Ten-year-old Mikhail Cenon won the Mississippi Cabot Lodge Junior Qualifying Closed State Championship Monday morning at the Ridgeland Tennis Center.

The tournament title gives the Vicksburg tennis player enough points to climb to the No. 1 ranking in Mississippi for 10-and-under boys. It also qualifies him for the Southern Closed 10-and-under Championships in Lexington, S.C.

&#8220This was the biggest tournament in Mississippi, because it’s Level 1. By winning, it adds a lot of points, something like 660,” Mikhail Cenon said.

Cenon entered the Cabot Lodge Tournament ranked No. 2 in the state. He won all three matches in straight sets. His tournament in the 10-player draw began with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Davis Owen of Tunica on Saturday.

Cenon then beat Travis Bell of Jackson 6-2, 6-1 to earn a berth in the final.

On Monday in the championship match, he beat Brighton Lowther of Madison 6-1, 6-0.

&#8220He was hardly challenged at all,” said Ernesto Cenon, Mikhail’s dad.

Mikhail has been playing tennis since he was 7. He credits new pro Louis Steenkamp with his recent improvement. Steenkamp works under head pro Dave Randall.

Cenon is one of four local youth players to qualify for the Southern Closed Tournament in South Carolina that begins on June 17.

Charlene Figueroa, 10, had reached the state semifinals on Monday.

Older sisters Catherine and Christine Figueroa also qualified for the Southern Closed. Christine, 14, won in doubles in the 14-and-under draw.

Cenon will play this weekend at a tournament in Brookhaven.

&#8220He’ll be playing in the 12-14 year-old tournament,” Ernesto said. &#8220For the small tournaments, he plays up in age.

For the big tournaments, like this last one, he’ plays in the 10-year-old division.”

The Warren Central Intermediate student is currently ranked at No. 8 in Mississippi in the 12-under boys. He is ranked 14th in the South in the 10’s division.