Patrick Neilson has put out a flawless weekend of tennis at the Gardens Tennis Club.
It started when the youngster upset the formidable and experienced Ron Evans in a three-set thriller on Saturday, May 25..
Neilson flew out of the blocks in one of the final pool matches in the Men’s Open Division and surprised Evans with his flat hitting, variety of shots and great court coverage.
He closed out the first set 6-4 and heaped pressure on his opponent early in the second.
Evans, with years of Victorian Senior Tour matches behind him, was never going to let his opponent have it all his own way.
Neilson’s level did not drop, but Evans lifted and after some heavy serving and improved touch around the court the match score was 1-1, 6-4 to Evans.
With the score tied onlookers could have suspected the junior’s nerves and senior’s experience may see Evans outstay Neilson. But it was clear the junior had no such thoughts.
He played an almost flawless third set to secure the number to qualification for next weekend's men’s open semi-final.
Saturday’s results were a great warm-up for Neilson’s most important match of the weekend, Sunday’s Under 19’s Junior Championship Final.
A good crowd had gathered at Benalla Gardens Tennis Courts to witness the 2024 Junior Championship match between two well-deserved qualifiers.
Neilson had to try to back up his Saturday success against the rapidly rising Meg Cooke.
The match was played in great spirit between two youngsters who are both getting closer to the top level of local tennis.
Cooke’s heavier top spin versus Neilson’s flatter and sliding shots to the corners of the court.
A high-quality match was enjoyed by almost 20 onlookers.
Event organiser, Gardens Tennis Club president, Michael Levy, couldn't be prouder of the two top Benalla junior tennis players.
“Quite frequently you see two juniors make a final like this and the pressure is too much for one or even both of them,” he said.
“Often you don’t see the players at their best. That was not what occurred on Sunday at the hard courts.
“Both players can hold their heads extremely high.
“It was a great match, played at a consistently high level from the very first rally. On top of all this, we also got to enjoy a match played in great spirits between very mature juniors.”
Cooke, 17, couldn’t add the Benalla Junior title to last weekend's 2024 Women’s Open title.
Neilson would ultimately claim the Benalla Junior 2024 Champion, prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in around two hours of tennis.
The Men’s Open division is now the only Benalla Gardens Singles title yet to be decided for 2024.
This weekend's semi-finals will decide who will progress to the final on Sunday, June 9.