Kent match report: Junior County Cup, boys 10U division

Wow, what a weekend! We had every weather condition under the sun bar snow along with all the highs and lows of the matches.

The event was held over the weekend of the 29/30th May at the Pavilion & Avenue Tennis Club in Sussex.

Representing Kent was Julian Lewis, Daniel Goodwin, Emile Hudd, Edward Pomeroy and Andrew Johnstone. The boys were selected after 5 weeks of training which involved match play and drills.

Kent was drawn in a box containing other counties from Sussex, Berkshire, Dorset, Surrey and Hampshire. The format of the event meant u played 3 singles matches and 1 doubles with a tie break shootout deciding the result if it was 2-2.

Day 1 involved us competing against Sussex and Berkshire. We arrived at about 8.30 for a pre match warm up and team talk. Kent were not playing the first round of matches so the boys used the time wisely by scouting the opposition, talking tactics and playing chess!

At around 11 o’clock Kent was summoned to take the court. Julian, Daniel and Emile played the singles with Andrew and Edward the doubles. Kent put up a really good fight but lost 3-1 overall. The tie involved rain delays, wind and a complete change of court surface half way through.

Our next round was against Berkshire, we new a win would take us through to the semis on Sunday so it was an important match for us. The boys rose to the occasion and started well with Julian winning followed by Daniel and Emile. We wrapped up the tie in the doubles with Andrew and Edward winning in straight sets to seal a 4-0 victory. Kent was in the semis!

Sunday morning started with our semi final match against Surrey. It was a tie that Kent very nearly pulled back and won from a losing position. Emile Hudd won his singles and then teamed up with Edward Pomeroy to win the doubles as well. This made the tie 2-2 which meant it came down to the doubles tie break shootout. You could pick from any of the players in the team but I decided to stay with Emile and Edward as they were on a roll. In a very topsy turvy tiebreak which could have went either way Surrey prevailed 10-8 winners to go through to the final.

Our last match was against Dorset for 3rd place. I used this opportunity to mix up the team and there were good wins for Julian and Edward with Daniel and Emile winning the doubles. It meant we won 3-1 and capped off an eventful weekend by finishing 3rd.

My final thoughts on the 2 day event were that I was very proud of the boys that I chose to take and that all of them deserve a pat on the back as they did Kent proud! Well done Julian, Daniel, Emile, Edward and Andrew, hope you enjoyed the event.