18 June 2013 | Tennis Tasmania

After a fantastic day of tennis in testing conditions the Devonport Medibank Junior Development Series tournament is now completed. Players were treated to many high quality matches with superb skills and sportsmanship on hand.

The stars of tomorrow kicked of first with the 9 & 11/U combined mixed singles. It was great to see such an enthusiasm and excitement by these youngsters which showed in their attack on the game. Devonport native Anthony Harris claimed three consecutive 7-6 decisions whilst young gun Felicity Radcliff dropped two 7-6 matches. In the end the championship match was set between Launceston pair Rylei Pattie and Jake Elmer. In the end Elmer showed his strength with a convincing 6-1 victory. Elmer has been a standout in this Medibank series and leads the 9/U boys singles race over foe Rylei Pattie.

Next up was the 13 & 15/U boys combined singles. This ever popular event has really heated up of late with players looking to secure their place in the points race playoff. Samuel Elliston-Buckley was the first to qualify through the group stage dropping only a handful of games. On the other hand his opponent in the final, Ben Cawston, had a much tougher route out of the groups. Cawston survived a tough 7-6 marathon against fellow Ulverstone resident Robert Green. In the final it was Elliston-Buckley upsetting the top seeded Cawston with a sublime 6-1 result. Recently returning from playing tournaments on the mainland it seems Elliston-Buckley has rose his game to new heights. In the playoff for 3rd it was Ruben Mccormack prevailing over Robert Green by a 6-2 scoreline.

Last up was the 13/U Girls singles event. In the group stages Jessica Fowler (St Helens) breezed through her group matches with her finely tuned game. In group B there was much more upsets with unseeded Chelsea Leggett schocking 2nd seeded Lucy Jones (6-1) and 4th seeded Meg Radford (6-4). In the final Leggett was unable to continue her giant killing run dropping a hard fought match to Fowler. With the win Fowler continues her stellar form which includes multiple Junior Tour wins throughout 2013.  In the 5th played playoff a marathon battle from Lucy Jones and Stacey Norton-Smith was taking place. With many lead changes and flows of momentum it was Jones who secured a nail biting 7-6 scoreline.

With play completed and trophies
awarded to finalists it was time for the Devonport Medibank JDS to come to a close. Thanks to all who supported the event and we look forward to seeing you shortly. The next Medibank tournament is in Launceston on June 30th. To enter this fantastic tournament please click here.