ALBAIK Team Tennis Challenge 2012 starts with a bang

JEDDAH: Living up to expectations as a premier sports organizer, the Association of Tennis Clubs (Astec) Jeddah successfully opened its 24th tournament dubbed 4th ALBAIK Team Tennis Challenge 2012. Starting the event was the parade of the participating teams and Astec Chairman Randy Martin welcoming everyone to the affair.
Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah was the chief guest.
Also present was Albaik Food Systems PR Manager Bassam Al Seyofi, who thanked the organizers for giving them the opportunity to sponsor the event for the fourth successive year and wished all participants the best during the tournament.
Special awards were then given to participating teams with the best uniform and the winners are: Hitec-Hidada for category C, ABTC for category B2, Saudia Catering for category LMx and DJ Autoparts for category MMx.
Adding spice to the event were raffle draws where Albaik food coupons were given away along with the main prizes of Prince tennis bags and tennis rackets courtesy of Deltaz Marketing (Racquet Shop). Also, Dr. Jethro Fajardo and his team from Al Raddadi Clinic provided free medical consultation to everyone.
A highlight of the opening day was an exhibition match featuring the top caliber tennis pair Rico Gonzales and Gio Morte against the duo of Mohammad Salahuddin and Dilson Autentico. It was dominated early on by Salahuddin and Autentico as they broke Morte’s serve to post a 2-1 lead at change ends. Autentico then held serve to lead 3-1 as Gonzales held serve to narrow the gap at 2-3. It was a tight game as they ended up tied at 9-9 to force a tiebreak.
At 5-5 during tie-break, Morte double-faulted to give the lead to the serving Autentico 6-5 who then served for the match in the ensuing play which his partner Salahuddin cornered in the net to produce the point and win the match at 10-9 (7-5).
This tournament is organized by the Association of Tennis Clubs (Astec) Jeddah in partnership with Albaik Food Systems Co. as major sponsor through Al Seyofi and Marketing Coordinator Mahmoud Al Jaber. Also supporting the event is Deltaz Marketing (Racquet Shop) through the Head of Retail Dept. Maher Al Tebakhi and Branch Manager Amin Malik. Providing medical and emergency assistance is Al Raddadi Clinic arranged through their Marketing Manager Ahmad Abdulrahman and Tony Bustamante.