Tennis juniors light up the court
Tournament director Ilian Nachev with 18 & under winner Oskar Bjuroe (Photo by Martin Wilkinson)
(CNS Local Life): The sixth tournament of the PwC Junior Tennis Circuit for 2018, held on Friday and Saturday, 28 and 29 September attracted 26 players representing three age groups: 10 & under (eight players), 14 & under (14) and 18 & under (four).
A brief power outage on Friday evening almost forced postponement of play, due to lack of light, but electricity was restored just in time and all scheduled matches were completed as planned. The finals and the doubles were played on Saturday.
The tournament was run by the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands (TFCI) and hosted by the Cayman Islands Tennis Club.
In the 18 & under division, Oskar Bjuroe found the will to battle back from a 0-4 game deficit in the first set against Jake Booker, the #1 seed and defending champion. Bjuroe clinched the first set in a tie-break and went on to win the match 7-6, 6-2, claiming the title. This was the first time Bjuroe had defeated Booker in a final. In the battle for third place, Jakub Neveril defeated Ricardo Douglas 6-1, 6-2.
In the 14 & under singles division, which had the highest number of competitors, Willow Wilkinson, the number 1 seed, took on the number 2 seed Sebastian Bjuroe. Wilkinson defended her title, defeating Sebastian Bjuroe 6-3, 6-4. Both players played well but Wilkinson was “more consistent, playing with controlled aggression”, said TFCI in the press release. Rafael Wejbora won the battle for third place defeating Phin Ellison 6-4, 7-6. Ben Priaulx decfeated Danny Kish 7-6, 6-2 in the consolation final.
In the 14 & under doubles there were three teams, playing in a round robin format. Wejbora and Albert Berksoy teamed up to win the doubles title with two wins and no losses. Jay Jackson and Digby Robinson finished second, with one victory and one loss, and Joshua Richardson and Priaulx came third.
In the 10 & under final, Berksoy, defended his title, defeating Milana Thompson 6-2, 6-2 with another fine performance. Ben Coak won 6-4, 6-3 against Lea Neverilova and claimed third place. The consolation tournament victory went to James Lymbery-Dickie, who won 6-2, 6-2, against Ricardo Reis.
Tournament director Ilian Nachev said he was very pleased with the “great atmosphere at the tournament”, citing the good conduct and sportsmanship of the players during the entire event, stated the press release.
The last junior tennis event for 2018, set for 16 and 17 November at the Cayman Islands Tennis Club, is the PwC Masters’ Tournament, which comprises the top eight players in each age group.
