Thomas Colautti, Veselinovic take fantastic wins

Manama : Thomas Colautti of Great Britain and Ana Veselinovic of Montenegro put on superb performances yesterday to highlight an action-packed second day of play in the Bahrain ITF Futures Tennis Tournament at Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC).

Colautti defied the odds and took down Men’s Singles top seed MarselIlhan of Turkey with a stunning 6-1, 6-4 result, while Veselinovic lived up to her billing as Women’s Singles second seed as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win in her match against Lana Macukat of Serbia.

Colautti, currently ranked 1,276th in the world,registered one of four upsets on Tuesday in the Men’s Singles, and it was also the biggest of the competition to date.

Facing the more experienced 321st-ranked Ilhan, 23-year- old Colautti started the match strong and he took the first five games of the opening set before closing it out 6-1. Then, with a 5-4 lead in the second and serving for the match, Colautti finished things off in style, scoring four straight points to complete the massive victory – a first-of- its-kind for his career.

“I’m very happy with this win, although I never expected it,” the unseeded Colautti said. “I played well, my serve was really working for me and he didn’t break me once. It’s the first time I’ve ever beaten such a high-ranking opponent.”

Colautti next faces MilenIanakiev of Germany in the second round, and despite his big win, he knows he must not lose focus in order to continue to be successful.

Meanwhile, there were three other upsets in the Men’s Singles, registered by JesonPatrombon of the Philippines, TadeasParoulek of the Czech Republic and Robert Galloway of the US. Patrombon outlasted second seed Michal Konecny of the Czech Republic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3) in a gruelling encounter that lasted three minutes short of three hours; Paroulek ousted fourth-seeded countryman Marek Gengel 6-4, 6-2; and Galloway defeated sixth seed Fred Simonsson of Sweden 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4.

Others to bow out of the Men’s Singles competition were the trio of Bahrainis, including Abdulrahman Janahi, Ahmed Janahi and ElyasAbdulnabi.

In the Women’s Singles, Veselinovic was in top form despite a tough week heading into Bahrain, during which she injured her hamstring while playing a tournament in India and then suffering from food poisoning only a few days prior. Still, she proved to be too much for Serbian qualifier Macukat, whom she defeated 6-0, 6-0 in just 43 minutes.

Veselinovic faces American Alexandra Riley in the second round. Riley was also victorious on Tuesday in a 6-3, 6-2 win over EmelieSchwarte of Germany.

All the other women’s seeded players in action also made it through. They include third seed Nastja Kolar of Slovenia, fourth seed TerezaMihalikov of Slovakia, fifth seed Fatma Al Nabhani of Oman and seventh seed Emily Webley-Smith from the UK.

The lone casualty in Tuesday’s action was sixth seed Zeel Desai of India. She took the first set in her match against ViktoriaMorvayova of Slovakia, but Morvayova ultimately finished strong to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a tough encounter that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.

The Bahrain ITF Futures Tennis Tournament is being held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee. It is supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs and is sponsored by E K Kanoo and Bahrain Duty Free.