Dalepak's relationship with Jordan Parker
A STRING of eye catching victories in his first ever ITF 18 & Under tournament in Edinburgh in July, has highlighted the progress being made by Dalepak sponsored tennis player Jordan Parker.
The 15 year-old, coached full time at Loughborough, has now been benefiting from support by Dalepak for more than four years, and is now graduating into more senior events.
This year alone, Jordan has competed in tournaments in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Croatia after playing in Norway in 2009, and he is optimistically eyeing a successful summer campaign both at home and abroad.
That all really took off at the Craiglockhart Sports & Tennis Centre in Edinburgh where the gamble of signing onto the reserve list paid dividends for the junior from Barton Seagrave in Northants.
Despite playing three older players, two of which held a higher rating, Parker overcame three of the initial hurdles before winning a first round match against Ireland’s Alan Gleeson.
Jordan’s father Neil admits to a small shred of bias when it comes to discussing his son’s performances, but said: “I am convinced after watching him play in Edinburgh that he now has everything in place with his game. It is simply a question of whether he keeps on developing, and controlling the mental side.”
The run of success in Edinburgh began with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Dorset’s Tim Prossor before scraping over the line by a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 margin against Angus McCaul from Kent.
Next up was Jordan Angus from Middlesex, a contest the Northants player approached with a certain degree of flatness after a busy week long schedule, but the Dalepak player found hidden reserves to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Action resumed after a day off with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over his Irish opponent, Parker snr remarking: “Jordan was quiet and nervous beforehand but after being outplayed in the first set, the other lad went off the boil and Jordan stepped up his game.”
The second round was always likely to be a bridge too far against prominent seed Kyle Edmund from Yorkshire who had spent time practising with Wimbledon winner Rafael Nadal before Wimbledon just a few weeks earlier.
Edmund is rated at number two in Britain for players with a 1995 birth date, while also being ranked the number four in Europe. He is also ranked 523 in the world in the 18&U category. In the event, Parker went down 6-2, 6-3 but was not without chances, as he led 3-2 in the second set.
Parker’s impressive showing in Edinburgh caught the eye of National Tennis Centre coach Martin Weston who immediately lined him up for a wildcard at another ITF event at Newcastle, which involved a slight step up to a Grade 4 event.
The outcome was not as successful, but the hope is that by earning his first ITF points in Edinburgh, he will be able to more easily access competitions.
A busy summer schedule for Parker should see him competing in Dublin and Bournemouth in July while a range of other tournament options stretch before him.
Dalepak MD Mick White said: “Jordan has always worked hard at his tennis and we have always wanted to give him every opportunity to succeed. I am delighted all his endeavours are now coming to fruition.”
Picture courtesy of Kettering Evening Telegraph