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| 08 Oct 2001 | |
| Osaka Mayor's Cup World Super Junior Championships |
Participants from 27 nations gathered in Osaka to compete in the Osaka Mayor’s Cup. Seeded players include Gilles Muller (LUX), Janko Tipsarevic (YUG), Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (TPE) and Lamine Ouahab(ALG) in the boys’ singles, and Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), Marion Bartoli (FRA), Eva Birnerova (CZE), and Virag Nemeth (HUN) in the girls’ singles. The organizers were very happy to have many top players fly into Japan to participate at the event, while the memory of the sad incidents in New York just a few weeks ago is still fresh. The tournament director, Mr Masahiro Sato, was especially proud to welcome a number of players from the United States.
48 singles matches (24 girls singles, 24 boys singles) were played at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, in the balmy autumn air today. Although it was Monday there were over 2,000 spectators due to the fact that it was the 3rd day of a long weekend.
The highlight of the day was the opening match on Centre court between Marion Bartoli(FRA) and Moe Kawatoko(JPN). To the big disappointment of the local crowd on Centre Court, Bartoli proved to be too strong for Japan’s High School champion beating her 62 60. Tournament staff were impressed to see Marion’s father who is also her coach, carrying a racket case full of tennis balls which he uses for practice.
There was no big upsets among the tops seeds with Janko Tipsarevic, Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Eva Birnerova all moving through to the second round with ease.
The tournament reception was held at the Rihga Royal Hotel, and was attended by many guests including the Mayor of the City of Osaka, President of the Japan Tennis Association, Chairman of the Kansai Tennis Association, Consulate Generals, Eiichi Kawatei of the ITF, and Mr.Uthrapaty of the Asian Tennis Federation. With good food and live music, the atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly. Every player had a minute of media attention on the stage and had a wonderful time mingling with their peers from all over the world.
Good luck to every one and enjoy Osaka.
For full results click below:
Drawsheets
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