Kyle Frankel of Aruba and American Hurricane Tyra Black captured the boys’ and girls’ 18-and-under singles titles at the International Tennis Federation (ITF)/JMMB Jamaica Juniors International Tennis Tournament that ended at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre on Saturday.

Both finals, particulary the boys’ event, were very entertaining for those in attendance, as the players displayed power-packed shots, strong serves and some excellent court movement.

Frankel, seeded at three in the boys category, defeated second seed Edson Ortiz Tovar of Mexico in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, while Black easily beat sixth-seeded Alexandra Tutecky of Canada also in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 in the girls equivalent.

Frankel, 17, who won Aruba’s boys’ singles on the junior circuit this year, was pleased with securing victory in his first outing in this tournament.

“It was a very close first set as Tovar was playing his shot well and I had to counter him with powerful returns. I started to get my shots going well and when I got the break I started to get more positive. I went into the final with a lot of confidence and it showed in the brilliant stroke play with shots down the line,” he explained.

Black, the daughter of former Jamaica Davis Cup player Sylvester Black, who now coaches tennis in China, expressed delight with the victory, despite a few glitches. She lauded the toughness of her 12-year-old opponent, who tried valiantly to deny her a third 18-and-under singles titles on the Caribbean circuit.

“She pushed me a lot in both sets and the scores do not show the real hard playing from both of us. She produced many good shots, but as the game progressed I started to play better,” Black said.

The American noted that she will now focus on the Grade One ITF College Parkinson International Tournament ahead of the US Open for junior boys and girls.

In the boys’ 18-and-under doubles final, the number two pair of Daniel Moreno and Tovar defeated the top pair of Americans Arnav Dhingra and Brian Shi 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 (super tie breaker).

The second-seeded pair of American Jenna Dean and Canadian River Hart captured the girls’ 18-and-under doubles with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over the third-seeded pair of Ines Milosevic and Alexandra Tutecy of Canada.