NZ players win titles at ITF junior event

Taranaki teen, Ajeet Rai has continued his rise in tennis with a win in the Auckland ITF (International Tennis Federation) Indoor Junior Championships event this weekend.

Top seeded Rai, 17 didnt drop a set as he won the title, defeated sixth seed Michael Shepheard (Australia) 6-2 6-3 in the final. In fact Rai was the only New Zealand male to make the semifinals in singles. The other three players were all from Australia.

Rai should see his current ranking of 143 improve to inside the top 100 when the new rankings are released in the next couple of weeks.

Taurangas Ashleigh Harvey reached the girls final not dropping a set along the way. However in the final top seed Lisa Mays from Australia was too strong winning 6-3 6-0.

Harvey did claim a title over Mays by teaming up with Janvi Clark (Waikato) to beat Mays and Melbourne-based Kiwi Oleksandra Kalachova in the doubles final 7-6(1) 6-4

Canterburys Dylan Heap and Aucklands Liam Stocia were finalists in the boys doubles. They were beaten by the Australia pair of Shepheard and Connor De Marco 6-0 7-5.

The majority of players now take part in the ITF Waikato-Bays Under 18s Championships this week.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from New Zealand Tennis