The semi-finalists were decided on Wednesday at the AEGON British Junior National Championships in Roehampton (18&U) and Bournemouth (14&U).
On a blustery day in Roehampton, David O’Leary provided the upset of the round by defeating Ahmed El Menshawy, the boys’ top seed and British junior No.1, 6-3 7-5.
“It was a tough match, we both broke lots and then lost the breaks again. It could have gone either way because Ahmed was playing really well the whole way through the match,” said O’Leary, who trains at Tennis Midlands in Loughborough.
“Despite the result, I still think that I’m not on top form. I was playing really well at the start but I got nervous in the second set which definitely affected my game and is something that I need to work on.
“I’m really excited to have got to the semis and I’m confident that I can win the match, obviously I’ll need to be on form tomorrow in order to do that but I’ll go out there ready to win.”
O’Leary will now meet James Marsalek, the No.5 seed from Somerset, in the semi-final while Oliver Golding and Lewis Burton will face each other in the bottom half of the draw.
“I train with Golding occasionally so I know his style quite well and I’m fairly confident that I can get a good result in the semis,” said Burton, looking ahead to Thursday’s semi-final.
Girls’ top seed Jocelyn Rae, who has dropped just five games in her opening three matches, booked her place in the last four by easing past Jessica Ren 6-1 6-1.
“I’m really pleased with the result today, although it wasn’t the easiest match," said Rae. "Jess started really well, she showed a lot of resistance, and I found it difficult to find a rhythm in my game, but I started to get on top of the match at the end of the first set.
Rae’s semi-final opponent will be Lisa Whybourn, the 18 year-old who came from behind to beat Nicola George 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the last eight.
“This is my first time in the semis in a national tournament so I I’m really excited just to be at this stage, this is new territory for me,” said Whybourn. “I know Jocelyn really well so I’m not too daunted at the thought of playing her. I’m feeling confident and am keeping my fingers crossed.”
The other semi-final will be between Steph Cornish and Katie Gater following straight sets quarter final victories over Georgina Bastick 6-0 6-2 and Amy Askew 6-0 7-6(7).
“I’ve never been past the first round in a national competition before so am ecstatic that I’m through to the semis,” said Gater. “I know that Cornish is very consistent so I'm just going to go out there tomorrow and try my best, I’m keeping my fingers crossed from now on.”
In Bournemouth, boys’ top seed Kyle Edmund continued his impressive form by defeating Tom Colautti 6-0 6-4 to set up a semi-final clash with Chris Pearce.
“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 Edmund, who is yet to drop a set.
“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.”
Pearce progressed with a hard fought win over Joshua Sapwell 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 while the other semi-final sees Jonathon O’Mara take on No.2 seed Luke Bambridge following last eight victories over Shakeel Manji 6-4 6-3 and Billy Harris 4-6 6-4 7-5 respectively.
In the girls’ semi-finals, No.1 seed Katy Dunne will meet No.4 seed Alice Keddie and No.2 seed Eleanor Dean will face the only unseeded player remaining, Brigit Folland.
“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. Today I think I felt I was hitting cleanly and being able to do exactly what I wanted,” reflected Dean after beating qualifier Dominique Covington 6-3 6-1.
The semi-finals in both Roehampton and Bournemouth are taking place on Thursday with the finals following on Friday. The AEGON British Junior National Championships continue over the weekend and in to next week when the 12&U and then 16&U events get under way.