Smart and Ceban claim National Championships
Hollie Smart added her name to the list of National Champions and was awarded a wild card into the main draw of Junior Wimbledon after sealing the 16U title this week. An unfortunate ending saw Tegan Bush withdraw due to illness, meaning Hollie had a walkover in the final.
En route to the final, Hollie impressively knocked out the number one seed, Teodora Prisadnikova in the second round after a three set battle 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. Hollie also reached the doubles semi finals with partner Eloise Newberry, losing out to Edie Griffiths and Isabella Walker.
Hollie told the LTA:
"It feels odd to win a tournament like that and it was very unfortunate for Tegan to pull out, but I'm happy to win. To have my name on this trophy is fantastic."
Grantee Mark Ceban had a successful run on the boys side, reaching the final without dropping more than 2 games in a set after his first match. Mark was victorious over fellow grantee Liam Channon in the final 6-2, 6-2. Liam faced a tough semi-final match against Rhys Lawlor clinching it 7-6 (4) in the third set.
Mark was interviewed by the LTA afterwards and said:
"I'm quite experienced playing in Finals, so that helped me to get through this match. I just had to forget the scoreboard in this match and had to take it point by point. To have my name on the trophy is fantastic.”
He is indeed experienced in reaching Finals, last year he won the 14U Junior Wimbledon title and became the second British player ever to win Les Petit As in Tarbes. Mark also reached the top of the Tennis Europe rankings, claiming the No.1 spot in the 14U’s.
Rhys teamed up with Alexander Winder to win the doubles title with a victory over Jesse Clarkson and Casey Drake 6-3, 6-2. Edie Griffiths and Isabella Walker narrowly lost the doubles final 10-8 in the championship tiebreak to the number one seeds, Tegan Bush and Teodora Prisadnikova.
A huge congratulations to everyone who competed in the Nationals, one of the highest level junior competitions in the British calendar, and we look forward to watching Hollie and Mark in SW19 later this year.
