Kedriouk takes title for second time in a row

Dubai: Kazakhstan's Alexey Kedriouk successfully defended his title with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Gregory Howe at the third Coral Beach Open Tennis Championships that concluded in Sharjah last weekend.

Alexey, ranked 520 on the ATP, jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in the first set.

Howe held serve to make it 1-3, only to see his opponent break one more time and then hold serve to win the first set 6-2.

The second set seemed closer with the score tied at 2-2. But Kedriouk took the next four games to win set and match 6-2 and take the title for the second time in a row.

In the women's singles, top seed Grace Talih move into the quarterfinals with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over Susan Galeon.

Mariam Behroozian also advanced to the next round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elena Taraskina.

In the girls under-16 semifinals, top seed Talih blanked Christina Vavic 6-0, 6-0, while second seed Fatima Behroozian got the better of Maria Bulilan 6-4, 6-1 in the second semifinal match.