Mixed luck for Maazoun and James at Al Habtoor Tennis Cup

Youngsters Cyrine Maazoun and Isabelle James ran into mixed luck as the 9th Al Habtoor Tennis Cup eased towards its final stages at HUBB Tennis in Silicon Oasis, on Sunday.

Maazoun got the better of Antonina Tronina 6-2, 6-3 in the girls u-12 category, but went down 6-4, 6-0 against Mayar Rahal in the girls u-14 section.

A similar fate awaited Isabelle James as she eased past Avantika Tiwari 6-1, 6-1 in their girls under-14 match, but had to surrender against Karina Ogorodnikova 6-3, 6-1 in the girls under-16 competition.

The competition for the boys also lived up to expectations with a close match in the under-16s as Timur Gordeev battled past Iyle Daniel Landicho 6-4, 6-7 (5), 11-9, while Ayaan Malik beat Alexander Du Plessis 6-1, 6-4.

In the boy’s under-14, Cayane Joe Muhtar made his better shot selection count with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Rehaan Nandi.

The tournament will continue during the short holiday break this week with the finals in all age categories lined up alongside the final of the 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge taking place at the Habtoor Grand Resort.

The annual tennis competition is being held for junior boys and girls in four separate age categories (under-12, 14, 16 and 18) and three contests for seniors - namely Men’s Open, Women’s Open and Masters (34 years and above).

This event is part of the ‘Road to Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open’ - the new community initiative developed by Mubadala in partnership with the UAE Tennis Federation, and under the umbrella of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.