Top tennis juniors take home hardware

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 21 November 2018

Jake Booker won the final tournament and was the 18&U series champion.

The 2018 PwC Junior Tennis Circuit ended on a high note with the final tournament of the season on Saturday, 17 November at Cayman Islands Tennis Club.

Following the format of the Pro Circuit, the PwC Junior Masters Invitational Tournament is an invitation only tournament for the top ranked players in each age group.

There was strong competition in all age divisions as evidenced by most of the match scores, with many matches concluding in a third and final set. Everyone was there to win, which brought some tight and enjoyable matches for the parents and spectators.

Players with tournament director Illian Nachev and PwC representatives.

The tournament went smoothly with the only unscheduled event being rain early on Saturday morning, which forced Ilian Nachev, the tournament director from the CITC to postpone the matches for one hour. Luckily, the bad weather was short lived, and the players showed great resolve in helping to dry the courts so that play could resume quickly.

The results were:

In the 18 & Under division, despite a finger injury, Jake Booker won the title by defeating Jakub Neveril in straight sets – 6-4, 6-0. Lauren Fullerton prevailed over Oscar Bjuroe in the battle for third place winning the first set 6-3. Due to injury Oskar Bjuroe was forced to retire and was unable to complete the match.

In the 14 & Under age group, Sebastian Bjuroe squeezed a victory over Rafael Wejbora in a very tight match, with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. In the competition for third place, Ben Priaulx defeated Digby Robinson 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 in another long and exciting match.

In the 10 & Unders, Albert Berksoy was too consistent for Milana Thompson, winning the title 6-2, 6-2. Lea Neverilova took third place as her opponent defaulted the third and fourth place match.

: Willow Wilkinson was the 14&U series champ.

: Albert Berksoy was the 10&U series champ.

Craig Smith and Leslie Wilson from tournament sponsors PwC were on hand to present the Masters tournament trophies. As has become traditional for the last tournament of the year, the Tennis Federation of the Cayman Islands (TFCI) also awarded some special prizes.

The PwC Junior Circuit Series awards for the 2018 year-ending top ranked players in their age groups were given to the following players:

18 & Under – Jake Booker

14 & Under – Willow Wilkinson

10 & Under – Albert Berksoy

The Most Improved Player award for 2018 went to Oscar Bjuroe, the Best Sportsmanship award to Rafael Wejbora, and the Paul Howard award was presented to Jake Booker.

“The TFCI would like to give special thanks to PwC for their continued sponsorship of the Junior Tennis Circuit, as without their support, the tournaments which cater to around fifty junior players would not be possible,” a release stated.

The next tournament will be in January 2019.