Tennis: Reynolds fires in Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE: Finn Reynolds (left) and his beaten singles finalist and doubles partner Seon Yong Han. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A nagging sprain on his left knee failed to deter Hawke's Bay tennis player Finn Reynolds from winning the singles and doubles titles at the Sarawak Cup in Kuching, Malaysia at the weekend.

The ninth-seeded 16-year-old Hawke's Bay Lawn club player suffered the sprain on Friday, two days out from his singles final at the 28th edition of the Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup. The International Tennis Federation sanctioned event is for players 18 years and under and attracted players from around the world.

In the final, which lasted three hours and 45 minutes, Reynolds lost the first set 7-5 to the top seeded Seon Yong Han from South Korea.

A Tennis New Zealand High Performance athlete, Reynolds, won the next two sets 6-4, 6-3.

"It was really a tough and long match against Han. I lost the first set and got pretty disappointed with that but got lucky in the second where I kept staying focused.

"I broke his serve at one time and got the second set. I just stayed with the third set and won. It has been a great tournament for me and I am really happy to have won," Reynolds, who was making his second visit to Kuching after playing in a Junior Davis Cup pre-qualifying event there three years ago, said.

Before their singles final Reynolds and Han combined to win the doubles final with a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing of South African Matthew Johnson and Ien Schouten of the Netherlands. These results are Reynolds' best performances on the junior ITF tour to date.

"I'm exhausted but this has been the week of my life," Reynolds said after the prizegiving.

That's a big call when one considers previous entries on the multiple national champion's tennis CV. In 2014 the left-handed Reynolds, who has won national under-14 and under-16 doubles and singles titles, beat the United States No 1 Steven Sun 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 at the world under-14 championships in the Czech Republic on the way to helping the Kiwis record a top-10 finish in the team event.

His results in Malaysia have seen his junior world ranking improve 114 places to 231. The ranking points he gained from the tournament will help Reynolds gain entry into other ITF tournaments and in many cases avoid the need to play in qualifying rounds.

Reynolds had little time to rest and flew to Bangkok, Thailand after Sunday's singles final. He arrived at midnight and was on court the following morning at an ITF Junior Grade 2 tournament in Nonthaburi.

A younger brother of Hawke's Bay's No 1 man, Rob Reynolds, Reynolds, won his first round match against a Swedish player and was up against the Thailand-based second seed last night. After this tournament Reynolds has two ITF events in South Korea before returning to Hawke's Bay next month.

Reynolds, who is coached by Simon Winter at his Napier-based club and TNZ high-performance coach Marcel Vos in Auckland, continues to display the benefits of his decision to move to Auckland in February 2014. While in Auckland he attended Rangitoto College and trained at the Millennium Institute of Sport.

Reynolds recently returned to the Bay and is completing his Year 12 studies by correspondence. His cousin Hamish Penny tutors him while they are on the ITF junior circuit.

NCEA exams will be Reynolds' main focus upon his return from South Korea. Should he perform as well in the exam room as he did on the court in Kuching there shouldn't be any concerns about poor marks.