Dubai: Local lad Kirksteen Rebuyas led a handful of UAE- based players into the second round of the 10th Dubai ITF Junior Championships being played at the Dubai Tennis Stadium here yesterday.
Rebuyas rallied from 1-3 down in the first set to set up an easy 6-3, 6-1 win against Germany's Dominik Thusing, and was joined by other UAE players Ishaan Choubal, fourth seed Amirvala Madanchi and Rikeetha Pereira in the girls singles.
Choubal secured an emphatic 6-2, 6-0 win against Bahrain's Yousuf Ebrahim Ahmad Abdul Qaed while Madanchi had lived up to his seeding following a 6-0, 6-0 blanking of Saudi Arabian wild card Sulaiman Al Qasem on the opening day on Monday.
Pereira was in awesome form against the UAE's Fatma Abbas Al Janahi as she won 10 games in a row for a 6-0, 4-0 lead when the UAE player decided to call it quits.
Rebuyas, who had also made it to the second round here last year, was pleased with the way he has been shaping up this season. "I am happy that I was able to defend my points as this will ensure I will have a better ranking after this event. So right now my focus is to give off my best on court and ensure I go even further in the competition this year," the Filipino player said.
Down 1-3 following an early break against Germany's Thusing, Rebuyas kept his cool and thrived on the morning heat.
Results:
Boys' singles: Goncalo Loureiro bt Khalid Al Mosawi 6-1, 6-1; Vincent Thierry Schneider bt Kareem Allaf 6-2, 6-4; Oray Cezik bt Marwan Al Kaissi 6-4, 6-4; Milen Ianakiev bt Joao Barra 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Frantisek Polanka bt Fahad Al Janahi 6-0, 6-0; Photos Photiades bt Egehan Sertkaya 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1; Kirksteen Rebuyas bt Dominik Thusing 6-3, 6-1; Ishaan Choubal bt Yousuf Ebrahim Ahmad Abdul Qaed 6-2, 6-0.
Girls' singles: Eden Silva bt Muge Topsel 6-1, 3-0 (retd.); Marina Albert bt Sanjana Sudhir 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3; Skye Hopper bt John Rhea 6-1, 6-1; Liberty Crawford bt Annie Zlevor 6-1, 6-1; Maurien Rikkert bt Maria Concepcion Bulilan 6-2, 6-3; Hannah Nagel bt Namrata Dutta (w.o); Nikki Luttikhuis bt Louisa Schubert 6-0, 6-4; Vasilisa Aponasenko bt Gamila Tameem 6-0, 6-1; Sofia Sabijarevic bt Karishma Bhawnani 6-2, 6-0; Aarzoo Malik bt Viktoria Kardum Holjevac 6-0, 6-0; Rikeetha Pereira bt Fatma Abbas Al Janahi 6-0, 4-0 (retd.); Viktoriya Lavrentyeva bt Simran Kaur 6-0, 6-0; Nayanika Reddy Devireddy bt Elisabet Strand 6-1, 6-1.