Sabah girls gave the state something to cheer when two of their up and coming promising tennis talent – Nurshaneem Shamsuddin in the Under-16 and Clarrisa Sofia in the Under-12 category qualified for the finals in the 7th-leg of the National Junior Tour in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday.
Nurshaneem beat Khadijah Latfy 6-1, 6-4. to set up a final with Nur Hazira Hamidon who beat Adrienne Tan 7-5, 6-1.
Clarissa Sofia pulled off a major upset when she beat second seed Marissa Hani Zahari 6-0, 6-1. Clarissa will meet top seed Ain Nadhirah Adnan of Negri Sembilan who was too strong for Sabah’s Sabrina Trisha and came off 6-1, 6-4 winner.
In the Girls’ Under 14 Jodie Luo of Kuala Lumpiur will meet Nur Shamida Kamil of Kedah. Nur Shamida created an upset to beat 2nd seed Serena S Selvam of Selangor in a three-set thriller.
In the Boys’ Under 16 Johor’s Irfan Halim, the top seed beat Muhd Arif Irfan of Sabah 6-2, 6-4, while unseeded Lul Hul Retallick of KLK L came off 6-3, 7-5 winner over Kedah’s Cheah Chern Eu. Chern had upset 2nd seed Md Azri Ramlee in the semis.
The boys under 14 will see top seed Md Syabil Sharuddin of Selangor take on compatriot Ishan Nair in the final.
The Under-12 Boys final will see 4th seed Daryl Wong of KL take on Airulraif Airill Azhar of Johor. Daryl upset top seed Edi Amin in the semis 6-3,6-0, while Airulraif beat Ahmad Fahmi 6-3, 6-4.
The finals will be played at the Likas Tennis courts from 10 am Sunday. The prize presentation ceremony will see Sabah sports minister YB Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan give away the cash prizes and medals.
