THE first Basingstoke Open Junior Tennis Tournament was held at Totally Tennis last week, providing an excellent opportunity for some of the country's most talented junior players to compete on home turf.

It was the first tournament of its type to be held at the LTA-accredited National Performance Centre.

The Boys Under 13 Singles semi-finals was contested by three Totally Tennis juniors, Matthew Heath-Smith, brothers Jack and Matthew Waissen, together with Southampton player Andrew McGlashen.

Heath-Smith, who had beaten higher-ranked player Antoni Gomez 6-2, 6-1, and fourth seed Ed Barrow of Winchester 6-0, 6-3, lost out in the semis to Matthew Waissen.

With Jack losing out in the semis, his brother and McGlashen were left to battle it out for the title, but with a solid groundstroke performance, Waissen Junior, 10, took the title, winning 6-0, 6-3.

Gomez won the plate event, beating Manydown player Robbie Motomed 6-1, 6-1.

In the under 15 boys, there were notable performances from local players Chris Munt (Totally Tennis) and Mark Swinscoe (Manydown), both reaching the quarter-finals.

Jack Waissen made it to the finals after this time beating Andrew McGlashen 6-4, 6-1 in the semis.

In the final, Waissen came up aginst the very impressive Alex Kolesnikow of Watford and lost 6-2, 6-0.

Kolesnikow followed his success by reaching the under-17 final, beating Totally Tennis David Munt in the semis 6-1, 6-4. The other semi-final between Totally Tennis player Simon Taylor (Basingstoke Men's Singles Champion) and Manydown's Mark Swinscoe, three-years Taylor's junior, Taylor pushed through to the final after beating Swinscoe 6-1, 6-0, but it was a learning opportunity for the younger player. The more experienced Taylor, comfortably won the final 6-1, 6-1.

The boys under-13 doubles title was claimed by the Waissen brothers after overcoming McGlashen and Barrow in the final. The under-15 event saw Alex Kolesnikow and his partner beat Chris Munt and Mark Swinscoe.

The girls under-13 singles was played in a box format. Tanya Patrick of South Wales won all five matches and lost just three games overall to win the event. Hannah Swiscoe of Manydown came second with four victories.

The girls under-15 final was won by Aldershot's Catherine O'Connor and Stephanie Belton (Berkshire). O'Connor overcame the number one seed after a slow start, winning 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. Totally Tennis' Sophie Hazel won the plate, beating Hannah Swiscoe 6-1, 6-1 in the final.

In the girls under-17 singles, Totally Tennis' Sammie Moreton beat the Under 15 losing finalist Stephanie Belton to take the title.

The Girls Under 13 Doubles final was a sister affair, with Totally Tennis' Laura and Rachel Sliney beating Jenny and Carly Peebles in the final 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Totally Tennis performance coach Nigel Long said: "We are really pleased the tournament went so well, particularly now, when players of higher ratings are not eligible to enter the Junior District League or the de La Rue Tournaments.

"It's excellent that the most talented local players were able to take part in a competition without having to travel miles."