Success for Ryan Williams in Milton Keynes
At the very first Milton Keynes 2* tournament (formally Chesham 2*) Ryan Williams (Ellenborough TTC) came of age by winning the U14 event. Ryan had to negotiate a tricky opening group, winning his first match 3-0, he then had to face the dangerous James Smith in his second match and lost the first set 12-10, however his superior power and spin came through in the next three sets and he eventually ran out a comfortable winner 3-1. Ryan progressed to the second group of three where the winner would go on to the final. He played with great skill and maturity to win his next two matches, thus easing into the final.
In the final Ryan faced his old adversary Tom Windram, a player he has never beaten in competition and ranked 20 places above him in the Cadets. The match was a great battle with both players determined to get their first tournament win of season. Tom raced into a 9-0 lead in the first set and the writing appeared to be on the wall for young Ryan as Tom eventually won the first set 11-5. In the second set the momentum swung both ways with Tom looking good for a 2-0 lead; however Ryan facing 2 set points against him fought back strongly and came through winning the second set 13-11. With the matched now at 1-1 Tom appeared to lose confidence as Ryan gained in strength. The match continued to swing in Ryan's favour and he eventually ran out victorious, winning the match 3-1 and recording his first tournament win.
Ryan repeated his win against Tom later in the U15 event, winning that match 3-0; he also had a very good win against Jamie Trevillion (ranked 30 places above him in the Cadets) winning 3-1. Ryan finished a respectable 3rd in the U15 event narrowly losing out in the semi-final group stage.
All in all a great performance from a rising star in the game, congratulations to Ryan
