Loge and Maria Ionescu take top honours at J4 Fujairah ITF Junior Tennis tournament
- 15 Jan 2022
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
Belgium’s Jack Loge lifted the boys' singles title of the J4 Fujairah ITF Junior Tournament after a hard-fought victory over Saveliy Ivanov of Russia.
Loge, who was seeded eighth, started well, but the third seed refused to give up easily.
Both the players battled hard for the points, and the Belgian pocketed the first set after a neck-to-neck fight.
The story remained the same in the second set as the Russian stepped up the game and gave a tough time to his opponent.
Loge finally managed to break Ivanov’s serve and wrap up the match at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club (FTCC).
Rising Romanian star Eva Maria Ionescu brushed aside Italy’s Anastasia Bertacchi 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the girls’ crown.
Ionescu dominated both sets without breaking a sweat.
Meanwhile, in the doubles final, the Indo-Kazakh pairing of Garv Bahl and Arslanbek Aitkulov edged past their Russian-Swedish rivals, Dmitry Bessonov and Kevin Edengren, 6-2, 3-6 (10/7).
Bahl and Aitkulov won the first set with ease, but were taken aback in the second.
Bessonov and Edengren staged a comeback in the second and stretched the match to a tiebreaker.
The Indo-Kazakh duo managed to outlast them after winning the last four games in a row to bag the doubles title.
Abdul Ghafour Behrozian, Chairman of Fujairah Tennis and Country Club, congratulated the winners of the tournament.
Praising the high level of competition, Behrozian said: "The unprecedented turnout to participate in the Fujairah ITF Junior Tournament confirms the club’s leading position locally and regionally."
Hania Reggi, Marketing and Sales Manager of FTCC, said: "Such events try to give a push to tennis in the UAE and also encourage the participation of young players. It also supports the process of developing promising talent."
103 players participated in the tournament, which kicked off at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club on Monday.