STUART FRASER

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TENNIS
GLASGOW TENNIS
Freelance Article
By Stuart Fraser
Wednesday 21^st October 2009

GLASGOW plays host to several future tennis stars this week at Scotstoun.

US Open junior champion Heather Watson and British Davis Cup player Dan Evans are among some of the players competing in the combined ITF $25k women’s event and $15k men’s futures which boasts Andy Murray as a previous winner in 2003.

19-year-old Evans comfortably won his first round match yesterday against fellow Brit Christopher Simpson 6-0 6-2.  The World No.297 is fresh from his Davis Cup debut against Poland last month in which he suffered two defeats but is positive about the experience gained by training alongside the current world No.4.

Evans said: “I took a lot of positives from the week, learnt a lot and I know what to do next time.

“It was good to train with Andy.  Any chance for a young sportsman to be with such a high ranked player is a great opportunity.”

The event is a million miles away from the glitz and glamour of the main tour with no ballboys and only one umpire and line judge but Evans is not put off by the drop from Davis Cup back to the futures circuit.

He said: “This is the level where I am at.  It is up to me to get through that and make playing in the Davis Cup arena the norm.”

In the women’s event, Watson came through her final qualifying match in straight sets over German Mona Barthel 6-1 7-6 (7-3).  Big things are expected of 17-year-old Watson who is currently balancing life on the tennis tour with her last senior year at school.

Watson said: “I am doing homework every day.  I like it because it gets my mind away from tennis and I like to study so I don’t mind.

“My future targets in tennis are to get up the rankings as quickly as possible, win as many matches as I can and keep getting stronger and fitter.”

Entry for spectators is free and in addition to the tennis, a number of local clubs and schools are taking part in coaching clinics organised by Tennis Scotland.

It is all part of an initiative to encourage more Scottish youngsters to the sport and Miss Scotland, Katharine Brown lended a helping hand yesterday by running a clinic for Westerton Primary School.

She said: “It was a lot of fun as they were so enthusiastic.  I think it’s very important that we get as many kids as possible into sport.”