NATIONAL
NEWS
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A GREAT
EXPERIENCE Another successful year for the Road to Wimbledon
programme with the finals being played on the grass of the All England Club. That final day of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon
14&U National Challenge was filled with great tennis and a guest
appearance from Tim Henman, former British No. 1 and four-time Wimbledon
semi-finalist, who turned out to support the event. Dorset’s
Ryan Frankel took the boys’ singles title after a two-and-a-half hour battle
against Yorkshire’s Peter Ashley. The
14 year-old eventually won the highly competitive contest 6-7(2) 7-5 6-1 to
stake his claim on the trophy and a £500 coaching grant courtesy of HSBC. “It’s
really been a great experience. I’ve wanted to play here since I was young
and to finally do it is great. I’ve played on grass before, but nothing quite
like this,” said Frankel. “It
was a tough match today and at one point I was a set and 4-2 down but I
pulled through and I’ll take a lot of confidence from this into my next
tournament.” Birthday
girl Kim Schmider added two more presents to her collection as she claimed
the girls’ singles and doubles trophies after a fantastic week. Successfully
defeating Staffordshire’s Elle Stokes 6-3 6-3 in the singles final, Schmider
later teamed up with Wales’ Amy Leiu to take a clean sweep of the titles. |
“I’ve
had such a great time here. To play at Wimbledon is an amazing experience and
to win on my birthday makes it even more special,” said Schmider. “I
played well in the final, both sets were close in the beginning but I managed
to get ahead and win. I think my consistency is what won it for me in the
end. I was mentally stronger and Tim [Henman] wished me luck before I went on
which I think helped as well!” The
boys’ doubles was won by Joseph Hill and Simon Pritchard who took the title
with a 6-4 6-3 win over boys’ singles champion Frankel and his partner Jordan
Parker. The boys’ and girls’ consolation draws were won by Oliver Walkden of
Lancashire and Kelly Burge of Surrey. Tim
Henman, who hosted a clinic for HSBC Road to Wimbledon participants in the
morning, said: “Today’s finals have been a fantastic display of what
the HSBC Road to Wimbledon Challenge can do for tennis. All of the children
played exceptionally well and I look forward to seeing how their tennis
progresses." Paul
Hutchins, Tournament Director, said: “It has been so great to give so many
juniors an experience to play on the grass at Wimbledon with perfect weather
all week. I would really like many of these players to progress through the
age groups and for some to have the ambition to play in The Championships
within the next ten years.” The tournament now looks forward to 2010 when many more juniors will compete in the club and county stages of the event for a chance to play on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). |
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