Young Turk: Melis Sezer

Melis of Turkey lifts ITF Junior girls’ title beating Kazakh Starkova

MUMBAI: Melis Sezer of Turkey continued her winning streak in the final too of the ITF Junior Tournament beating Valentina Starkova of Kazakhstan 6-4 6-3 to lift the girls’ title here at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) courts on Saturday.

The match that lasted one hour and fifteen minutes saw Melis get off to a bad start as she trailed 0-2. Soon she got her rhythm right to win four points in a row to take the score to 4-2. After winning a couple of good rallies, Melis sealed the first set 6-4 as she seemed to have got a psychological edge over her opponent.

The second set saw a firm beginning from Melis who picked up her game on serves and accurate forehands. On the contrary, Valentina made too many unforced errors to let the match slip out of her hand. With Melis leading 5-2 in the set, Valentina hit some great shots to come back 5-4. But, it wasn’t too late till Melis sealed the  match 6-4.

“I did not think it would be this easy. Of course, when I wake up on the morning before a match, I always feel positive,” the 15-year-old Turk said after the match.

After a successful trip to India, Melis said she would return in January to play the ITF Juniors in Delhi. The goal for the world’s 226th ranked player is to enter the top 100
slot which would help her enter Grand Slams.