SECOND-SEEDED Novak Malcolm had to battle for a win in his opening match of the Lease Operators Ltd Junior Tennis tournament at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua on Thursday.

Malcolm is one of the favourites in the boys Under-12 singles category, but Justin Duncan proved to be a worthy opponent in the round robin match. The top players will advance to the knock-out phase later in the tournament.

Duncan won the first set 5-4, but Malcolm levelled the contest by winning the second set 4-2. In the third set, Malcolm sealed the match with a 10-6 win.

[caption id="attachment_1020243" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Reena Dougdeen returns during her match at the Lease Operators Ltd's Junior Tennis Tournament, at the National Racquet Centre, Tacarigua. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]

Third-seeded Ryan Steuart showed his pedigree with a 4-1, 4-0 win over Favian Dates. In other boys Under-12 results, Brian Thomasos eased past Michael Hamel-Smith 4-1, 4-0 and Sanjay Ramcharitar was a comfortable 4-0, 4-0 winner over Jahmai Aqui.

In the boys Under-14 singles, Christopher Khan defeated Darius Rahaman 4-1, 4-1 and Brian Harricharan cruised to a 4-0, 4-0 victory over Javed Dowlat.

[caption id="attachment_1020242" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Brian Harricharan competes on Thursday during the Lease Operators Ltd's Junior Tennis Tournament, at the National Racquet Centre, Tacarigua. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]

The tournament will continue on Friday at 3 pm.

OTHER SELECTED RESULTS

Girls Under-12: Samiyah Mohammed def Reena Dougdeen 4-0, 4-1; Anneleisa Orr def Ysanne Williams 4-2, 5-3

Boys Under-10: Rohan Ramcharitar def Ajay Rajnarinesingh 4-0, 4-0; Eli Paty def Dhruv Rambhajan 4-0, 4-1

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