EVESHAM’S Carl Fordham held his nerve to win the under 19 Gwent Open at the Abertillery Leisure Centre in Wales on Sunday.
Having lost at the semi-final stage in last year’s tournament, Fordham was looking to better that performance on this trip and he did so thanks to a series of impressive performances.
His first match was against No 2 seed Declan Beech and the contest was action-packed from the outset and full of fast flowing action.
It ended well for Fordham who secured a 15-12, 15-2 success to book his place in the quarter-finals, only for scheduled opponent Ieuan Phillips to withdraw before the encounter.
This meant Fordham was through to the semi-finals to face Luc Sinnadurai and neither player gave an inch as heavy smashes and subtle net play featured prominently.
After losing the first set 15-13, Fordham had it all to do in the second set to stay in the match and he prevailed 15-12 in a set that lasted almost 20 minutes.
Fordham proved to be the stronger player in the final set as he triumphed 15-11 to seal a 2-1 success and book his place in the final.
Awaiting him there was No 1 seed Tomos Jones who was yet to drop a set at that stage and who had beaten Fordham in the 2015 semi-final.
The first set was a cagey affair but, having built a 13-12 lead, Fordham then attacked and his tactics paid off as he took the opening set 15-12.
Fordham continued the assault in the second set to build a steady lead before mixing up his game and switching from strong smashes to deft drop shots to completely catch Jones off guard and win the set 15-10 to seal a straight sets win and the title.