Muller upsets Al Haqbani

First Seeded in the 1st Shine Bahrain Super Series ITF Junior Championship Saud Al Haqbani of Saudi Arabia was towed to a surprising defeat at the hands of Rik Muller of Netherlands yesterday, held at Bahrain Tennis Federation premises in Isa Town. Muller, ranked 8, stunned his opponent in the first set, beating him 6-4.

He maintained his momentum in the second set, although he had to add extra efforts to break the 5-5 tie to finish it on 7-5. The Dutch will in the final second seed Mathew Rutter of UK who knocked out Omani Abdullah Al Barwani in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. In the women’s category, top-ranked Charlotte Russel of UK continued her strong displays against her Czech opponent Anna Panchartek, breezing past her on 6-4, 6-3.

In the men’s doubles, Al Qahbani and Al Barwani were able to make up their losses in the singles by emerging victors in the final game after overcoming Alexandre De Villepin of France and Archie Graham of UK 7-5, 6-2. In the women’s doubles final, Lou Baudouin of France and Lea Rebreyend of France thrashed Indian Hrudaya Shah and Turkish Tuana Tinaztepe 6-1, 6-1.

“Am very happy for my victory in the semifinals. It was a tough game, but I gave my all. I need now some breathing space to think about the final,” a happy Russel said after the match. It’s worth noting that 80 players representing 30 countries from all over the world are featuring in the event.