RISING Redditch tennis star Felix Gill mixed it with the world’s best as he helped Great Britain to the quarter-finals of the 2018 Junior Davis Cup.
Budapest was the host city for the prestigious six-day competition for players aged 16 and under, featuring the best 16 nations on the planet competing to be crowned world champions.
On clay courts in Hungary, GB’s opening match was against USA, ranked third in the world. GB made a great start as Gill beat the US number one in the singles and paired up with Jack Pinnington Jones in the doubles decider to seal the deal with a 6-1, 7-5 win.
In the second tie GB took on Uzbekistan and Pinnington Jones lost out in a three-setter against the opposition’s number two in a three-and-a-half-hour match.
Gill needed a win to keep GB in the tie and there was no messing around from the Redditch youngster in securing victory as he wrapped up a 6-2, 6-1 win against the Uzbekistan number one.
The momentum was with GB as Gill paired up with Joel Pierleoni in the doubles decider to secure the team’s spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in less than an hour.
Both GB and Brazil had secured their spot in the last eight after winning their first two ties and were now competing against each other for top spot in the group.
Brazil, ranked seventh in the world, took the first singles match 6-1, 6-4. Gill was up against Brazilian number one Natan Rodrigues who is world ranked 61 for 18 and under.
Gill, ranked 330 in the rankings for the same age group, was on the show court and streamed live for all to watch. The Redditch teenager did not disappoint viewers as he produced some fine tennis and controlled a lot of the game with his relentless attacking play.
Gill was pumped up throughout the match and fought until the very end, narrowly losing out 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in a three-hour battle.
GB took on Spain in the quarter-finals and went 1-0 down after the first singles. Gill was up against Spanish number one Pablo Llamas Ruiz in the second singles rubber and the Brit got off to a great start in winning the first set 6-2, only to lose the second set 6-0.
Gill was fired up and focused on getting the job done in the third set. Particularly aggressive on the forehand, Gill won the third set 6-4 to take the tie to a decider.
Teaming up once again with Pinnington Jones for the doubles decider, the pair lost the first set 6-2 before battling back to one set all.
The final set was a match tie-break to ten points, but the GB pair lost 10-4 as Spain progressed to the semi-finals in which they beat Italy before seeing off France in the final to be crowned champions.
Gill said of his efforts: “It was amazing to experience the Davis Cup finals and to compete against some of the best boys in the world.
“The atmosphere was incredible and I can’t compare it to any other tournament I have played. I was fired up to get a result for GB.
“I think we did well to reach the quarter-finals and just lost out by a few points to the champions Spain. With continued hard work we can improve on this result in future Davis Cups.”
Gill is a member of Redditch Tennis Club, which offers opportunities for all ages and abilities. Contact head coach Tony Ravenscroft on 07969 649092 or visit clubspark.lta.org.uk/redditchtennis.
