Lewis Anderson clinches heroic BJC maiden title

Lewis Anderson admits he had to muster every ounce of concentration as he powered through an enthralling five-game thriller to secure his maiden title at the British Junior Championships.

In a sensational advert for the junior game, the 16-year-old clinched a 11/7, 14/12, 7/11, 9/11, 11/8 victory over Scotland’s Alasdair Prott to become the first Warwickshire male in over three decades to taste success at the BJC.

Anderson burst out of the blocks and dictated the first two games at a furious pace, racing into a 2-0 lead as he opened up his Scottish opponent.

But Prott proved why he was the top seed in this tournament and matched Anderson in the third, winning 11-7.

In a physical game interspersed with unforced errors from both players – a testament to the high intensity showcased by both – Solihull-born Anderson was in the driving seat after a 5-1 lead in the fourth, but a determined Prott battled back, producing a brilliant volley en route to fighting back to levelling at two games apiece.

And in a nail-biting last game, it was Anderson who kept his cool at 9-9 to power to a two-point victory and become the first Warwickshire player since Gary Robinson in the Boys Under 19 win in 1985 to claim BJC silverware.

#Warwickshire's Lewis Anderson reacts to claiming the Boys Under 17 #BJC2017 title and that epic five-setter ????@WarksJnrSquash @BBCCovWarks pic.twitter.com/6Rg85drrEB
— Brit Junior Champs (@BJCsquash) October 29, 2017

It was a mammoth result for the left-hander, who lost to Prott in the Welsh Junior Open last year and looked a different player to his runner’s up performance at this year’s English Junior U17 Championship in March. Anderson said:

“I had to regroup for the last game and I kept composed when it mattered. I’m just so happy.”

“It was neck in the fourth and then I hit a frame which I thought was good but the ref thought otherwise, so that put him game ball up and I lost my head a bit which made me lose it.

“After I lost the English Closed final in March, my coach went away and decided we had to keep mentally tough in those situations.

“I’ve worked on it over the past six months and for this one, I was ready.”

In the BU19 competition, No.2 seed Tom Walsh powered to a 12/10, 11/6, 11/9 victory in a tense match against No.4 seed Nick Wall to attain his first BJC victory.

The opening period was a classically tight affair, but it was Walsh who showcased great agility around the court to take the first game 12-10, before stretching his Yorkshire opponent with a variety of shots to lead 2-0.

The 2015 BU17 runner up maintained the same high-performance levels as in the first two games, completing a 3-0 win over tricky opponent Wall, who had previously knocked out No.1 seed Kyle Finch in the semi-finals.

Speaking after the final, Walsh, who didn’t drop a game all tournament, expressed his delight at finally getting his hands on the illustrious Don Sanderson trophy. He said:

“I'm amazed I came through, Nick is a quality player. We have battled since the younger age groups, so I am delighted I came through in three games to win my first British title.”

“Whatever happened I was going to have a tough match in the final, but I knew whoever I got it was going to be a tough final.”

“I had a game plan and I stuck with it, I don’t think I could have done much better.”

Meanwhile Yorkshire’s Sam Todd saw off a strong challenge from Warwickshire’s Hassan Khalil to claim the BU15 title and put last year’s semi-final heartache behind him.

Despite a bright start from second seed Khalil, the Pontefract prodigal talent soon found his rhythm and orchestrated an effective game plan, intelligently pin-pointing the ball across all corners of the court as he wrapped victory 11/7, 11/7 11/9.

Khalil matched him in the third, producing a string of stunning shots in a game characterised by a series of patient rallies, before Todd opened up a four-point lead en route to victory.

“It was an excellent game played in excellent spirit by two gentlemen on court,” said Sam’s father Mick, who confirmed his son would not be defending his title at the US Junior Open in December, instead aiming to be seeded number one at January’s British Junior Open.

“The game far exceeded under-15’s play but Sam did well to concentrate and come through 3-0.”

Elsewhere, top seed Jonah Bryant marked his last BU13 appearance in style as he stormed to victory over Essex’s Yusuf Sheikh [2] 11/0, 11/1, 11/8 and consolidate on his English Junior Open win earlier this year.

The result saw the 12-year-old becomes only the second Sussex player to triumph in the BU13 category and the first since Curtis Malik’s victory in 2011.

The 2016 BU13 runner-up, who lost to Worcestershire’s Sam Osborne-Wylde last time round, produced a dominant performance despite injuring himself as he dived to a retrieve a shot in the second game. The 12-year-old Sussex player, who admitted he would target his volleying as he transitions to the BU15 category said: