Malta champion Matthew Asciak reached the quarter-finals of the Wilson ITF Junior Classic last weekend where he was eliminated by eventual winner Josef Kovalik, of Slovakia.

The tournament, with an entry card of over 300 players, split in the qualifying rounds and main draw, was played in Bergheim, Austria. It is considered among the major competitions for junior players.

On his way to the quarter-finals, Asciak, sponsored by Lufthansa, had successfully negotiated four rounds. He beat Fredrik Ask (Norway) 6-1 6-2; Franco Picco (Italy) 6-2 6-4; Daniel Spurny (Germany) 6-4 6-1 and Peter Heller (Germany) 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Asciak started his quarter-final against Kovalik in fine fashion and won the first set 6-0. However, the Slovak hit back strongly to secure a place in the last four with set scores of 6-2 6-3. In the final, Kovalik beat Poland's Piotr Gadomski 6-2 6-4.

Before travelling to Austria, Asciak conducted a mini-training camp in Palermo at the TC2 Tennis Club. He practised with Roberta Vinci, the 60th seed in the WTA list. The latter was in the final phase of her build-up to the Australian Open, currently being played in Melbourne.

Asciak's next tournament on the junior ITF circuit will be in Sfax, Tunisia, between February 5 and 10.

This will be followed by a similar ITF event at the Marsa Sports Club between March 24 and 30. In the run-up to the tournament in Malta, Asciak will receive the assistance of a top player or coach from TC2 Tennis Club.