Barry secures his place in French Open junior championship

LIMERICK rising tennis star Sam Barry has secured himself a place in the French Open junior championships.
This Wednesday, the 18 year old reached the quarter finals of the 46th Astrid Bowl in Charleroi in the Belgian International Junior Championships. By virtue of reaching the last eight of the Belgian competition, the teenage star from the Ennis Road has been awarded a special exemption into the main draw of Roland Garros for next month’s junior championships at the French Open. This Thursday, revenge was on the mind of Barry in the quarter finals of the Astrid Bowl when he faced England’s Oliver Golding.
Back in January, Barry made history when he became the first ever Irish player to win a match in the Australian Open Junior Championships beating Russian Victor Baluda in three sets 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Barry was then defeated by Oliver Golding in the second round Golding - 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-4.
The sixteen-year-old Golding was once a child actor in London productions of Scrooge and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as appearing in the feature length remake of the Disney classic Greyfriars Bobby.
The rematch between the duo takes place on Court One this Thursday afternoon in Charleroi. Having won two games in qualifying to reach the main draw, Sam Barry defeated Facundo Mena (ARG) 57 61 75 to reach the quarter finals of this Grade 1 ITF event in Belgium. On Wednesday he defeated Damir Dzumhur (BIH), who is ranked 14 in the world. A son of Michael and Jean - from his initial introduction to the sport in Limerick Lawn Tennis club at the age of six, Sam Barry has been a member of Tennis Ireland’s National Training Programme since September 2007 and he trains at the BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy which is operated by Tennis Ireland at DCU in Dublin.

Jerome O’Connell