Barry, Nina lift ITF titles

Charles Barry of Ireland and Nina Danisova of Slovakia won their respective singles titles last night as the 10th Bahrain ITF Juniors Championships 2018 came to a close at Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC). Second-seeded Barry defeated top seed Saud Alhaqbani of Saudi Arabia to clinch the Boys’ Singles crown, while sixth-seeded Nina defeated unseeded Briton Hannah Smith to come away with the Girls’ Singles championship trophy.

With their victories, both Barry and Nina claimed their first titles on this year’s International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors Circuit. “This feels amazing,” an elated Barry said after his match. “I’ve worked very hard to be where I am today. It was really difficult to win here in Bahrain but I enjoyed everything in the tournament.” A delighted Nina commented: “I am really happy to have won my first title of the season here in Bahrain; I could not have asked for more.” After both championship-deciders, the official closing ceremony and awards presentation took place at BTC’s Centre Court.

The closing was held under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who attended the match. The awards were presented by Minister of Youth and Sports (MYS) Hisham Al Jowder, who also received a memento from BTC President Khamis Al Muqla. Also in attendance were His Majesty the King’s Adviser for Youth and Sports Saleh bin Isa bin Hindi, Bahrain Olympic Committee Board Member and Women’s Sports Committee Chairwoman Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF) Vice-President Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, BTC Honorary President Dr Ali Fakhro, Honorary Consulate of Ireland Abdullah Buhindi, and other high-ranking officials from the MYS, BTC, BTF and sponsors Bapco and E K Kanoo.

In the Boys’ Singles final, 17-year-old Barry (ranked 723rd in the world amongst boys) was able to take control of the match early and after winning the first set, maintained his high level in the second, when he took advantage of a few mistakes from 15-year-old Alhaqbani (706th).

The pair were tied 2-2 before Barry strung together the next four games to seal the championship.