ALI Al Sharif had to dig deep to beat Mohammed Al Khan in the under-14 boys section of the Sixth E K Kanoo Juniors Open Tennis Championship at Bahrain Tennis Club in Juffair.
Ali won the first set 6-3, but lost the second 6-7(5) in a thrilling tie-breaker before sealing the match clinching the third 10-7.
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In other matches, Anshuman S beat Mohammed Al Shehabi 7-6(2), 6-3, Mathias Hopeman was too good for Anirudh Sai 6-0, 6-2 and Essa al Essa routed Krishna Thilani 6-0, 6-0.
In the girls under-16, Maya Bseisu, Erika Weil and Aleina Alex blanked Meghana Achar, Asal Buhasan and Ghozlene Raboudi respectively with losing a single game while Mariam Abdulla lost just one game in the second set before cursing past Trisha Ashok.