The 2022 Essex Tennis Winter Invitation Men’s Singles Tournament was held at Redbridge Sports Centre over the weekend of Saturday & Sunday the 5th & 6th February 2022. The event provides an opportunity for our best Junior Players in Essex to compete in preparation for the forthcoming 2022 LTA 18U Junior County Cup Competition. As expected, intense competition & friendly rivalry was the natural order of the Tournament Event, with the invited Junior Players striving to play at their best competing level that you would expect with the Tournament involving Essex Tennis’s best 18U Junior Players.
The event was organised by Tom Higgins, the Essex Tennis Senior Men’s Captain & Essex Tennis 18U Boys Team Captain, & Graham Ray who refereed the event. We wish Tom every success in his quest to perform well in the LTA JICC this year which will be competed for in Liverpool.
Sixteen Players set out on the 1st day with Junior Entrants including Anthony Wright, Toby Terrell, Gene Swain, Henry Hammond, Noel Moore, Flynn Godfrey, Aaron Hilsum, Layne Gold, Alexander Winder, Otto Friedlein, James Stanley, Kai Cowcher, Stefan Protic & Jack Wallace. Senior players involved included Saad Abbas & Jonathon Price.
Saturday’s 1st Round saw impressive wins for Anthony Wright, Flynn Godfrey, Henry Hammond, Aaron Hilsum, Alexander Winder, Toby Terrell, Kai Cowcher & Jonathon Price. The following 2nd Round saw wins for Henry Hammond, Aaron Hilsun, Alexander Winder, Toby Terrell, Kai Cowcher & Jonathon Price, These players progressed into the Main Draw Section for Day 2. As is always likely with the intense competition of Tournaments such as these, injuries meant there were casualties along the way but even without these injured players being available for play there was still a remaining high quality feel to the Tournament.
Sunday’s Day 2 featured the Semi-Final & Final Stages of the event. Flynn Godfrey played Henry Hammond with Henry becoming the victor in a close fought semi-final match. Toby Terrell matched up against Kai Cowcher & in an equally close fought 2nd semi-final match, Toby Terrell emerged the winner.
The Final pitched Henry Hammond versus Toby Terrell. This again was a fine match with Henry Hammond victorious by 6-3,6-4. Parents & Spectators were treated to some fine tennis with the cream of Essex Tennis’s 18U players on show throughout the weekend.
This Tournament Event holds a very special significance, as a trophy is presented to the winner, this year Henry Hammond. The Trophy is a |memorial to the late Jamie Willson, Ex Senior Essex Tennis Men’s Captain, who was instrumental in designing this Event with a Junior-Senior Focus. His memory will continue as a result of the presentation of this prestigious Trophy, namely the ‘Jamie Willson Winter Singles Invitation Trophy’.
The Trophy was presented by Tom Higgins. We wish Tom & his Team the best of luck in the forthcoming 2022 LTA 18U Junior County Competition.
In summary, a very successful weekend of Junior-Senior Tennis which will continue on an annual basis providing structured competition for our Junior Players embarking on their next stage of competition within the Senior Ranks.
Graham Ray Essex Team Selector and Organiser
L – R Toby Terrell RU, Tom Higgins, Captain, Henry Hammond, Winner – Jamie Willson Trophy 22
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