9:41am Monday 18th August 2008
Wiltshire's Samuel Hutt added a second trophy to his cabinet by winning the boys' singles title on Friday at the 14 and under Junior National Championships in Bournemouth.
Hutt produced some excellent tennis to defeat the No 4 seed, Nottinghamshire's Joshua Ward-Hibbert, 6-1 1-6 7-6(4) in a very tense final. After nervously exchanging the first two sets, Ward-Hibbert led 5-3 in a topsy-turvy third set and held three match points. However, Hutt showed his fighting qualities to bounce back strongly and steal the match in a tie-break.
Hutt reflected: "I dug unbelievably deep to win that match and I showed a lot of will power. This is an amazing achievement for me and I'm really pleased."
Colin Beecher, National Boys Junior Coach, said: "Sam and Josh competed extremely well throughout the week. The final was played in a great competitive spirit with the players showing excellent mental strength and attitude. It was a fantastic spectacle of tennis and they were both a credit to themselves and the respective academies at which they train - Win Tennis and Tennis Midlands."
Hutt's victory compliments the doubles title he won on Thursday afternoon with Suffolk's Myles Orton. The No 3 seeds defeated Buckinghamshire's Christopher Pearce and Isle of Man's Billy Harris 7-6(3) 2-6 10-8.
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