Champion Jan Hernych (left) and his close friend Jan Minar

Number one seed Jan Hernych beat unseeded Jan Minar 7-6 6-4 in the final of the Jersey International men's singles at the Les Ormes venue.

It was a typically close encounter for the finalists, who are close friends and both from Prague.

British girl Ana Smith, who had to come through the qualifiers, lost her singles final to Sweden's Johanna Larsen 6-2 6-3.

But her consolation was winning the doubles with Maret Ani from Estonia.

The men's final contained some impressive and lengthy rallies, and both sets were very close before Hernych was able to justify his top seeding in this €42,500 tournament.

Congratulations to Jo, she just played too well for me. Ana Smith, the only British singles finalist

But as he explained to BBC Jersey, matches against his close friend tend to be like that.

"We know each other very well because we played together for many years in the First Czech Lawn Tennis Club, so it's great for our club that we both made the final."

Ana Smith was just happy to have spent much longer in Jersey than she had anticipated, despite losing out in the women's singles final of the $25,000 ITF event.

"It's been a good and long week for me, I'm really happy to get to the final," she said. "Congratulations to Jo, she just played too well for me."

The venue at Les Ormes will shortly be losing half its courts, which are being converted into an indoor football facility.

This tournament was the last featuring both men and women, and it is not yet known whether single sex tournaments of similar ranking can be brought here.

Organiser Hugh Raymond gave the crowd at the final yesterday the latest situation. "I have nothing new for you," he said, "but we are working very hard to secure future international tournaments."

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