Samantha Murray by James Jordan Photography
With the AEGON British Tour Loughborough finishing on Tuesday, the final positions in the race to the year-end AEGON British Tour Masters have now been confirmed.
The Masters will be played indoors at Nottingham Tennis Centre from Thursday 29 November-Sunday 2 December, with a total prize money pot of £20,600. The four days promise to have some great tennis on show with 20 world ranked men, and 10 world ranked women on the initial invitation list.
Seven of the men invited are inside the world top 750, with British No.2 Josh Goodall (232), and British No.5 Dan Evans (295) potentially being joined by Richard Bloomfield, Andy Fitzpatrick (Masters Winner 2011), Tom Burn, Jack Carpenter, and Richard Gabb.
The women’s list of invites is headed up by British No.6 Tara Moore (256), with Masters 2011 winner and current British No.8 Sam Murray. Anna Fitzpatrick, Harriet Dart (recent AEGON GB Pro-Series Edgbaston finalist), and Yasmin Clarke, having also qualified.
The AEGON British Tour Men’s Bonus Pool for 2012 has been won by Tom Burn, who accumulated 8,896 points over 2012, with 2011 Bonus Pool winner Andy Fitzpatrick finishing in second place with 5,365 points. Yasmin Clarke has won the Women’s Bonus Pool for a second consecutive year.
This year it went down to the wire, with the quarter-final match in the final event of the year at Loughborough between Clarke and Emilia Banos-Gregorians deciding top spot. Emilia, who had led for much of the year, went into Monday’s quarter-final with a slender 112 point lead.
Remarkably the winner of a quarter-final receives 115 points more than the loser, which, with Clarke winning 6-1, 6-4, meant the 22 year-old from Derby edged three points clear. By going on to win the Loughborough title, Clarke finished the year with a massive 10,816 points, with Emilia in second place on 10,478.
The trophy and £1,000 Bonus Pool payment will be presented to Tom Burn and Yasmin Clarke in Nottingham at the AEGON British Tour Masters.
For any queries on the AEGON British Tour Masters please contact richard.joyner@lta.org.uk or 07971 141329.