Written by: Christopher Simnett
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***Chris grew up playing tennis in B.C. and was ranked as high as No. 2 provincially in the U12 and U16 divisions. He played in two junior national championships in the 80s. Now 39 years old, he is the “community champion” for the Tennis Canada Building Tennis Communities strategy in Airdrie, AB, where he lives with his wife and eight-year-old son. Chris spent 15 years as a journalist writing about sports for newspapers in B.C. and Alberta. He now works in public relations in Calgary. To learn more about Chris and his blog, please visit www.alltennis.ca***
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Brothers Zain (pictured above) and Raheel Manji claimed the Ontario Under-18 and Under-14 boys’ singles titles on Sunday.
Raheel Manji, the third-seed in the U14 division defeated fourth-seed William Tutecky 6-4, 6-2 in the championship match at the ACE Tennis Academy in Burlington.
Zain Manji, the fifth-seed in the U18 draw, dumped second-seed Martin Beran 6-2, 6-4 in the final at the White Oaks Inn & Racquet Club in Niagara on the Lake.
“My brother and I both had a good tournament, and we are really happy with our results,” says Zain. “We both played really well.”
Raheel echoed his brother’s comments.
“The matches were tough,” he says, “and I am happy with the way the tournament turned out.”
Second-seed Nicole Baloescu upset top-seeded Nikki Carnovale 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 in the girls’ U14 final at ACE on Sunday.
Results for the U18 girls’ final between third-seed Nikolette Budai and second-seed Amy He are unavailable.
Other results from across Ontario on the weekend:
Olivia Headford won the Niagara Academy of Tennis girls’ U16 event with a 4-0 round-robin record. Sonia Mahajan was second, losing only to Headford, while Micha Powell, Leeona Emerald and Maria Fernandez finished with identical 1-3 records.
Top-seed Kyle Korus won the boys’ U16 division at the tournament, defeating second-seed Stefano Benedetti 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 in Sunday’s final. Second-seed Geraldo Villalon defeated top-seed Inaki Espindola 7-5, 7-5 to win the boys’ U18 title.
At the Rexall Spring Break Transition Tour event at Toronto’s Rexall Centre, top-seed Dana Singer defeated second-seed Arijana Rudic 6-4, 6-2 to claim the girls’ U12 title while top-seed Benjamin Paton dumped third-seed Ethan Meanchos 6-4, 6-1 to take the U12 boys’ title.
