Endler-Trochu and Bartlett-Rook clinch doubles titles in ITF Juniors

Mark Owen Endler and Pablo Trochu, along with Aryana Bartlett and Olivia Rook, were yesterday night crowned champions of their respective doubles categories in the 11th Bahrain ITF Tennis Juniors Championship 2019 at Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) in Juffair. Endler from Germany and Trochu from France claimed the Boys’ Doubles title after defeating the British pair of Alexander Knox Jones and Archie Graham 6-2, 6-4.

Earlier yesterday evening, Bartlett and Rook emerged as the Girls’ Doubles winners after overcoming fellow-Briton Issey Purser and her Indian partner Rhea Singh 6-3, 6-2. Both pairings captured their maiden titles as duos in an ITF tournament. They were awarded their respective trophies after both final matches by BTC Chairman Khamis Al Muqla and BTC Vice-Chairman Mirza Al Sammak, in the presence of other club officials, players and guests. Endler, meanwhile, kept his hopes alive for a championship double after booking his place in the Boys’ Singles final.

There, he will face off with Knox Jones once again. The Girls’ Doubles final will be contested between Stefania Bojica of Romania and Purser. Both singles title matches will be held Saturday (Editor’s note: October 26) on the final day of the tournament. The girls’ final will kick off the action at 3pm, followed by the boys’ final at 5pm. Following both contests, the awards presentation and closing ceremony will take place. All are welcome to attend. Entrance to BTC is free of charge.

The 11th Bahrain ITF Tennis Juniors Championship 2019 is being held under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. It has been organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, the Bahrain Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation (ITF); and is being supported by Bahrain National Gas Company, Bapco and Ebrahim K Kanoo.

The tournament is a part of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, and it continues the tradition of BTC’s hosting world-class tennis championships each year. In the Boys’ Doubles final, Endler and Trochu lived up to their billing as top seeds and overcame a tough fight from Knox Jones and Graham in a closely contested affair. “Pablo is a really good player, we are very happy and relieved we won,” said 17-year-old Endler. “Although we have not known each other very long, we won a tournament in Finland last year in Tennis Europe but this is our first win in the ITF and this is great.”

Trochu, 16, commented: “We have a good feeling on the court for one another and we had good confidence today. We were also more relaxed and that helped us get the win.” In the Girls’ Doubles, 14-yearold Bartlett and 16-year-old Rook used their experience training together at university to help them defeat the tandem of Purser and Singh. “The win was sort of unexpected; this is our first ITF title together and it is the first time we’ve played together, so we feel very happy,” said Rook. “It’s been a tough week; we were both eliminated in the singles but we managed to keep it together in the doubles.”

Bartlett added: “We started the match really well and went 4-1 up. We then lost the next two games but recovered and pulled out the next two for the first set. Then, going 5-2 up in the second set from a deuce was a really key point. We just kept playing hard because we never know what can happen, and we’re just really happy to have won it in the end.” In yesterday’s Boys’ Singles semis, fourth-seeded Endler got the better of eighth-seeded Graham 6-3, 6-4 to book his ticket to the title contest.

Endler is once again set to face off with Knox Jones, the Boys’ Singles fifth seed, who defeated countryman Daniel Abernethy 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the finale. In the Girls’ Singles, Bojica ended the inspirational run of Egyptian qualifier Mariam Atia. The Romanian lived up to her tag as second seed in a 6-1, 6-4 win. Purser followed suit and defeated Jermine Sherif of Egypt, who was another qualifier to make it all the way through to the final four. Purser won their tough battle 6-3, 7-5.