Northamptonshire tennis star Alex Ward is currently halfway through his three week trip to the Dominican Republic and the teenager is thoroughly enjoying the experience.
Over a three week period, Ward is competing in three Futures events where he is aiming to earn more ranking points ahead of the winter break.
In the first event, the 18-year-old successfully reached the final qualifying round before suffering a straight sets defeat to German seventh seed, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.
Ward produced a much improved performance this week in the second Futures event, comfortably qualifying for the main draw without dropping a set. His route through included an impressive 6-2 6-3 victory over fellow Brit Thomas Knights in the final round.
Ward was handed an extremely difficult draw in the first round of the main draw as he faced number four seed Jose Checa-Chalvo, who is currently ranked number 330 in the world. But Ward battled valiantly and came agonisingly close to causing a major shock, eventually bowing out in a dramatic three set battle, 6-4 0-6 7-6. The way Ward competed with a player with such a high ranking demonstrates the excellent progress Ward has made this year.
The 18-year-old admitted that he was disappointed with the loss but said that the performance has given him confidence to do well in his final tournament of the trip: "I served for the match at 5-3 and got tight so I am obviously disappointed, but I played extremely well and I am looking forward to competing in my final event of the year next week."
Ward is clearly enjoying the experience and he also spoke about the independent nature of the trip: "It is different to be travelling without a coach but it is a good learning curve for me as it helps me to be more independent and this will most definitely benefit me in the future."
Ward will be looking to end the excursion on a high by qualifying for the third futures event and he will be striving to add to the 10 ranking points he has accumulated so far this year.
The manner in which Ward decided to go to the Dominican Republic in December, which is seen as the off season for most professionals, demonstrates his intense dedication. Ward is currently ranked 978 in the world and next year will be crucial for him as he looks to close in on the top 500 and move up from the Futures to the Challengers circuit.
The teenage sensation has enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough year and if he can maintain this progress then he undoubtedly has an extremely exciting future ahead of him.
