Top seed Charlotte Bardsley duly won the Junior Girls’ Singles at the East Midlands 4*, the first big Junior event of 2019, at Westfields TTC in Wellingborough.
Bardsley, who made her England debut in November, was joined on the winners’ list by Naphat Boonyaprapa, who beat his brother Naphong to win the Junior Boys’ Singles, Cadet champions Felix Thomis and Anaya Patel, and Under-13 winners Connor and Anna Green.
Junior
The older Boonyaprapa brother beat the younger as Naphat triumphed over Naphong in the boys’ final, by a 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) margin.
Naphat, seeded second, beat third seed Joe Cope in the semi-finals and needed five sets to get past Sam Wilson in the quarters.
Naphong took out the first and fourth and sixth seeds on his way to the final – first eliminating Josh Weatherby 3-2 (10-12, 3-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-5) in the last 16, then top-ranked Amirul Hussain 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8) in the quarter-finals and finally Ethan Walsh in the semis, coming from 2-0 down to win it 6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9.
The girls’ champion was top seed Charlotte Bardsley, who won every knockout match in three straight, culminating in a 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-5) defeat of Mari Baldwin in the final.
The beaten semi-finalists were Welsh duo Lara Whitton, who lost to Bardsley, and Beth Richards, who was knocked out by Baldwin. Both matches were done in three straight.
In Band 1, Fraser Kent was the boys’ winner as he defeated Bertie Kelly in four. Kent seeded five sets against both Jarvis Lee in the last 16 and Jack Rogers in the quarters, before winning his semi-final in four against Joshua Bruce. Kelly’s last-four clash also went the distance as he saw off William Poulter.
In the corresponding girls’ event, Scarlett O’Neil recovered a 2-0 deficit in the final against Emily Haskell before prevailing in five (9-11, 2-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8).
Haskell herself had come from 2-1 down to win her semi-final against Federica Bonato, while O’Neil went through in three against Anna Green.
Cadet
Felix Thomis and Jie Fu Tham dug deep to decide the boys’ winner and it was Thomis who took a dramatic match 18-16 in the fifth, having come from two games down.
Thomis made something of a habit of winning deciding sets, having done so against Joshua Bruce in the semi-finals (9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 12-10) and top seed Naphong Boonyaprapa in the previous round (11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8).
Tham’s passage was a little more straightforward as he went through in four against Jakub Piwowar in the quarters and Ben Piggott in the semis.
Anaya Patel recovered from 2-1 down in the quarter-finals and went on to win the Cadet Girls. It was Erin Green who pushed Patel in that match before the top seed won 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10), and Patel went on to defeat Raquel Sao Pedro in the last four and Millie Rogove in the final. Rogove had needed five to shake off Lara Whitton in the semis.
In Band 1, Olly Cornish was the boys’ winner, overcoming Victor Ramirez-Rioja in three close games. The winner had earlier beaten Jake Grayson in a five-set quarter-final and Reece Chand in four in the semis. Ramirez-Rioja came through against Jarvis Lee in his semi-final, also in four.
The corresponding girls’ winner was Stefania Popa, who needed five to beat both Ella Barnard in the quarter-finals and Anya Milne in the semi-finals, before taking the final in four against Lauren Loosemore.
Under-13
Twins Connor and Anna Green won their respective finals to extend their record of matching each other at various tournaments.
Both dropped one game in the knockouts, Connor Green in the final when he overcame Jakub Piwowar 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6). The beaten semi-finalists were Joseph Dennison and Harry Yip – the latter beaten in five by Piwowar.
Anna Green’s final victory was by a 3-0 margin (11-6, 11-1, 11-3) over Hannah Silcock of Jersey. Green came from a set down to defeat Connie Dumelow in the semis, while Silcock beat Saskia Key in five.
Final results
Under-13 Boys: Connor Green (Ng) bt Jakub Piwowar (Dv) 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6)
Under-13 Boys’ Plate: Rhys Hetherton (WAL) bt Sam Gabriel (Mi) 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-4)
Under-13 Girls: Anna Green (NG) bt Hannah Silcock (JEY) 3-0 (11-6, 11-1, 11-3)
Under-13 Girls’ Plate: Emily Flynn (IRL) bt Emily Cheung (Sy) 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-3)
Cadet Boys: Felix Thomis (Bk) bt Jie Fu Tham (Ys) 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 18-16)
Cadet Boys’ Band 1: Olly Cornish (DV) bt Victor Ramirez-Rioja (He) 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 12-10)
Cadet Boys’ Plate: Adam Dennison (La) bt Jarvis Lee (Co) 3-2 (3-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-8, 11-7)
Cadet Girls: Anaya Patel (Bk) bt Millie Rogove (He) 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10)
Cadet Girls’ Band 1: Stefania Popa (Li) bt Lauren Loosemore (Dv) 3-1 (11-6, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9)
Cadet Girls’ Plate: Stefania Popa (Li) bt Emily Flynn (IRL) 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-4)
Junior Boys: Naphat Boonyaprapa (Ng) bt Naphong Boonyaprapa (Ng) 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8)
Junior Boys’ Band 1: Fraser Kent (Sx) bt Bertie Kelly (So) 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6)
Junior Girls: Charlotte Bardsley (St) bt Mari Baldwin (Dv) 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-5).
Junior Girls’ Band 1: Scarlett O’Neil (K) bt Emily Haskell (Dv) 3-2 (9-11, 2-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8)
