LAKE Cathie teenager Jason Taylor has a grin from ear-to-ear after winning a tennis title at the 2006 Sydney Junior Championships.
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The prestigious tournament concluded on Tuesday at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre after almost two weeks of exciting and action-packed tennis, featuring some talented juniors from throughout Australia and New Zealand.
One of the most celebrated events on the Tennis NSW calendar, this year's championships attracted more than 500 participants, including a number of internationals, all eager to gain valuable Australian ranking points and be crowned Sydney Junior Champion.
Tournament director Daniel Hogan from Tennis NSW was pleased with the success of the tournament and the impressive talent that was on show throughout the 10 days.
"This year's Sydney Junior Championships produced some fantastic tennis and all players displayed great sportsmanship," Hogan said.
"The number of internationals and interstate players who participated and did well is testament to the importance of the championships on our tennis calendar and will have a significant effect on the development of our NSW juniors."
Taylor partnered Weston's Matthew Wenta to reap the spoils in the boys' under 12 doubles.
The duo accounted for Ned Markovic and Rupert McCreeny 6-1 6-1 as well as Luke Sullivan and Aaron Tan in the early rounds.
A semi-final showdown with top seeds Joshua Mackenzie and Andrew Zedde resulted in an exciting 4-6 6-4 10-4 triumph to Taylor and Wenta.
In the decider, Taylor and Wenta smashed Ryan Azzopardi and Ben Smagarinsky 6-4 6-3 and claimed the doubles' crown in the process.
Taylor also enjoyed a successful run in the singles' category.
He beat Mackenzie, ranked three, 7-6 7-6 in the round of 16 but lost a quarter-final encounter to Aaron Bruest 6-1 6-4.
Meanwhile, it was a mixed tournament for the area's remaining representatives Adam Taylor, Sam Jubb, Matt Ternes and Gerard Howard.
Ternes, in the 14 years' age group, suffered a triple blow.
He dropped his singles' match 6-0 6-0 to ninth seed Jordan Thompson and, with partner Harry-Anthony Poulos, fell to the fifth-rated Nicholas Kyrgios and Alex Silcock 6-3 6-1.
He then teamed up with Howard in the boys' under 16 doubles, but bowed out to eventual champions Andrew Bennett and Scott Wagland 6-0 6-3.
Howard was also overpowered by Milan Vrbka 6-0 6-0 in the singles.
The elder Taylor, Adam, looked sharp when he beat Gavin Levy 6-1 0-6 6-0, Simon Ede 6-3 6-3 and Bijan Abdollahi 6-3 6-0.
However, Serge Ristivojevic prevailed 6-4 6-3 in the quarter-final.
Jubb toughed it out with Alex D'Onofrio 6-1 7-5 but his singles' campaign ended at the hands of Robert Howe 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Jubb and Adam Taylor, seeded sixth, started strongly in the doubles with wins over Andrew Chow and Hayden Smith 6-0 6-2 and Dayne Hodge and Stephen Neverly 6-1 6-0.
But, Aaron McRae and Ben Wagland, ranked two in the division, upset the pair's run 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-final.