Al Janahi, Daneshjoo win titles

Dubai: Fatma Abbas Al Janahi, Roxana Daneshjoo, Kareem Al Allaf and Marwan Al Kaissi have won titles in the under-12 and under-14 categories of the inaugural Nike Junior Tour (NJT) tennis championships at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club.

Al Janahi picked up the girls' under-14 crown with a swift 6-0, 6-0 win against Nouna Hesham Gabr, while Al Kaissi won the boy's title with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win against Avinash Bhaskar.

In the under-12 competition, Daneshjoo powered her way past Rikeetha Perera with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the girls section, while Al Allaf emerged the better player against Alexei Popyrin winning 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.

Al Janahi, Daneshjoo, Al Allaf and Al Kaissi all picked up 100 points in the new UAE NJT Rankings, while the runners-up in all four competitions received 70 points apiece.

As per the format of this competition, the top eight ranked players in each age group will be invited to compete for the title of the National Nike Junior Tour Champion at the Masters Tournament.

The winners of the National Masters in each category will earn the right to play in the International Masters along with the national champions from more than 20 other countries to decide the world champion.

"It has been a good start for this competition and the kids had a lot of fun during the tournament," stated Alex Popyrin.

"There were some good matches and a lively attendance. We are targeting an even bigger number of participants in the next round," he added. He said the organisers were looking for new sponsors to promote tennis at the grassroots level.

The UAE competition is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Dubai Director of Information and President of Tennis Emirates.