British players rule roost

Manama : British players had a great day yesterday on the penultimate day of the Eighth Bahrain ITF Junior Championships hosted by the BTC in Juffair, with success in both the Boys and Girls Doubles Finals and Singles action.

In the Boys Doubles final, Britons Oliver Mayo and Sebastian Tong defeated fellow Briton Tom Thelwall Jones and Omani partner Younis Al Rawahi 6-3, 7-5 and second seeds Alexandra Hunter of Britain and Cypriot Themis Haliou beat the British pairing of Amelia Bissett and Annali Olivelle in the Girls Doubles final 6-3, 7-5.

In the boys final, Mayo and Tong raced into a 4-1 lead after effecting a service break in the fourth game and though they were broken in the seventh for a 4-3 lead, managed to cancel out the service break and clinched the set on serve in the next game.

The second set was much closer as both duos effected breaks of service in the third and fourth games and the same in the seventh to tenth games with the score at 5-5.

A further break in the next game gave Mayo and Tong a 6-5 lead and managed to serve out to win the set and match despite a few nervous moments and great rallies by both pairs to secure the title in an hour and 35 minutes.

The girls final, initially seemed to be going in favour of Bissett and Olivelle as they secured a break in the second game of the first set, but Hunter and Haliou won back a break and held serve to level at 2-2. 

The decisive moment came in the seventh game in the set as they secured a break for a 4-3 lead and then after holding serve won a second break to clinch the set 6-3.

In the second set, Hunter and Haliou initially held a 2-0 lead, but Bissett and Olivelle then won four straight games on the trot for a 4-2 lead.

The Briton and Cypriot though clawed back for three successive game victories for a 5-4 lead and looked poised for victory in tenth game when leading 40-0 only for the British pair to claw back with a break and level at 5-5.

Two games later after 90 minutes of action, Hunter and Haliou won a vital break of service game for the title.

Meanwhile in the Boys Singles semi-finals, Victor Jovic of Serbia ranked 2,058 defeated India’s Siddharth Thakran (1,606) in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 and Briton Sebastian Tong (1,531) got the better of compatriot Tom Thelwall Jones (1,703) after coming from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 and book a place in today’s final.

In Girls Singles semi-finals action, fourth seeded Briton Alexandra Hunter (682) shocked Egyptian top seed Hala Khaled (237) in straight sets 7-5, 7-5. 

The second seed Hala Fouad (441) of Egypt was a 7-5, 6-4 winner against seventh seed Turkish player Zeynep Sena Sarioglan (1,030) 7-5, 6-4 as they book places in the final. 

The tournament concludes today.