Top team: Newly-crowned national under-16 doubles champions James Smith (left) and Harry James playing in Queenstown earlier this month
Two Queenstown tennis teens have teamed up to become national champions – staging some dramatic comeback wins.
Harry James and James Smith – both 16 – won the 2011 National Championships under-16s doubles title in Wellington today (Wednesday).
The up-and-coming pair – seeded fifth - held their nerve to win a string of tight matches during the tournament.
They took out the top seeds Andrew Van Der Vyver and Nick Brown 3-6 6-3 10-7 in the quarter-finals and then downed the eighth-seeds 6-3 3-6 10-6 in their semi.
In the final, the Queenstowners faced the second seeds Jacob Carey and Olly Sadler who hadn’t dropped a set all tournament. James and Smith lost the first 6-2 but came back to take the second by the same score and eventually won a nail-biting deciding set tiebreak 10-8.
A stoked Smith says after losing the first set in the final they “dug it in real hard”.
“We just thought we can’t come this far and lose. We went hard out. It wasn’t like the first set was lost easy – it was short deuces and we lost six of eight. It was actually really close.
“We were pumped as – had high energy.”
Smith says him and James – coached at the Queenstown Tennis Academy run by Lan Bale and Mark Milburn – went into the nationals believing they could win.
“We thought we’d have a good shot at the doubles. When we first saw the draw and saw we’d meet the top seeds, we thought that’s not so great but then we beat them and it opened up.
“It’s great to get a national title – it feels really good,” he says.
James and Smith have been playing doubles together since they were about 12.
Your say
Conflict of interest, surely Shirley...
As a longtime reader, I was disappointed to see there wasn't sort of disclaimer acknowledging that the ageing writer of the story had been beaten in tennis competitions by both players mentioned above -- some years ago when the young champs were both doing well at their primary school studies. I feel a Clarification coming on...
22 Apr 2011 01:41PMlocarno
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