Congratulations to Dan Carpenter for winning the Men’s Singles title at this year’s Cranleigh Open Tournament!
This is an LTA tournament with a long history – it has been running for 76 years. This year there were 30 different events covering adult and juniors, singles and doubles.
Dan first entered this tournament when he was 17 in 1997 and this year was the 5th time he has competed. His previous best was reaching the semi-finals in both 2002 and 2003.
This year’s event attracted 32 competitors. Memorable matches included a Semi-final, which lasted for 3.5 hours - Dan eventually prevailing in the last set by 16 to 14 games against a natural serve-volleyer from Westside club in Wimbledon.
The Final was against Alex Hackett of Dorking, the last set running to 8 games to 6 (another hard fought match).
Dan modestly admits that this is the biggest tennis title he has ever won – and he is only 24! It is good to reflect that our best tennis player, who began at Leatherhead as a junior and has progressed through the ranks, has also achieved recognition outside the pales of our little club.