U-8, U-10 finals set as BBK juniors tennis begins at BTC

Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) officially opened the 25th BBK Juniors Open Tennis Championship yesterday at the BTC hardcourts in Juffair. BTC president Khamis Al Muqla attended the opening ceremony of the annual tournament, which is scheduled to continue until February 17. The first matches followed immediately and a pair of finals have already been set.

The title for the Under-8 Open Singles will be contested between Bahraini Abdulla Al Doseri and German Sebastian Mathis; while the Under-10 Open Singles final will see Saudi Mahdi Al Ibrahim take on Bahraini Hashim Al Toobli. In the Under-8 category, Abdulla and Sebastian both won four matches yesterday en route to claiming their place in the final.

Abdulla first beat Abdulla Jafen 4-0, then defeated Nour Ahmed Elkhodry 4-0. He then beat Keagan Fernandes 4-1 before edging past Alanna Eliza Cifra 4-2 to book his place in the final. For Sebastian, he first defeated Rahaf Makhuen 4-2 before beating Jishnu Dhanashekar 4-0. Sebastian then outplayed Juma Samar 4-0 before beating Mohammed Al Khadem 4-2 to secure his final seat.

Meanwhile, in the Under-10s, Mahdi needed to win four matches yesterday while Hashim had to claim five in order to secure their places in the title match. Mahdi started things off with a 6-1 win over Prince Kallvin Vincent and then beat Adithi Kiran with a similar 6-1 score. He then defeated Rion Jay 6-2 before edging past Talal Al Sayed 6-4 to claim his final berth. Hashim needed to take a longer route, opening his campaign with a 6-0 victory over Adam Obaid.

He then beat Nasser Mohammed Salman 6-0, and then swept Mala Ahmed Elkhodry 6-0. Hashim continued his fine run with another 6-0 triumph against Omar Bader, before punching his ticket to the championship game with a 6-3 win against Hamad Al Jishi. The two final matches have yet to be scheduled by BTC.

Play was also held yesterday in the Under-12 Boys’ Singles and Under-12 Girls’ Singles. Wenbo Lu of China, Augustin Leopold of France and Hamad Al Jishi of Bahrain were all victorious amongst the boys; while Jood Makhuen of Lebanon, and both Lara Nabil and Mariam Ali of Bahrain won from the girls. Tournament action continues today at BTC.