A St Albans schoolboy eclipsed his British rivals by making it through to the main draw of a prestigous tennis tournament – won in the past by the likes of Sir Andy Murray and Justine Henin.

Oliver Tarvet of Batchwood Tennis Academy was part of a select field of some of the most talented young tennis players in the world for the Nike Junior International.

The event in Bolton is a Category One Tennis Europe U14 event and since its launch as Teen Tennis in 1995, it has provided a stepping stone for some of the sport’s top players.

Tarvet was the only GB player to make it through both qualifying rounds, recording notable wins against Israeli number one Eyan Michaeli 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and then against Belgium’s Arno Van Droogenbrock 6-3, 6-2.

He equipped himself extremely well in the main draw against Portugal number two Miguel Gomes but couldn’t quite pull off the win, going down 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 in a hard-fought battle.

Batchwood’s head of performance Jon Meredith said: “Oliver performed very well in this top tier one event. With hard work, commitment and determination Oliver could potentially reach a very high level of international tennis.”