At the ITF Grade 5 Oman International Open Junior 2009 Tennis Championship, Hong Kong's Vincent Yau (ITF 1437) came close to winning his maiden ITF World Junior Circuit title when he teamed up with Italy's Filippo Ghio (ITF 1399) to reach the boys' doubles final.
Earlier the HK-Italian duo had upset top-seeded El Sherbini and Khalaf of Egypt in a third set super-tiebreak, 6-3, 0-6, [10-4], in the round of eight. However, in the title showdown, they were upended, 6-3, 6-4, by wildcard entrants Ahmed Al Bitar of Egypt and Ziad Sultan of Kuwait, who had earlier accounted for Kelvin Lam and Kong Kwun Ho in the semis, 7-5, 6-1.
In the last round of the qualies, Vincent Yau was beaten by No. 1 seed Samir Iftikharm of Pakistan. However, he managed to squeeze into the maindraw as a lucky-loser and defeated UAE's Rachid Alfalasi (ITF 1206), 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, before he was ousted by fellow qualifier Oystein Steiro of Norway in round two, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Previously, Vincent Yau's best showing on the ITF World Junior Circuit had been a pair of quarterfinal placings in doubles – at the Grade 4 HK Open Junior Championships in 2008 with Brian Yeung and at the Grade 5 Hong Kong ITF Junior Tournament with Lam Wing Lun last month.
Unfortunately, the progress of the territory's other pair of entries in the boys' singles was also halted in the second round when Kelvin Lam (ITF 800) went down against No. 6 seed Lucian Gheorghe of Romania (ITF 437), 7-6(6), 6-0.
Elsewhere, Kong Kwun Ho (ITF 540), who, according to NTS Coach Ross Elliott had just missed out on a seeding, was defeated by No. 7 seed Vishwesh Sinha of India (ITF 509), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2.
The staging of the Oman Open marks a milestone in the country's sporting history, as the tournament is the first ever ITF World Junior Circuit event to be hosted by Oman since the junior world ranking circuit was initiated by the ITF way back in 1977.
Up next for the boys is this week's Grade 5 Qatar ITF Junior Open 2009, to be held at the Khlaifa International Tennis Complex in Doha from January 13-19.
Results
Oman International Open Junior 2009 (G5)
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat
February 2-7, 2009
BOYS' SINGLES
First Round
Kelvin Lam (HKG) d. Faisal Bastaki (UAE) 3-6 6-1 6-0
Kong Kwun Ho (HKG) d. Daniel Dupont Hansen (DEN) 6-3 6-2
(LL)Vincent Yau (HKG) d. Rachid Alfalasi (UAE) 3-6 6-1 7-5
Second Round
(6)Lucian Gheorghe (ROU) d. Kelvin Lam (HKG) 7-6(6) 6-0
(7)Vishwesh Sinha (IND) d. Kong Kwun Ho (HKG) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2
(q)Oystein Steiro (NOR) d. (LL)Vincent Yau (HKG) 6-3 3-6 6-2
BOYS' DOUBLES
First Round
Vincent Yau/Filippo Ghio (HKG/ITA) d. Sander Brendmoe/Oliver Hilderbrant (NOR/SWE) 6-2 6-4
Kelvin Lam/Kong Kwun Ho (HKG) d. Maxim Kartavtsev/Faizan Khuram (BLR/PAK) 6-1 6-2
Quarterfinals
Vincent Yau/Filippo Ghio (HKG/ITA) d. (1)Seif Aldin El Sherbini/Shady Khalaf (EGY) 6-3 0-6 [10-4]
Kelvin Lam/Kong Kwun Ho (HKG) d. (2)Arsalan Mohammadi/Daryoush Saber (IRI) 6-3 6-2
Semifinals
Vincent Yau/Filippo Ghio (HKG/ITA) d. Haadin Bava/J.K. Mariwala (IND) 2-6 7-5 [10-6]
(WC)Ahmed Al Bitar/Ziad Sultan (EGY/KUW) d. Kelvin Lam/Kong Kwun Ho (HKG) 7-5 6-1
Final
(WC)Ahmed Al Bitar/Ziad Sultan (EGY/KUW) d. Vincent Yau/Filippo Ghio (HKG/ITA) 6-3 6-4
BOYS' SINGLES QUALIFYING
First Round
Vincent Yau (HKG) d. (8)Filippo Ghio (ITA) 3-6 6-3 6-3
Second Round
Vincent Yau (HKG) d. Amir Sedghi Nassab (IRI) 6-4 7-6(2)
Qualifying Round
(1)Samir Iftikhar (PAK) d. Vincent Yau (HKG)