Dubai: Top two seeds in boy’s singles eased into the quarter-finals in contrasting styles at the 15th Dubai ITF Junior Championships at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Wednesday.
Top seed Mohammad Abdul Aziz of Egypt made his way past Bahrain’s Ali Dawani 7-6 (4), 6-2, while second seed Joshua Rose had to dig in deep for a well-contested 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against qualifier Andrija Pavlovic from Serbia.
“It was tough out there initially as I tried to adapt to the court surface and the heat at the same time. But once I got in my stride I always knew I had to keep things simple and straight,” Rose told Gulf News.
This is the second time that the 17-year-old from London is visiting Dubai. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals, but this year the aim is to go all the way and win the title,” he said.
Rose sees Great Britain’s Andy Murray taking his position at the top of the men’s world ranking this week as a good omen for him. “I have nothing to lose. Andy has done what no British player has done before and he is a huge inspiration and motivation for me and so many others,” Rose added.
His next opponent in the quarter-finals will be qualifier Bert Ilkel from Turkey, who powered to a 6-2, 6-4 win against Rose’s doubles partner, Muzammil Murtaza of Pakistan. “If it was Muzammil then things could have been more predictable. I barely know anything about Ilkel. But I will go out there and give it my best,” Rose promised.
Third seed Baran Cengiz of Turkey, fifth seed Ryuki Matsuda and seventh seed Otta Virtanen of Finland also moved into the quarters. Cengiz defeated qualifier Alexandru Cristian Bodnariuk of Romania 6-3, 6-3, Matsuda got the better of Andrew Paulson from the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1 and Virtanen battled hard for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Zura Tkemaladze of Georgia to book their places in the last eight stages of the boy’s singles.
RESULTS
Boy’s Singles: Mohammad Abdul Aziz def. Ali Dawani 7-6 (4), 6-2; Otto Virtanen def. Zura Tkemaladze 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4); Mert Alkaya def. Antonio Muniz Hidalgo 6-2, 6-3; Baran Cengiz def. Alexandru Cristian Bodnariuk 6-3, 6-3; Bora Sengul def. Bharath Nishok Kumaran 6-4, 6-1; Riyuki Matsuda def. Andrew Paulson 6-2, 6-1; Bert Ilkel def. Muzammil Murtaza 6-2, 6-4; Joshua Rose def. Andrija Pavlovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Girls Singles: Zoziya Kardava def. Timea Visontai 6-1, 3-6, 6-1; Dasha Lopatetskaya def. Ekaterina Vinnik 5-3 (retd.); Anastasia Bovolskaya def. Nil Kalayci 6-2, 6-1; Mariam Dalakishvili def. Dalia Ahmad 6-2, 6-3; Carmen Roxana Manu def. Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-2; Olivia Elliott def. Beyda Baykal 6-0, 1-6, 6-3; Clara Tauson def. Sofia Plotnikova 6-2, 6-2; Jiayun Zhu def. Ebru Zeynep Yazgan 6-2, 6-2.
