Yorkshire Duo into Semi Finals of Junior Nationals

Yorkshire pair make it into semi finals of the AEGON Junior National Championships.

Dewsbury born Eleanor Dean progressed into the semi finals of the 14 and under AEGON British Junior National Championships with a 6-3 6-1 win over qualifier Dominique Covington, while the top boy’s seed, Beverley’s Kyle Edmund beat Tom Colautti 6-0 6-4. 

The AEGON British Junior National Championships is the highest domestic accolade available to Britain’s most promising young players and past champions included the current men’s and women’s British number ones, Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong.

Number two seed, Dean, who grew up in Ossett before relocating to Spain, is competing in her first tournament since returning to Britain with her family.  The 13-year-old has yet to drop a set in the tournament and she insists that she is finally in a rhythm. “It was a much better match for me today because so far I haven’t really been getting the feeling right for the past two rounds,” said Dean, who is an AEGON FutureStar. “Today I think I felt I was hitting cleanly and being able to do exactly what I wanted.  I’ve been playing a lot of tournaments and started the week feeling fairly tired because of that, so for the first time I feel like I’m no longer tired. “It felt good and I was able to move my legs.  I hadn’t really recovered in the first couple of rounds. “I knew Dominique had a strong forehand and big first serve so the plan was to make her move to her backhand and keep her running, because she’s a tall girl.”

Dean will now face Brigit Folland, who has so far disposed of the number seven and three seeds. “I don’t really feel any added pressure as the number two seed, in fact I’m more relaxed now than I was at the start of the tournament,” said Dean. “I get nervous in the first round because nobody wants to be knocked out then, whereas now there’s no pressure in the quarters or semis because you have nothing to lose.” 

“I was happy with that result and also the way I played.  I was trying to use my forehand a lot and also be more demanding in my play,” said 14-year-old Edmund. “The whole week has been very good and enjoyable so far.  It’s the best tournament in Britain and I would love to win it.  As the top seed there’s a tendency for people to want to show how they can play against me, but it doesn’t bother me.”

Meanwhile at the 18 and under AEGON British Junior National Championships in Roehampton, Jennifer Ren lost 6-1 6-1. “I’m pretty disappointed with the way I played today, Jocelyn played really well and I couldn’t find a way to shake up her game and get in to the match,” said Ren. “I was definitely not playing at my best today, which is a shame as I wanted to progress further in to the competition, and Jocelyn just didn’t give me any chances whatsoever.”

This is the first year that the prestigious competition has been supported by AEGON, a leading life assurance company.  In September 2008, AEGON was announced as the first Lead Partner of British Tennis.  AEGON backs the game at all levels, from grassroots programmes through to international events.