Tennis: Brothers rule the court

Finn Reynolds and Robbie Reynolds. Photo / File

Crikey ... Hawke's Bay's Reynolds brothers have done it again on the national tennis scene.

A year after Finn Reynolds won two national age group titles and his brother Robbie one, the first time Hawke's Bay players won three national age group titles in the same season, they have repeated the feat.

Fifteen-year-old Finn finished the four-day national under-16 tournament in Christchurch on Sunday with the singles and doubles titles, a repeat of what he did at under-14 level last year.

Seventeen-year-old Robbie, a Napier Boys' High School year 13 student, captured the under-18 doubles in Albany before Christmas with Canterbury's Connor Heap. They beat top-seeded Aucklanders Edward Stoica and William Matheson in their final.

Twelve months earlier, Hawke's Bay Lawn's Robbie won the under-16 doubles title with Queenstown's Miki Nobuzawa who Finn beat in his singles final at the weekend after partnering him in the doubles final.

After beating the United States No1 Steven Sun at the world under-14 teams championship in the Czech Republic in August, Finn's chances of a national repeat were high. The third seed, Finn, beat the fourth seeded Nobuzawa 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in his final after beating the top seeded Ajeet Rai of New Plymouth in his semifinal.

"Mental toughness and superior fitness got me there. On day 2 I had to play four matches and on days like that it's when all those extra training sessions in Auckland pay off," Finn said.

He was referring to the fact he is in his second year as a member of Tennis New Zealand's Junior Targeted Athlete Programme based in Auckland. Finn is trained by TNZ high-performance coach Marcel Vos and trains three times a week at the Millennium Institute of Sport.

He is there from 6.45am until 8.15am and after school [the Rangitoto College year 11 student transferred from Napier Boys' High School last year to embark on the programme] is back on the court with Vos from 4pm to 6pm.

"Consistency with my shots was another key to my success ... I played good tennis when it counted," the left-handed Finn said.

Finn and Nobuzawa beat Canterbury's Taylor Nelson and Wellington's Felix Humphries 6-4, 6-4 in their doubles final.

On Wednesday he started playing in the under-16 teams championships for Waikato Bays in Christchurch. This event continues until this weekend.

Waikato Bays beat Canterbury on Wednesday and yesterday Finn beat Nobuzawa again when Waikato Bays took on Southern. Waikato Bays are also scheduled to play Auckland and Central Districts.

"There's tough competition here but we've got a strong team ... I rate our chances of doing well," Finn added before it was time for him to take to the court again.

When this tournament ends Finn will partner his brother in the doubles section of a Christchurch-hosted International Tennis Federation under-18 tournament.

They are likely to face players from Japan and Australia as well as New Zealand's top players in this age group.

Because they are in different age groups Finn and Robbie seldom play together. However, their victory in the recent Takapau Doubles tournament suggests they are more than ready for the international event.