Another Busy Week For Hignett

Totally Tennis performance player Liam Hignett had a busy week competing in the Grade 3 Frost & Co. Dorset Open 2017 as well as volunteering at the IAFF World Athletic Championships in London.

In the tournament held at the East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Hignett competed in both the Open Men’s singles and the doubles with Dorset based partner Louis Allen. In the singles, second seed Hignett had a bye in the first round then he beat Joshua Kean 6-2, 6-1 in round two followed by fifth seed Jack Oswald 6-2, 6-3 in the quarters. In the semis he defeated seventh seed Thomas Watkinson 6-4, 6-1 but then lost to top seed Alex White 7-5, 6-1 in the final to finish in the runner-up spot.

In the doubles, second seeds Hignett and Allen had a bye in the first round then beat Adam Watkinson/Thomas Watkinson in the quarters 4-0, 4-2 and then beat third seeds  Benjamin Battey/David Hill in three sets 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 10-6 in the semis. In the final they were due to face top seeds Adam Glynn/Toby Samuel but due to the match scheduling and Hignett’s IAFF commitments the pair had to concede leaving them as runners-up. 

At the televised World Athletics sessions Hignett had the honour of carrying Usain Bolt’s bag before the 4 x 100 metre relay final.

 

Two Runner-Up Finishes for Bromilow in Liverpool

Totally Tennis performance player and Sherfield Tennis Scholar Miles Bromilow finished as runner-up in two events at this week’s Grade 3 HEAD Merseyside Tennis Open held at the Liverpool Tennis Centre.

In the 18 and under Boys singles event, Bromilow who was seeded third, beat James Griffin in the first round 6-3, 6-1 followed by  Zak Buchli-Sagoo in the quarters 6-1, 6-2. In the semis he defeated second seed  William Morley-Cotterell in three sets  6-7(3), 6-2, 12-10 before losing in the final to top seed  Harrison Birch 6-2, 6-2.

Bromilow (pictured left) with winner Harrison Birch

It was a similar story in the Open Men’s Singles competition with top seed Birch beating third seed Bromilow in the final but this time in a much closer three set match 1-6, 6-2, 10-2. Bromilow also competed in the 18 and under Boys Doubles with partner Reuben Warwick finishing in joint third/fourth place. After a bye in the first round the boys lost in the semis to second seeds  Raza Ghaus/Samuel Reeve 4-0, 4-2.

Road To Wimbeldin County Runner-Up Spot for Isla

Totally Tennis performance player Isla Hignett was runner-up in this year’s 14 and under Girls singles Road to Wimbledon (RTW) County Finals held at Canoe Lake Leisure in Southsea last weekend.

After a bye in the first round Hignett defeated Maya Gupta 4-0, 4-0 in round two followed by Nakshatra Sridhar 4-1, 4-0 in the quarters and Mia Gerty 4-1, 4-0 in the semis. She was beaten in the finals by Martyna Ciubatiuk 4-2, 5-3 who will go on to represent Hampshire & IOW in the National Finals held at Wimbledon in August. Hignett will get to attend a tennis clinic with Tim Henman and Dan Bloxham at Wimbledon on Saturday 19th August along with all the other county final runners-up.

Tim Henman at the 2016 tennis clinic held for all the county finals runner-ups

Clubmate Tillie Reid also played, she had a bye in round one then beat Egna Kuda Mutedzi 4-0, 4-0 in her second round match and Poppy Marston 4-0, 4-1 in the quarters before losing to eventual winner Ciubatiuk in the semis 4-0, 4-0.

HSBC Road to Wimbledon is the biggest junior tournament in British tennis and gives all players 14 & under the opportunity to progress through to compete on the world famous grass courts in SW19. Last year nearly 8000 juniors participated in the RTW event via their club, park or school with 144 players qualifying to play at Wimbledon at the National Finals.

Additional information and Tim Henman photo used courtesy of www.roadtowimbledon.com

 

 

Silver Medal For Kirsty in Oxford

Totally Tennis performance player Kirsty Da Silva reached her first Grade 4 final on Sunday while competing in the GSM Bampton 12U Girls Summer County Tour in Oxford.

In the quarter finals she beat Gigi Ifil 3-4(3), 4-1,10-6 followed by Katie Baker in the semis 4-2, 4-1 but then lost against the number one seed Patricia Radan 4-3(3), 4-0 in her first Grade 4 12U final.

Kirsty’s mum Sue Da Silva said, ” Kirsty played a great tournament sadly losing to the number one seed in the final.” she added, “Her first round match was terrific against a very talented player who has played in many national tournaments, Kirsty played a clever match and eventually won in three sets.  Some of her best tennis so far!”

Congratulations Kirsty!

Silver Medal For Kirsty

Totally Tennis performance player Kirsty Da Silva was runner-up in the grade 5 Chesham Bois 12 and under Girls singles tournament held at Chesham Bois Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Amersham, Buckinghamshire this weekend.

In her first match Da Silva beat Bianca Iacobut 4-3, 4-1 and then defeated her personal nemesis’ and second seed Patricia Radan in a close three set semi-final match  4-2, 1-4, 10-9. In the final her winning streak was halted by Anjali Kotecha who won 4-1, 4-1 and Da Silva finished up with the runner-up’s medal.

Sue Da Silva (Kirtsy’s mum) said, “Kirsty has never beaten Patricia before although she came close in their last meeting but today was her day, at last! she added, “It’s her first medal for a while, it’s so great to see her back in a final again!”

 

Tennis Talk: Success in China Open for Murray and Konta

It’s been a great week for the two British number ones Andy Murray and Johanna Konta with both players making it to the China Open finals in Beijing. Eleventh seed Konta has made it into the world’s top ten for first time in her career and finished as runner-up to World number three Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland who dominated the final winning her twentieth WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) title 6-4, 6-2.

In the lead up to the final, Konta beat Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in the first round 6-1, 6-1 followed by Hungarian Tímea Babos 7-5, 6-2 in round two. In the third round Konta defeated Karolina Pliskova in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 and then China’s Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-0 in the quarters, she then booked her place in the final by beating eighth seed Madison Keys from the USA in three sets 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. 

World number two, Murray was top seed and beat fifth seed David Ferrer from Spain in the semi-final cruising to victory 6-2, 6-3 in just ninety minutes. Murray will face Bulgaria’s Gregor Dimitrov today in the final at The National Stadium after Dimitrov’s semi-final opponent Milos Raonic had to retire with an ankle injury. In the quarter finals Murray beat fellow Brit Kyle Edmund 7-6, 6-2 after defeating Andrey Kuznetsov from Russia 6-2, 6-1 in round two and Italian Andreas Seppi 6-2, 7-5 in the first round.

Former world number one Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta won their first ATP World Tour doubles title together at the China Open. The Spanish duo beat American Jack Sock and his Australian partner Bernard Tomic 6-7(6), 6-2, 10-8 in the final.  Fifth seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won the China Open Women’s doubles title upsetting the top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4.

In other news World number fifteen Australian Nick Kyrgios won his third ATP singles title at the Japan open in Tokyo beating David Goffin from Belgium 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

Information and photos sourced from www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/gettyimages and www.atpworldtour.com

 

 

 

Second Place for Da Silva

Young mini performance player Kirsty Da Silva finished in second place today at the Grade 4 10 and U Girls Indoor Winter County tournament held at the White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre, Oxfordshire.

Starting her New Year in very good form Da Silva played four matches in the group stages, winning Box B convincingly. She beat Florence Haigh 4-0,  Molly Hulcup 4-0, Darcy Herring Johnson 4-3(2) and Lois Newberry 4-2 to finish at the top of the box and progress to the main draw.

She continued her strong display dispensing with her semi final opponent Katie Baker 4-0, 4-3(0) to reach final. Unfortunately she then came up against a very strong opponent and Group A winner Patricia Radan who won the final with a flourish 4-0, 4-0, even though the scoreline may not reflect it Da Silva played extremely well and started 2016 with a well-deserved runners-up medal, congratulations Kirsty!