Issa wins singles crown

Manama : Unseeded Issa Al Issa defeated second seed Ali Al Sharif 6-3, 6-2 to claim the Boys Singles 14 years and under category title yesterday at the Fifth E.K.Kanoo Junior Open Tennis Championship at the Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) premises in Juffair.

Issa a 12-year old seventh grade student at Ibn Khuldoon National School seized the initiative early in the first set when he broke his opponent in the third game for an early 2-1 lead, he further extended his lead in the first game for a second break and a 4-1 lead.

Ali a 13-year-old eighth grade student also at Ibn Khuldoon National School then sprang into action and after the game went to deuce three times, won a break and then held serve to trail 3-4.

Issa finished off the set holding serve for a 5-3 lead and despite strong resistance from Ali clinched the set 6-3.

The second set saw Issa leading 2-1 and then break his opponent in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead and though Ali won a break in the seventh game, Issa finished the stronger and wrapped up the set 6-2 and claim the title.

Today at 4pm, the Girls 16 years and under final takes place with top seed Aleina Alex from India taking on Chinese Manni Zhang.

Also 10 qualifying matches from 4pm are set in the Unisex 9-10 years age category as the mini tennis festival gets underway, with the bulk of the matches in the 9-10 and 6-8 years categories in the competition proper take place tomorrow and continue on Saturday with the two category finals set for 4pm on January 19. More than 100 junior players registered and have been playing in Boys Singles 12 and 14 years and under and the Girls Singles 16 years and under along with the Unisex competitions.

The championship is being held under the patronage of E.K.Kanoo Director of Corporate Services, Talal Fuad Kanoo and concludes with the Boys Singles under-12 final between top seed Sparsh Parmar and Mathias Hopman at 5pm on January 19.