A Tennis Star in the Making!

In July 2007 I won the Scottish Junior Open in Edinburgh (a tennis tournament). At the end of finals day all the names of the winners, in each age group were put into a hat and my name was drawn out. I had won a trip to the Blackrock Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the chance to play in a Pro-Am tournament during the tournament. The day was sponsored by Bottlegreen.

On Thursday 6th December 2007, I travelled down to London with my dad. We stayed overnight in a hotel and the next morning went to the Harbour Club in Chelsea, to take part in the Pro-Am. I was really looking forward to taking part and wasn’t disappointed.

I partnered the other people taking part in the Pro-Am and we played against the Pro’s. These included Tom Gullickson, Henri Leconte, Andreas Jarryd, Peter Fleming, and Michael Perfors. I won all my matches and even managed to ace Peter Fleming! Tom Gullickson and Michael Perfors spent some time with me, giving me tips on my serve, which was really good. Unfortunately, the session came to an end, I got changed, had something to eat and we then made our way to the Royal Albert Hall to watch the tennis.

When we arrived, Jonathan Ross and Jimmy Carr were on court partnering Greg Rusedski and Pat Cash in a doubles match for charity. It was a fantastic match and very funny. Then came the serious stuff – John McEnroe v Paul Haarhuis. Paul Haarhuis won. We wanted John McEnroe to win, maybe next year!

I really enjoyed my day at the Blackrock Masters and taking part in the Pro-Am. That weekend I had a tennis tournament and put into practice the tips Tom Gullickson and Michael Perfors had given me – I won the tournament!

Many thanks to Bottlegreen, especially Lucy, for organising the day.

Josh Poullet