Epic final can 'fire up' Sheffield's young hopefuls
The man in charge of performance at the Lawn Tennis Association believes the epic Wimbledon men's final can inspire a new generation of stars, including four young hopefuls from Sheffield.
Steven Martens, player director at the LTA, says that Roger Federer and Andy Roddick's five-set thriller can fire up the country's best young players to new levels of performance.
Martens heads up a nationwide network of talent spotters and coaches already working with the best young players in the country.
Among those in the system are the Sheffield quartet, sisters Jennifer and Jessica Ren along with Simon Howson and Daniel Lea who have all been ear-marked by the LTA as AEGON Future Stars which recognises certain young players as being the best for their age group within the country.
Martens said: "After such a gripping Wimble don, rounded off with such a memorable final, there is no doubt that tennis in the UK currently has as high a profile as it has had for many years.
"We do have some great young players in this country and also a system in place to identify and develop them. Jennifer, Jessica, Simon and Daniel are among those who will hopefully be standing a little taller this week and believing that they can succeed in their tennis ambitions.
"But as the best players all demonstrate, it is not enough to have talent alone. You need desire, hard work and determination to make it in this sport."
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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