew from Liverpool said: “Alicia really came out fighting in the first set and I just wasn’t getting a look in at all, I couldn’t break serve and she was dominating the court. In the second set I started to get into a rhythm and I managed to break Alicia’s serve which gave me confidence and spurred me on.
“The third set could have gone either way at 3-3 it was still anybody’s match, but when I broke her to go up 4-3 I knew that was my chance to win the match.
“I was determined to come back this year and win the title that I missed out on so narrowly last year and I am delighted that I have.”
The U18 boy’s final was another two and half hour battle which saw top seed Scott Clayton take on wildcard Joshua Sapwell for National title.
Sapwell attacked from the start taking the first set 6-3 and forcing Clayton to work hard to get back into the game, however, the top seed was not ready to give up on his last chance at a Junior National title, battling back to take the second set 6-4.
The 18-year-old from Jersey took charge of the second set finally defeating Sapwell 6-3.
Clayton said: “That was my last chance to win a Junior title and it is great to go out on a high. Josh is a great player and I had to play my best tennis to win that match. I had to keep my head when I went a set down but I knew I would get my opportunities and when I did I took them.
“I have really enjoyed this week and feel like I have improved got a lot out of it. I am going to have a bit of a holiday now and then go back to full time training down in Bath where I will prepare to play on the ITF pro circuit."