Charlotte Bardsley was player of the day at the Junior National Cup, beating the second, third and fourth seeds on her way to a 100% record.
And with top seed Emily Bolton losing her final match on day one in Milton Keynes, it is Bardsley who leads the way – and the two girls face each other in a potentially pivotal first match the second day tomorrow.
It was sixth seed Gauri Duhan who beat Bolton to finish with four wins from five – three of them against the top three seeds as she rivaled Bardsley for the best performer.
In the boys’ event, Tom Jarvis and Alex Ramsden remain unbeaten after day one.
Girls
Bardsley kicked off the day with an eye-catching defeat of third seed Denise Payet in six in the first round. And she finished in style with an 11-1 game to round off victory (9-11, 14-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-1) – and she never looked back.
Jasmin Wong, seeded ninth, got off to a good start with a 4-0 win over seventh-ranked Amy Humphreys.
Bardsley was at it again in Round 2, defeating the player one place above her in the rankings, Letitia McMullan, 4-0 (7, 8, 8, 6), while Payet bounced back to get her win tally moving, 4-1 over 10th seed Mollie Patterson, which included a 17-15 second game in Payet’s favour.
Also off the mark in Round 2 was Duhan, who had been beaten by McMullan in the first match of the day but recovered to overcome Amy Blagbrough, ranked eighth.
That started a great run for Duhan, who then shocked Payet 4-0 in Round 3 – the scoreline 7, 8, 7, 5 – to leave Payet with a lot to do to if she is add the Junior title to the Cadet one she won last month.
Second seed Kate Cheer and Bolton both notched their third wins, as did Bardsley, coming from 2-0 down to beat Patterson 4-2 (11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-4, 16-14) and avenge a defeat in the Cadet event.
There was a first win for Humphreys, in seven, against McMullan (6-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3, 12-10).
Duhan ended the unbeaten record of Cheer in five games in Round 4, leaving only Bolton and Bardsley running at 100% – Bardsley impressing in defeating Wong 11-7, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 and Bolton coming back to win 4-1 after Humphreys took the first.
Bardsley completed her impressive day by defeating Cheer 4-2 (11-5, 5-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6) in Round 5.
Wong also ended on a high, defeating McMullan in five, and there was a first win for Patterson, over Blagbrough, with a 4-2 scoreline (11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 2-11, 12-10).
But the last match to finish saw Bolton upset by Duhan – making that late run for the unofficial accolade of player of the day. The score was 4-2 (9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 14-12, 11-3, 11-9).
Boys
Jarvis dropped only two games all day – both to Matthew Leete – as the top seed set the pace at the top.
But matching him so far is third seed Alex Ramsden, who also has five from five.
Josh Harland caused the upset of the first round as he beat second seed Luke Savill in a seven-game marathon. It looked good for Savill at 2-0 and 3-2 up but Harland, ranked eighth, kept plugging away and took it 4-3 (8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 12-14, 11-7, 12-10).
Ninth see Matthew Leete also triumphed over a higher opponent, seeing off Alec Ward in a topdy-turvy match which finished 4-2 (11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4, 11-8).
Jarvis got off to a winning start against 10th seed Joe Clark, though it was a close 4-0 scoreline (12-10, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8).
Harland doubled his tally in round 2 as he took the scalp of Shaquille Webb-Dixon, ranked sixth, in four straight.
Round 2 saw a couple of marathon seven-setters – Savill digging deep to overcome Ward (11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9) and Josh Bennett similarly having trouble shaking off Billy Forster as fourth faced fifth seed, Bennett taking it 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9.
Forster kept some momentum even in defeat as he got his campaign off the mark in Round 3, beating Joe Clark in five.
Jarvis romped past Harland, while Alex Ramsden, the third seed, and Bennett also kept up unbeaten records – Bennett inflicting a second successive 3-4 defeat on Ward, who was yellow-carded in his frustration as Bennett won 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8.
Bennett’s unbeaten record fell in Round 4, and it was Joe Clark’s who ended it with his own first victory. It was a tight one too, 4-3 on deuce in the decider (7-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 13-11), having saved one match point.
Meanwhile, Ramsden and Jarvis continued in relatively untroubled style against Harland and Ward respectively – though the former did take a game off Ramsden.
Round 5 saw Clark double his tally, defeating Harland in five, while Savill kept up his interest in the medal race with a fourth win, against Forster. Bennett lost a second successive match, 4-2 to Leete.
At the top, Jarvis won in four straight against Webb-Dixon and Ramsden in five against Ward.
