Successful Norway Trip for Jordan
JORDAN Parker, the young tennis player sponsored by Dalepak, has taken another massive step forward in his on court education by proving he can handle the pressure of the competitive European stage.
Making his debut in Tennis Europe series event in Norway in mid-November, the 13 year-old from Barton Seagrave in Northamptonshire, exceeded all expectation by reaching the quarter-finals of the event before losing out in a tight three set match 6-4 in the decider to the No.4 seed from the Czech Republic.
In addition to that, he also won through to the last four of the doubles with his partner James Defusto from Nottinghamshire before they bowed out to the No.1 seeds.
Jordan was one of 32 qualifiers for the event in Stavanger, of which only four won through to the first round proper. Once he had achieved that, he was the only one of the quartet to make further progress, beating both the No.8 ranked player in Spain at the 14 & under age group 6-1, 6-2 before defeating Norway’s No.1 6-1, 6-1.
The significance of the breakthrough is that Jordan, who now commutes four days a week to the Loughborough camp where he comes under the caching wing of Martin Weston, has earned 27 ITF ranking points which will fast track him into the main draw of similar competitions, avoiding the need for qualifying rounds. His next scheduled Tennis Europe event is at Wrexham in mid-December.
His father Neil accompanied him on the Norway trip and had his breath taken away by his son’s standard of play.
He said: “We weren’t sure whether he would be overawed by the occasion but he is definitely a fish in water, rather than out of it.
He added: “Jordan played a standard of tennis I have never seen him produce before. There is no doubt he has come on a bundle since going to Loughborough in September but Jordan deserves much of the credit himself. You have to want to do it and apply yourself and he has shown really good mental strength. There were some ropey moments on the first day in qualifying, but he got his head back, won that game and went on from there.”
Parker’s trip was something of a gamble, given the fact they were visiting one of the most expensive countries in Europe with the chance of a quick return home. In the event, the only logistical problems were the constant re-organisation of flights, and ensuring there was accomodation for yet another night as the youngster ploughed on through the draw
The Parkers revealed they were nearly deterred by the £1,000 cost of the trip in a country where a couple of chicken and bacon baguettes plus standard drinks raised eyebrows at the equivalent of £38!
Hotel rooms were also a problem due to the number of oil industry delegates staying in the town. Also, the night before his 6-4 third set singles defeat in the quarter-finals by a Czech player, the Northants travellers were kept awake by over-enthusiastic party guests. “Who knows, it could have made all the difference,” mused Neil. “Once you got the last eight, any of them could have won it,” (the event was ultimately won by Billy Harris, the No.1 seed from the Isle of Man).
The doubles run with Defusto ended with a 6-3 loss in the third set on Thursday, after which there was a frantic scramble to the airport. “We knew we had to leave the tennis centre by 5pm if we were going to make it comfortably and they were still on court at quarter to five!” said Neil. “Had they won we would simply have had to re-arrange the flight again and re-book accommodation.”
(Picture courtesy of Northampton Chronicle & Echo)
