By Jacob Elomri
The Huddersfield Tennis Open, sponsored by FruityPot, proved a big success again with two former junior champions coming out on top.
Susanna Thompson, 15, retained the Ladies Singles title while Louis Stewart won the men’s title.
Both champions first triumphed at the Huddersfield tournament as youngsters, both winning junior titles for competitors aged eight years and under.
Such was Susanna’s dominance she didn’t drop a set on route to the final. She maintained her form in the final beating Mahalakshmi Ginjupalli 6-1, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Louis was made to fight and had a hard semi-final where he was pushed to a 3rd set super tie break where he eventually defeated Oliver Warner.
The final, too, was no less of a hard fought affair with Louis beating top seed Michael Tolman 7-6, 7-6.
The two champions were also successful in the doubles. Susanna and doubles partner Rachael Szeto were comfortable 6-1, 6-1 winners but Louis and Thomas Naylor had to battle all the way and needed a super tie break to come through 7-5, 5-7, 10-5.
Overall, this represented another successful week for Huddersfield Lawn Tennis & Squash Club. There were over 400 matches played across the six days of the tournament and a staggering 810 sets of tennis played.
Competitors came from as far North as Scotland and from Sussex in the South.
One of the organisers, Becky Lee, said: “The tournament was a great success attracting top players from across the country with the 14th ranked player in Great Britain playing in our 11 & Under Girls’ event.
“Our team works really hard to ensure the week runs smoothly, from the referees to the office and bar staff and the members who voluntarily give their time to help in any way they can.
“That’s why top players come back year after year.”
Gallery of images below by: Huddersfield Hub photographer SEAN DOYLE
