Oldfield seals Cardiff place in great style

JACK OLDFIELD made a successful start to the 2007-08 Ariel 10-&-Under Indoor Series qualifying tournament in Taunton. Only the top two players would progress to the next main event being held on Sunday in Cardiff.

Oldfield won the qualifier convincingly, dropping only two games in the six sets he played.

In the first round he beat Reece Allen of Somerset 4-1, 4-0.

His semi-final against Oshi Leverton ended in a 4-0, 4-0 win, but that did not reflect the standard of the match, which consisted of several long hard-fought games. His opponent has himself notched up an impressive list of tournaments throughout the south-west region.

By the final, Oldfield was into his stride and took care of Connor Champ 4-0, 4-1.

The Sarnian now looks forward to his third main event in Cardiff - one of six venues around the country with a maximum of eight qualifiers from each area.

Oldfield has already been to two other main events in Glasgow and the Midlands at the end of last year, finishing third in both. Each time he lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner and he would love to go a stage further and make the finals in Cardiff.

The current 10-and-under Channel Island champion continues to work hard at improving his game and, having had plenty of exposure to tournaments in the UK, is well aware that there are plenty of other aspiring players of the same age at a high standard and training, like him, between eight and 10 hours a week.

'Good results at this stage of his development are a bonus. The focus, however, remains firmly on developing his game for the future,' said coach Jo Robinson.

'In tennis it is important for a player to know their own game style and build up patterns of play to suit.

'Jack enjoys an all-court game and while moving into the net is not a tactically sound plan for a nine-year-old with limited reach, it is essential to develop these skills early and to be confident enough to try out them in a match situation.'

n Locally the Ipes Mini Tennis Red & Orange series continue to attract more players to the game and the competition has certainly seen the standard rise since the start.

Ed Mason has accumulated the most points over the four red events, but was narrowly beaten by a determined Will Rouget at the most recent event.

Zac Felbabel received the player-of-the-day award - for the player with the best attitude both in terms of effort and sporting behaviour.

He also won his round-robin group, which proved especially competitive as both Bradley Dyke and Ben Foss pushed him all the way.

Ella Huxtable is the leading girl having accumulated the most points over the four events held to date. They are awarded for all points won, for entering and for finishing first or second in the round-robin group.

The next in the series, again limited to 16 players, is on 24 February and all interested should contact either Jo Robinson or Richard Smeed.