Young players take to court for tennis masters

(CITF): Cayman’s top young tennis players have been hitting plenty of practice balls in the build-up to 2014’s Junior Masters Championships this weekend (Sat 15 & Sun 16 Nov) at the Ritz- Carlton. TheMasters will be the fifth and final PwC-sponsored tournament of 2014. Only the top eight players in each of the four age divisions (18&U, 14&U, 12&U and 10&U) were initially eligible. If any of the top eight could not play, then immediately lower-ranked players were invited to join the tournament. Invitations were issued by the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands for this leading event.The first matches start at 10.30pm on Saturday, with semi-finals at 10.30am on Sunday and finals at 3pm. 

Cayman’s top junior, Daniel Reid, who celebrated his 16th birthday in September, has confirmed his attendance. Reid is not only Cayman’s top junior player and 18&U defending national champion, he is one of the best players on the rock, with a shelf-full of trophies to prove it. This year in May, he reached both the singles and the doubles finals of the Cayman Islands Tennis Club Championships. And in July, still aged 15, he made the round of 16 in the 18&U qualifying draw of the Jamaica Junior Int’l Tournament, which draws top juniors from all over the Caribbean.

Other leading confirmed players include Oskar Bjuro, 10, and his brother Sebastian, 8. Oskar holds the No.1 ranking in the 10&U division. Jack Lomax, the 12&U No.1, has also accepted his invitation; with 9 matches won and none lost in 3 PwC tournaments this season, he looks set for success. Talented Harrison Clough, 11, who is playing up an age group, will lead the field in the 14&U division.

“It’s really hard to believe how good some of our juniors are. I would urge members of the public to come down to The Courts at the Ritz-Carlton this weekend and see for themselves the incredibly impressive standard of play,” said Eliza Harford, Tennis Federation chief. “I’ve been playing tennis for 40 years, and I wouldn’t fancy my chances on court against any of these children, not even those in the 10&U group. They’re ferocious, and they’re consistent.”