After an excellent display at the Israel F9 Futures, James Marsalek now has a singles title to go with the doubles title he won at the Doha F1 Futures event in early April.
The Taunton-born player beat Sheuchi Sekiguchi, from Japan, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. As the score line suggests, the match was one of small margins, but Marsalek was able to make a decisive break in each set to help him claim victory.
A slight scare in the first round may well have helped 21-year-old Marsalek concentrate for the rest of the tournament. After winning the first set of his match with Dekel Bar, Israel, 6-1, he was pegged back by his opponent in the second set which he lost 6-3. A tight third set saw the player separated by one break of serve, Marsalek won it 6-4.
From then on, the Somerset player showed his class with some outstanding tennis. He beat Shahar Elbaz, Israel, 6-0, 6-0 in the second round, before beating Takuto Niki in the quarter-finals 6-2, 6-2. He then beat another Japanese player in the semi-finals. Marsalek won 6-2, 7-5 against Arata Onozawa to book his place in the final.
Click Here to visit James Marsalek’s profile on the ITF Tennis website
Click Here for more information on the Israel F9 Futures
By Harry Lund