KUCHING: The Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) wants to end their 2012 tournament calendar on a high note with their signature event, the 20th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (II) ITF Junior Tennis Championship (Grade 3), starting today.
According to SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew, he can’t wait for the tournament to kick off as he and the SLTA committee had planned the eagerly awaited tournament months before the event.
“I am glad everything went smoothly today (Oct 29) for the registration and competition draw. Now its time that the show starts,” he added.
Liew pointed out that the tournament was first organised in 2001 and this year marks the 20th edition of the competition.
He hopes SLTA will continue to host more Chief Minister’s Cup in the future.
Commenting on the tournament, the SLTA president added that the tournament is one of the platforms to unearth new local tennis talents as when they play at the tournament, they will be facing formidable foreign opponents.
This in turn will also help the local players to be exposed to more international opponents.
“Hosting an international event like this is not an easy task. It involves hard work and consume time,” commented Liew.
At the end of the interview, Liew added that with luck, the weather will be good during the competition days.
He too hopes all games will commence as scheduled.
39 girls and 42 boys have registered themselves for the tournament.
Among the bright prospects of local tennis registered for the tournament is Aslina Chua.
She will be facing Ekaterina Klyueva of Kazakhstan in her first match.
“Playing in my native Sarawak adds confidence to me. Nevertheless I am focussed in doing my best in the tournament,” she said.
The Chief Minister’s Cup is organised at the SLTA grounds near the Civic Centre here.
32 matches are scheduled to be played today with the first match starting at 9am.