JORDAN McCulloch sprung a surprise when he won the Ariel Grand Prix Masters title in Roehampton.

The 16-year-old from Ellesmere Port had planned to use this season as a consolidation campaign after his switch from under 16s level to U18s. But he served up a magnificent display at the National Tennis Centre to capture the U18 boys singles crown – beating older players along the way.

Dad Stephen said: “He intended to make a real challenge on this title next year. That he has won it a year early is fantastic.”

The Masters is regarded as the highlight of the winter junior domestic calendar. To gain an invitation, players must collect points at three Ariel Grand Prix tournaments during the winter, with the top 16 boys and girls qualifying for the main event.

Jordan, who beat Kent’s Oliver Evans 6-1 6-2 in the final, said: “This is my first Masters win so I am obviously very pleased. It was a tough weekend but I played consistently well in all four of my matches.

“I also served particularly well which is a great positive to take away because I have been working hard to improve that aspect of my game over recent months.

“I am now looking forward to the rest of the year as I try to build on this success.”

Jordan’s win has placed him seventh in the Lawn Tennis Association rankings for British U18s and takes his ITF junior world ranking to 392.

To get to the final Jordan, who trains at Wrexham Tennis Centre with coach Dan Sanders, saw off Leicestershire’s Marc Westgate 6-4 6-4, Northumberland’s Tim Matthewson 6-3 7-5 and Shropshire’s Alan Bevan 6-3 3-6 6-1.