It was unfortunate that this prestigious tournament, held locally, found minimal support from the local tennis community: it was only the parents and coaches of these 64 youngsters who witnessed the high standard of play throughout the five days of the tournament.

It was also unbelievable how the Malta Tennis Federation allowed another Tennis Club to hold a social tennis tournament for junior players on the same dates as this European international tournament.

The tournament itself was of a very high standard and it was a pleasure to watch these young tennis players show their technical and tactical knowhow to the most of their ability.

In the Boys’ section, Anthony Parkin of Great Britain proved his No 1 seeding by winning the title when, in the final, he beat Kevin Albonetti of Italy in two straight sets. These two youngsters showed their full potential especially in the first set which the British boy won on a tie-break. The second set was different. The Italian boy seemed to have lost his concentration and committed several unforced errors to lose the set 6-1. It was a merited victory for Parkin which will surely enhance his reputation in European junior tennis.

In the Girls’ section the first five seeds had mixed fortunes. The first round saw the elimination of No 2 seed Karolina Pondusova (Slovakia) when she was beaten by the unseeded Italian player Fiorella Zecchino.

Seed No 1 Katarina Baranova of Slovakia, lost to the Ukranian girl Olga Kishchun (fifth seed) in the quarter-final stage while No 4 seed, Christina Kandler of Austria, had to show all her prowess in her semi-final to beat the Italian girl Fiorella Zecchino 7-6 7-6.

Olga Kishchun continued on her winning path by beating the third seed Barbora Lazarova of Slovakia, to reach the Final against the fourth seed Christina Kandler.

The final between Kishchun (Ukraine) and Kandler (Austria) was a one-sided affair as the Ukranian girl ran away victorious by winning both sets 6-1 6-1.

A word of praise and appreciation must go to the Director of the tournament Benny Vidal who, for the past month, spared no effort to make this tournament a success; to the referee Oswald Tanti who kept a strict eye on all the proceedings on the four courts and to Judith Ricci, who did all the paperwork throughout the whole tournament.