Francesca Curmi won the San Michel U-18 international tournament at the Tennis Club Kordin, played recently.

Making her first appearance in a tournament in Malta since recovering from injury, the 14-year-old player showed remarkable mental strength and consistency to secure victory in the prestigious competition.

The last Maltese player to win the Under 18 international tournament was Kimberley Cassar back in 2009.

In the girls singles, Krysta Dimech and Rachel Grech Flores bowed out in the opening qualifying rounds of the tournament, leaving Curmi as the only Maltese girl flying the flag in the main draw.

In the first round, she eased past Italian Giulia Brighi 6-2 6-0 before passing a much tougher test in the shape of Ukrainian eighth seed Yaroslava Gadiatska 7-6(4) 7-6(5).

Next up for Curmi was Russian 10th seed Anna Lytneva and she scored another straight sets win – 6-4 6-0.

In the quarter-finals, unseeded Latvian Mariia Semenistaja proved no match for Curmi who recorded a 6-2 6-1 win.

Curmi was up against Slovenian seventh seed Pia Lovric in the last four but she was not overwhelmed and powered to a 6-4 6-0 victory.

Curmi reserved her best for the final where she upset Latvian top seed Daria Semenistaja 6-3 6-4 to lift the trophy.

Malta Tennis Federation president David Farrugia Sacco presented the trophies to the winners and runners-up.

Curmi is planning to take part in more ITF junior ranking tournaments this year and will be under the guidance of Czech coach Ivana Kubickova.

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