72 athletes (47 men and 25 women) from the Ahal, Dashoguz, Lebap, Mary regions and Ashgabat gathered for the Turkmenistan Tennis Cup, which concluded on the courts of the multifunctional sports complex of the Turkmen state institute of physical education and sports. The tournament, organised by the State committee for physical culture and sports and the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan, was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of neutrality of our country.
The singles final of the men, which featured 30-year-old national team coach Yuriy Rogusskiy and his student Allanur Dayanjov, generated considerable intrigue. Last month, as part of the Turkmenistan team, they won the Davis Cup zonal tournament in Isa-Town, Bahrain. And now these two tennis players find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades in the decisive battle for the prestigious trophy.
The final match, which lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes, was no less tense. The first set was won by Y.Rogusskiy – 6:4. The second goal went to A.Dayanjov – 6:0. In the decisive set, Allanur snatched victory in the tiebreak – 7:6 and became the winner of the Turkmenistan Cup for the first time.
In April of this year, 22-year-old Allanur Dayanjov, a native of the city of Mary, became the champion of Turkmenistan for the first time. And now he has won his second national trophy. He successfully combines tennis with his studies at the Institute of telecommunications and informatics of Turkmenistan, where he is a 5th-year student.
Rounding out the top three was another winner of the Davis Cup zonal tournament, 26-year-old coach of the Tennis Federation of Turkmenistan Meylis Orazmuhammedov, who won the match for third place against Didar Vepamyradov – 6:3, 6:4.
Sixteen-year-old Aynur Movlamova achieved a sensational victory in the women's draw. The 10th-grader from the School No. 27 of country seeded fourth, demonstrated confident play throughout the entire tournament. In the semifinals, she knocked off the tournament's top seed, Leyli Esenova (6:4, 6:4) and in the final, she defeated Aylara Kakabayeva 7:5, 6:3. This success marked the young protégé of Serdar Byashimov's first major national trophy.
Jennet Charyyeva of the Mary region won the bronze medal in the women's competition. In the match for third place, she defeated Leyli Esenova in straight sets (6:4, 6:4), confirming the high level of the regional tennis school.
