Anton mixing with the best of British
Sevenoaks star Anton Matusevich claimed a thirdplace finish in Week 1 of the UK Pro League.
The 19-year-old is considered one of the brightest prospects on the circuit and beat Dan Cox in straight sets in Sunday’s thirdfourth place play-off. Matusevich had topped his Pool at Loughborough University and though he lost to Billy Harris in Saturday’s semi-finals, bounced back in style to claim the final spot on the podium.
He struggled to adapt to the chilly indoor courts but reckons it’s only a matter of time until he finds his best form.
“I’m very pleased - all players here can play, especially indoors,” he said.
“There’s definitely an element of fatigue for both of us. Dan’s pretty fit and topped his group comfortably, but then he’s got to play another two matches so that’s tough as well.
“On these surfaces when it’s cold, it’s very tough for me to generate pace on the ball. Maybe on a more lively surface it’s slightly better, but five out of seven wins - I’m pretty happy with that.
“I’m going to be coming back a week after and I’ll be feeling at home out here later. I’m looking forward to it - I’m getting more used to the surface and the conditions.”
The innovative UK Pro League is the brainchild of Jamie Delgado - Andy Murray’s coach - and brings together the country’s top professional tennis players across nine separate weeks from March to November. The season-long competition involves players competing in a round robin format in eight individual qualifying weeks, with the weekend play-offs then giving them the opportunity to accumulate ranking points to seal qualification for November’s Finals Week. Matusevich finished at the top of Pool A on points difference over eventual Week 1 winner Josh Paris, but was unable to topple the Isle of Man’s Harris in his last four duel. Matusevich will next take to the Loughborough court on Monday, when Week 2 of the competition gets under way.
With a prize fund of around £500k and Broadcast live on BT Sport, the UK Pro League is the only place where the British player group come together to compete across the full year.