Dubai: Eric Vanshelboim of Ukraine and Hania Abouelsaad of Egypt were crowned champions in the boy’s and girls categories at the 16th UAE Dubai ITF Junior Championships that concluded at the Dubai Aviation Club tennis courts on Saturday.

A losing finalist at last week’s ITF Junior Championships in Fujairah, Vanshelboim got the better of Turkey’s Emir Sendogan 6-1, 7-5 in the boy’s singles, while Abouelsaad defeated Lissi Kubre of Estonia 6-4, 6-1 for the girls crown.

Nasser Al Marzouqi, General Secretary, Tennis Emirates was the chief guest and presented the new champions with their trophies in the presence of Slah Bramly, Technical Secretary, Tennis Emirates and ITF Supervisor Mohsen Khodaparast.

For Abouelsaad from the port city of Alexandria this was her first success after participating in ten events on the ITF circuit so far. “This is such a special day for me,” Abouelsaad beamed.

“At the moment I am in shock as I have achieved something that I had never expected. But things went right for me from the start and today I am so happy to make this title my own after ten long tournaments on the circuit,” the 14-year-old added.

However, there was very little reprieve for the champion as she left for Egypt later yesterday to participate in the Egypt National Tennis Championships that is scheduled to get under way in Cairo on Sunday. “After the tournament in Cairo I will be back on the circuit participating in a couple of ITF Grade IV tournaments in Kenya,” she related.

“I am suddenly feeling very confident and empowered as I believe I can defeat anyone on any given day. I had to wait for ten long tournaments to reach this stage, and I am sure I can do much better in Kenya at the end of this month,” she added.

The boy’s final was an exciting affair with Vanshelboim coming up with three breaks and take the opening set 6-1. However, the crafty Turk came right back and notched an early break and held for a 2-0 lead in the second set. But, Vanshelboim broke back and then continued with his relentless serve and volley game that Sendogan found tough to handle.

“Roger Federer is my idol and he plays all these shots so elegantly. My aim is go one better than my idol,” Vanshelboim said.

“Instead of hitting the ball hard I love playing smart. It is like the good old days,” he added.

This was the third ITF Juniors title for Vanshelboim following his first and second successes in Sri Lanka in October.

Earlier, Dubai-based Alvaro Bueno Gil combined with Great Britain’s Connor Thomson to defeat Mikolai Lorens and Karol Paluch 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 and win the boy’s doubles title, while Fatima Ingrid Amartha Keita of Romania teamed up with Russian Anastasia Sizova to defeat Rebecca Silva and Fanni Gecsek 6-3, 6-4 and win the girls doubles.

RESULTS

Boy’s singles final: Eric Vanshelboim bt Emir Sendogan 6-1, 7-5

Girls singles final: Hania Abouelsaad bt Lissi Kubre 6-4, 6-1

Boy’s doubles final: Alvaro Bueno Gil/Connor Thomson bt Mikolai Lorens/Karol Paluch 6-4, 4-6, 11-9

Girls doubles final: Fatima Ingrid Amartha Keita/Anastasia Sizova bt Rebecca Silva/Fanni Gecsek 6-3, 6-4