The World Junior Championships kicked off at Seacourt on Tuesday, with the top 16 boys and top 8 girls under the age of 19 taking to the court across five days of tennis. Each of the top seeds progressed through to the quarter-finals untroubled. The closest match saw the unseeded pair of Paul Nieuwerberg and Alex Boulton battle through a tough second set.
The tournament kicked off with the local wildcard, Daniel Morgan, and France’s Eloi Saussier. Morgan’s hard and flat shots were able to pick off Saussier’s volley, but it also resulted in plenty of balls off the back wall or into hazards. Nonetheless, Morgan’s insistence on playing the shot paid off through the first set, spending most of his time at the hazard end lacing any open ball he could. Saussier adapted to the conditions better by the second set, while Morgan was less disciplined in his tactic. With the match tightening, Morgan picked up his game, throwing in a few thicker boasts and bringing the ball across Saussier’s volley. Morgan pushed through the last two games to score a victory.
The local interest continued with Alex Boulton taking on the American Paul Nieuwerburgh. The opening exchanges were fairly passive. It was Boulton who first took the game on, but Nieuwerburgh was happy to sit back and absorb Boulton’s attacks until Bouton made a mistake, proving very effective on the counter. With his confidence growing Nieuwerburgh opened up more as the set went on. Boulton struggled to find a response to Niuewerburgh’s demi-piques, overextending and finding the net more often than he found chases. After Niuewerburgh took the first set easily, the play tightened for the second set. The fourth game saw nine deuces exchanged each way, eventually seeing Boulton even the score at 2-all. Boulton seized the initiative as a result, winning three of the next four games before a fightback from Nieuwerburgh sent the set into a deciding game. Despite conceding two worse-than-3 chases, Nieuwerburgh held his nerve, earning a chase off before laying a worse-than-a-yard chase himself. Boulton’s force missed low, sending Nieuwerburgh into the quarter-finals.
The first of the seeds, Royal Tennis Court’s Robert Blizzard, was next, playing Radley’s Felix Moffett. Blizzard was calm and controlled, his Sayers-esque backhand proving a natural fit for the hard-cutting Seacourt court. It took until the third game of the second set for Moffett to put a game on the scoreboard, with a sweet-clean volley defending chase worse-than-a-yard. Even so, Blizzard concluded the match swiftly, ensuring his progression.
The next match saw battle between two Americans Elliott Philpott and fourth seed, Jonah Serotta, who a few days prior was the finalist of the British Junior Open Under 18’s. Serotta had everything covered, mopping up anything Philpott sent his way. The Philadelphian was rarely troubled, despite the spirited play from his opponent, moving on to play Morgan in the quarter-finals.
The afternoon session began with Maximillian Ansell playing second seed, Algernon Nottingham. Nottingham was playing the game on fast-forward, serving quickly and looking to belt winners wherever possible. Though Ansell was seeking to make Nottingham pay for his often errant shot choices, Nottingham’s quick hands and clean striking kept getting him out of trouble. Even so, he often telegraphed his shot choices. By the end, Ansell’s tenacity won him a solitary game, but the win to Nottingham was never in doubt.
Australia’s Tom McNamara was next on court, facing fifth seed Archie Watson from the Oratory. Watson was hitting the ball clean, keeping the rallies short and causing McNamara trouble on a relatively unfamiliar court. The Australian dug deep to put in a good showing, but Watson was a class above. The Oratonian’s pace and precision helped him on the way to a convincing victory.
Next, Holyport’s Alexis Besnard challenged Canford’s Frankie Binns. Besnard took the game on, hitting left-handed drives at the dedans to pick up some easy points. Binns dug in, focusing on hitting good areas to make life difficult for Besnard. Besnard’s swings got more wild, flirting with the out of court line on the back wall on several occasions. After taking the first set, Binns settled well into the match for the second, winning it to love.
The last match of the day saw the first seed and recently re-crowned British Under 16’s and 18’s champion Max Warner take on the finalist from the Under 16’s, Kurt Mueller. Warner picked up where he left off two days prior, playing with freedom and control. Mueller was unperturbed, taking the attack to Warner and getting the adulation from the crowd whenever he struck a winner. Nevertheless, Warner’s conversion rate of targets was exceptional, picking off dedans and grilles at will. Mueller had to battle hard for his two games, one more than at Queen’s, but the defending champion progressed otherwise untroubled.
Play continues on Wednesday with the four quarter-finals, as well as two of the four quarter-finals of the Under 19 Girl’s final.
Match results:
9:00 AM: Eloi Saussier lost to Daniel Morgan 3/6 4/6
10:15 AM: Alex Boulton lost to Paul Nieuwerburgh 2/6 5/6
11:30 AM: Robert Blizzard (3) def Felix Moffett 6/0 6/1
12:45 PM: Elliott Philpott lost to Jonah Serotta (4) 0/6 0/6
2:00 PM: Maximillian Ansell lost to Algernon Nottingham (2) 0/6 1/6
3:15 PM: Tom McNamara lost to Archie Watson (5) 0/6 0/6
4:30 PM: Alexis Besnard lost to Frankie Binns 3/6 0/6
5:45 PM: Max Warner (1) def Kurt Mueller 6/1 6/1
Order of play for Wednesday (all times BST):
9:00 AM: Daniel Morgan vs Jonah Serotta (4)
10:30 AM: Robert Blizzard (3) vs Archie Watson (5)
12:00 PM: Max Warner (1) vs Paul Nieuwerburgh
1:30 PM: Frankie Binns vs Algernon Nottingham (2)
4:15 PM: Rosie Kay vs Riya Bharwad (2)
5:30 PM: Katherine Carney (1) vs Eva Thomas