15 December 2011 | Tennis Victoria

Marc Polmans has just capped off a stellar 12 months on the tennis court, winning the Optus 14s Australian Championships last week at the December Showdown, his third national singles title.

Seeded No.1, Polmans faced the No.3 seed, Kyle Butters from New Zealand, in the final and came away with a 6-3 1-6 6-2 win in a match lasting almost three hours.

“I had a tough tournament, but it was good to get through in the end. To get a nice big trophy, that was great,” said Polmans with a smile after his win.

“It feels good to win my first 14/u nationals. I was a bit intimidated by his strength and his serve – he has a great serve, but I was able to find a way to get through and win.”

Currently ranked No.133 in Australia overall and No.2 for his birth year, 14 year-old Polmans started playing tennis aged just four years old in South Africa before moving to Australia three years ago.

Working with John McCurdy privately and Wayne Arthurs as part of the National Academy Melbourne, Polmans travelled to Europe in July and August on a Tennis Australia claycourt tour of Europe.

This tour provided Polmans with some of his best moments and results on court.

“His best results were in Europe where he made two finals of 14/u Category 1 tournaments, beating two top 10 European [junior] players,” said Nicola Polmans, Marc’s mother.

For Polmans, the competitiveness of tennis is what keeps him motivated and playing.

“He enjoys winning. He likes the feeling [of winning],” said Nicola.

Polmans currently plays and trains six days a week and hopes to one day become a professional tennis player on the world tour.

His game style is an all-court player who attacks and comes to the net to finish the point.