REGIONAL
NEWS
|
||
|
Rising East
Lancashire tennis star, 11, stages display at Davis Cup
Jake
Fisher, 11, from Haslingden, was selected to put on an on-court display of
his skills in front of an audience of thousands. A
pupil at Oakhill College, Whalley, Jake started playing tennis at the age of
four, and is already set for great things after competing in the British
junior nationals. Jake,
who plays for South Ribble Tennis Club and plays in the Lancashire County Cup
team, was selected by the Lawn Tennis Association, last year, to join the
AEGON FutureStars programme, which identifies young players as being among
the best juniors in the country. At
the weekend, he spent fifteen minutes on court at the Liverpool Echo arena,
with six other children from around the North West, entertaining guests by
practising drills, backhands and forehands, showing off footwork skills and
target practise. Afterwards
he was a special guest at the Group 1 Europe / Africa Zone match that saw
Andy Murray and Ross Huchins lose to Polish team Marcin Malkowski and Mariusz
Fyrstenberg. Jake
said: “I was nervous before I went on, but once I started hitting the ball I
just forgot all about the audience and really enjoyed it. “We
spent the fifteen minutes doing target practise and drills. “It
was good fun and I’d love to do it again. “Afterwards
we got to watch the match and Andy Murray walked by and said ‘hi’ to us. “It
was great to see him play because he has worked very hard and is so good at
what he does.” His
mother, Karen Fisher, said: “Jake loves tennis and was really excited when he
got the letter through last week asking if he would be a guest of the Lawn
Tennis Association and put on an on-court display before the match. “He
loved every minute of it and we are really proud of him.” Maria
Bland, at Oakhill College, said: “It’s quite an honour to be picked and is a
testament to Jake’s developing skills as a young tennis player. He’s a match
for anyone his age in the Valley. “Well
done Jake.” Lancashire
Telegraph |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
