Malta national team player Mark Gatt has just taken part in his third ITF senior championships which were staged indoors in Glasgow, Scotland.

In the singles, he was seeded no.4 and had the better of Anthony Kainga, of Malawi, in the round of 16.

Gatt then met Calum McKnight in the quarter-finals.

He played a blinder in the first set and won it 6-2. However, McKnight looked a different player in the second set and got an early break before sealing the set 6-1.

The third set started on an even keel until McKnight broke Gatt’s serve for a 3-2 lead. The Maltese player was unable to lift his game and lost 6-2.

Gatt was not disheartened though and within 30 minutes of his upset in the singles, he was back on court for the doubles quarter-final along with partner Allan Ralston.

Tense three-set SF

They played the tournament’s third seeds Jonathan Downes and Stephen Jones.

Gatt and Ralston held serve and broke their opponents three times on their way to a comfortable 6-3 6-3 victory.

The semi-finals pitted Gatt and Ralston against German pair Bernd Hoerburger and Holger Schmidt.

It was a tense three-setter which Gatt and Ralston won by the tightest of margins 7-6, 5-7, 10-8.

The final was against Alan McDonald and Jonathan Pank-hurst. The two singles finalists beat Gatt and Ralston in straight sets.

Gatt’s efforts in Glasgow earned him 20 ranking points in singles and a jump of 68 places on the ITF ranking list for senior players. His current position is no.280 in the world (O-35).

Meanwhile, Gatt’s doubles ranking has also gone up by more than 100 places after collecting 60 points for reaching the final. He’s classified at no.111.

In the coming weeks, Gatt will be competing in a clay court event in the build-up to the Davis Cup which starts on May 5.