BERNARD BYLES became the youngest winner of the annual Westlecot Indoor Open Singles Tournament last weekend at the Old Town club.

The Berkshire Under 25 and ex-England junior international beat Carterton’s Paul Sharman 2-0 (5-3, 6-4) to win the Westlecot open event.

Byles collected the top prize of £1,000 for his fine efforts while Sharman had the consolation in defeat of claiming the £500 runners-up prize for his sterling efforts.

Westlecot’s annual Open Singles event carried a prize fund of £2,400 and was event number seven of 26 this season on the Open Singles Circuit.

Byles had two comfortable wins in his opening three games beating Kyle Anderson 2-0 (9-7, 8-6) and Matt Short (Camberley) 2-0 (7-6,8-2) but in game two needed a tie break to overcome Matt Jones (Avon Valley) 2-1 (3-10, 5-3, 2-0).

However, in the quarter-finals Byles was pushed hard having to come from behind in both sets before beating Trevor Roberts (Falaise) 2-0 (6-4, 7-6).

In the semi-final the Reading player dashed the hopes of Westlecot tournament organiser Neil Smith on a tie breaker winning 2-1 (7-6, 3-7, 2-0) before beating Carterton’s Paul Sharman in the final.

Sharman’s passage to the final was equally impressive winning his first three games 2-0 but was taken to a tie breaker in the quarter-finals by Malvern Hills Mark Atkins and another tie breaker in the semi-finals by Paul Maynard (Foxhill, Aylesbury) who had beaten Westlecot’s Craig Hatherall 2-0 (12-2, 2-0) in the quarter-finals.

Westlecot tournament director Smith said: “I was really pleased with the tournament, quite nice to see a couple of different players in the final.

“I was pleased with my own performance as it’s a very long weekend as the host so very happy to get to the semi.

“The tournament was well supported with all the spectators seeming to enjoy the more spectator friendly surroundings.

“There were lots of positive comments from the players about the playing surface and the club.”

Smith added: “We would obviously like to thank our sponsors for their support or else we could not have staged such a prestigious tournament and attracted a top class field.

“Thanks is due as well to the organising committee for all their hard work and of course the umpires and markers.”