MEGA SERIES REPORT COURTESY OF JOANNE BRADDOCK
Two Essex players finished on the winners’ rostrum at the latest round of the Mega series last weekend. The event was also another opportunity to monitor the progress of several county players who appear to be improving event by event.
Essex girls continue to develop well. Mikayla Mann and Aliza Sheikh competed in a strong Under 11 event with Aliza finishing third. Aliza came through a very tough match against the rapidly improving Sophia John of Bedfordshire, fighting back to win from behind with thoughtful and intelligent play. Watching Aliza think on court is very impressive, she manages to adapt and vary her game in an extremely mature way, especially impressive given her relative inexperience.
The boys’ U11 was shaken up by the late entry of 10 year old Kijan Sultana, the Maltese Under 11 number 1 who was in England for the weekend. The only player to really give Kijan something to think about was our own Yusef Sheikh, who put up a battling performance in the final, eventually losing but pushing his older opponent right to the wire.
The boys’ U13 is always a highly competitive event and this one was no exception. Essex were represented by Max Hyde, Mikey Tallentire and Joel Braddock (pictured above). Max lost out in the second round but Mikey fought through to the semi final where he met number 1 seed Kian Howard from Suffolk.
Mikey(right) is known for his unpredictable retrieving game which has often caused problems for higher ranked players, but of late Mikey has added a strong base of length and control which is enabling him to develop a much more solid game. This served him well on Saturday and he took the first game off Kian against all expectations, including his own. Kian came back strongly and made sure of the match, but not without a really brave and creditable performance from Mikey.
In the other semi final Joel played Suffolk’s Tate Harms, a regular fixture which always has the potential to go either way. The head to head between them is heavily weighted in Joel’s favour, but Tate has improved his game a lot over the last year and last time they met he just got the better of Joel in a very close match. On this occasion however Joel was in no mood to concede another defeat to Tate and went about his work in ruthless fashion with power, accuracy and relentless pressure which Tate had no answer to.
This set up a final between Joel and Kian, another regular fixture lately in which Kian has consistently been victorious despite Joel creeping slightly closer each time. The first game was a very close affair with neither player opening a significant gap. The older Kian plays with immense power and manages to combine this with genuine precision and accuracy.
Joel (left) had to stretch his retrieving skills to their maximum to stay in the game, let alone put Kian under any pressure himself, but he managed to do so, closing out a really exciting game 11-9. Kian started the second game the better, pinning Joel at the back of the court and controlling the T to great effect, killing the ball with all his trademark skill and accuracy.
At 2-5 down and on the wrong end of some punishing rallies Joel took the brave but risky decision not to chase the game, saving his energy for the third and accepting a 2-11 loss to take the match to a decider. The third game started in the same style as the first with neither player managing to open up a significant gap at any point. Joel was piling on as much pressure as he could and pushing Kian into going for winners and Kian was using his superior strength and power to subdue Joel’s agility and racket work. Joel got to match ball first at 10-8 but Kian pulled it back with a great return then an almost unplayable serve to 10-10.
In the next rally Joel forced Kian to put a good boast in to the front left which Joel leapt on, shaping to play it hard and straight down the left hand wall but at the last second he slowed his swing and played a perfectly disguised and placed drop shot which had the crowd cheering and his opponent stranded. A second match ball was enough and Joel took a great match 2-1.
A tired Mikey lost the 3/4 playoff match to Tate 2-0 but can be proud of the huge improvement he has made to his game recently, as was so clearly shown particularly in his semi final match.
There was further Essex success with Brandon Higgins-Pearce (right) winning the Under-13 Plate.
India West and Amy Aspinall both had tough draws in the Girls U15 event which is always strong. Both girls are improving rapidly and their positive development is apparent every time they step on court. The hard work they always put into their training and their matches is clear to see, and the results will inevitably follow.
In the Boy’ under 15 event Essex were represented by top seed Haydon Smith (left) Josh Stinson and Timmy Bacon. Haydon scythed through his half of the draw to reach the final, beating Hertfordshire’s Owen Ledger in the semi.
In the other half, Timmy was scheduled to play Suffolk’s Josh Perkins in the semi final, an opponent he has faced often but never beaten. On this occasion though Timmy was clearly determined to break that duck and dominated the match for the most part, winning 2-0 with a strong and controlled performance which clearly demonstrated what he could be capable of in future. The Essex stranglehold on the U15 culminated in a final between Timmy and Haydon which was won in style by Haydon.
Josh Stinson continued the Essex push for honours reaching the final of the Plate event. Harry Kitchens reached the quarter-finals before bowing to Josh Perkins.
In the boys’ U17, Essex event hopes rode on the in-form Joe Blackmur, Tom Bird and Dan West, with Joe eventually just losing a very competitive final to Sam McCoy.
All in all Essex juniors are ending the year on a high, one which shows every sign of continuing into 2015.
Tim ‘Streaky’ Bacon
Joe Blackmur