Tennis
| JOIN THE DEBATE | |  | | | | | NEWS | | | | | | WEST HAM | | | | SOUTHEND UNITED | | |
|
|
|
Sutton studies boost Collett
TIM Collett's time at Sutton Tennis Academy is paying dividends for the talented Rochford player.
Collett started at the Surrey academy last September and has made rapid progress as he combines tennis with his A levels.
And the hard work paid off when he won the East Anglia Tournament in Norwich.
Seventeen-year-old Collett was seeded second for the event behind Norfolk number one Tom Lamming.
The early part of the competition was hampered by six inches of snow lying on the hardcourts.
But once it thawed Collett was unstoppable. His seeding meant he started the tournament at the last 16 stage.
The Essex player's first scalp was Warwickshire's Simon Betty, whom he beat 6-3 6-1 in a wind-affected match that lasted an hour.
Collett then defeated Norfolk number six Steven Tubbs 6-3 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
The semi-final saw Collett take on one of his fellow Sutton students, Norfolk number two Sam Parfitt, who was seeded fourth.
Despite having the mental pressure of playing a friend, Collett secured a 6-4 6-1 victory to put himself in the final against Lamming.
"Everything that Tim's worked so hard for paid off in the final," said his mum Alison Poynton.
"He powered his way through the first set, winning 6-0, as he kept the pressure up, which is something his coaches at Sutton have been telling him to do."
Collett was 4-0 up in the second set in windy conditions but Lamming fought his way back to level 4-4 before his Essex rival triumphed 7-5.
"Last time Tim played Tom he was not so strong but this time he blew him away," added Mrs Poynton.
The East Anglia Tournament represented the start of a busy month for Collett, who is a former King Edmund School pupil.
He is currently playing in an under-18 event on clay courts that features singles and doubles, where he will be partnered by Westcliff Hardcourts and Essex County player Matt Pearce.
Collett will then travel to Guernsey in the Channel Islands to represent Sutton Tennis Academy.
The player is still looking for sponsorship to help him compete around the country.
Any would-be sponsors interested in backing the teenager can contact Alison and Simon Poynton on 01702 549075.
9:49am Thursday 3rd April 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
