Gutsy unseeded British pair prove tough to beat in tennis championship

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THE pairing of India’s Parminder Kaur and Rosalie van der Hoek, from the Netherlands, were made to work hard before overcoming British duo Sarah Beth Askew and Pippa Horn in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) International Junior Tennis Championship finals in Ipoh.

The fourth seeded pair of Parminder and Rosalie, ranked 400th and 367th in the world respectively, fought hard in their 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 matches against the unseeded British lasses during the recent championship held at the Ipoh City Council tennis court.

The winning duo had earlier overcome the first-seed pairing of Ilze Hattingh and Madrie Le Roux, ranked 242nd and 175th, from Russia, in a 6-1, 6-2 match in the semi-finals.

Winning pair: Rosalie (left) and Parminder won a hard fought match during the finals against the unseeded British pair at the Ipoh City Council tennis court.

Sarah Beth and Pippa, ranked at 333rd and 556th respectively, had managed to advance to the finals after overcoming the odds by beating second seeded pair Katie Boulter and Dina Karina 4-6, 6-0, 10-2 in the semi-finals.

In the Boys’ doubles category, unseeded Malaysian pair Ahmad Deedat Abdul Razak and Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam lost narrowly to second seeded pair, Russian duo Adriaan du Toit and Matthew Rossouw in the finals.

Adriaan and Matthew, ranked 377th and 263rd respectively, won 6-4, 3-6, 12-10.

The Malaysians had earlier created an upset by outplaying top seeded pair Scott Clayton and Toby Mitchell, from Britain, and winning 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the semi-finals.

Victorious: (From left) Perak Lawn Tennis Association president Datuk Ahmad Jaafar posing with the Boys’ singles champion and runner-up, Ashley and Crawford respectively. With them is association honorary secretary Lee Kam Boon.

In the Girls’ singles, top seed Karin Kennel from Switzerland won the final game with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Pippa.

Peter Ashley, from England, won the Boys’ single with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over his compatriot Clay Crawford.

Organised by the Perak Lawn Tennis Association, the tournament was open to all junior tennis players under 18 to get world-ranking points.