Totally Tennis performance player Liam Hignett competed in his first Grade 1 event, the Nike Junior National Tennis Championships 2016 held at Nottingham Tennis Centre. Grade 1 tournaments are for the the top twenty-eight ranked players in the UK as well as two qualifiers and two wild cards to make up the thirty two player draw. Hignett is ranked 34th and was accepted due to entry numbers.
In the first round of the 16U Boys singles he was drawn against the eighth seed Edward Putney (ranked 10th in the UK) and he won the match convincingly 6-3, 6-1. In the next round Hignett beat Oliver Okonkwo in a very close three set match which lasted an incredible three and three quarter hours, 7-6(7), 2-6, 7-6(3) which saw him into the last eight of the competition. In that quarter-final match he lost 6-2, 6-3 to fourth seed Jake Hersey.
Donella Hignett said, “Both wins in the singles event were against players he had previously lost to over the years which was a great achievement.”
In the 16U Boys Doubles event unseeded Hignett and partner Louis Allen were crowned the champions. In the first round they beat Rittik Anand and Nathan Fernandes 5-7, 6-3, 11-9 followed by a walkover against top seeds Alexander Maggs and Connor Thomson in the quarter finals. They then beat third seeds Oscar Cutting and Putney in the semis 6-4, 6-4 and defeated Tad Maclean and Okonkwo in the three set final 2-6, 7-6(4), 10-8 to win the event and collect the trophies. The boys also received medals, flags and vouchers as part of their prize.
Congratulations Liam!
Thanks Donella for the great selection of photos
Totally Tennis 