IPSWICH Sports Club player Sam Sheldrake proved himself the outstanding competitor of the week at the annual Suffolk LTA Junior Easter Hardcourt Tournament recently.

IPSWICH Sports Club player Sam Sheldrake proved himself the outstanding competitor of the week at the annual Suffolk LTA Junior Easter Hardcourt Tournament recently.

Playing on his home courts at Henley Road, the 15 year-old dropped just one game to justify his favourite status in both the Under-18 and Under-16 singles deciders.

Sheldrake, who also won the Under-18 doubles with club colleague and Under-14 singles runner-up Rohan Able, was unsurprisingly awarded the Daphne Ahmed Shield for best performance by a Suffolk boy.

The Joseph College pupil, who now tops both the under-16 and under-18 county rankings, is currently one of the most exciting tennis prospects in Suffolk.

The youngest player ever to have represented Ipswich Sports Club's senior men's team, Sheldrake is currently within the top 30 of the national rankings for his age group and trains up to 20 hours a week.

Splitting that time between Ipswich Sports Club and the Hills Road Sport and Tennis Centre in Cambridge, Sheldrake is certainly in good hands at present.

At Cambridge, Sheldrake is coached by Poland's Davis Cup captain Nick Brown, a former British Under-21 champion who once beat Goran Ivaniševic at Wimbledon.

In addition, Sheldrake is undertaking specific tarining with Tim Newenham, the former strength and conditioning coach of Tim Henman.

Between this intensive training, Sheldrake also travels to Spain three to four times a year to visit the Lawn Tennis Association's winter training base in La Manga.

Elsewhere at the Junior Hardcourt tournament, Eliza Henshall defeated the promising Katie McWhirter 6-2 6-2 in an all Ipswich Sports Club Under-14 girls' final, while Norfolk's Harry Weeds became the Under 14 boys' champion for the third year running.

The trophies were presented by county administrator Sheelagh Watts and Suffolk LTA Chairman David Rose.

Results

Boys Singles U18: S Sheldrake bt P Goodwin 6-0 6-1.

Girls Singles U18: 1 A Todd 2 K Sherington.

Boys Doubles U18: S Sheldrake & R Able bt L Garden & O Hindle 6-1 6-2.

Girls Doubles Open: 1 G Rush & K Sherington, 2 S Lockett & A N Other.

Boys Singles U16: S Sheldrake bt H Weeds 6-0 6-0.

Girls Singles U16: 1 R Ademokun, 2 F Ridley.

Boys Singles U14: H Weeds bt R Able 6-4 6-3.

Girls Singles U14: E Henshall bt K McWhirter 6-2 6-2.

Boys Doubles U14: H Weeds & S Harlow bt A Holley & R Camplin 6-2 6-2.

Boys Singles U12: H Cutting bt T Cutting 7-5 6-4.

Girls Singles U12: 1 E Davies, 2 L Ashby-Hoare.

Boys Doubles U12: H & T Cutting bt E Evans & J Ling 7-5 6-4.