This was the first time that King's Bruton had entered the LTA Schools National Championships...
They had a tough 1st round match against a very strong West Buckland team, which included players who regularly compete at national and international competitions.
In the singles Archie had a gruelling match against the 1st seed of West Buckland. He fought hard in the first set and took it 7-5 after being 5-4 down. His experienced opponent fought back and took the next set 6-2. With it being all square, a match tie break was needed to decide to the match. With some long, lung busting rallies, Archie came out on top and won the match tie break 10-4 after a 2-hour battle.
In the 2nd singles match, Ollie was up against the top ranked U14 player in England. Ollie managed to bring the second set to 2-2 after losing the opening set 6-1. After some long baseline exchanges and over 6 deuces in the game, he eventually got broke by his opponent to go 3-2 down. He then went on to lose the set 6-3. This was Ollies first singles match this year! Therefore, to compete at that level was a huge confidence boost for him.
In the doubles Julius and Lewis were paired up together. They played some consistent tennis in the 2nd set and managed to go 2-1 up in games. After being 40-0 up in several games, they made a few unforced errors at key moments in the match. They then got broken on serve and lost the second set 6-2.
This was a great contest and experience for the boy’s 1st Team. To be able to compete at this level alongside national players is a huge confidence boost. I am certain this experience will act as a jump pad and propel the 1st Team in to further success in the future.
Callum Forder - Head of Tennis