TENNIS – TOP tennis professionals from across the region are in the kingdom to compete in the fourth edition of the Arab Masters Tennis Tournament, which gets underway today at Public Security Officers Club in Manama.
Sixteen players flying the flags of nine countries, spearheaded by defending champion and current world number 227 Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia, are taking part in the event, which is being hosted by Bahrain for the first time.
It is being organised and run by the Arab Tennis Federation (ATF) in cooperation with the Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF). Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) and KGL are the sponsors.
A Press conference was held yesterday at InterContinental Bahrain to announce details of the championship. In attendance were ATF secretary general Ali Lafi Al Mutairi, BTF secretary general Fuad Al Rowaie, and Bahraini referee Ahmed Al Hawaj, among other officials.
The draw to determine the match-ups for the first round was also held.
“We have top Arab players competing in this tournament – we’re talking about some big names from Africa and Asia, who are of very good quality,” Al Mutairi told the GDN.
“Bahrain have bid to host the event this year and we aim to give a chance to all Arab countries.
“We look forward to seeing plenty of good tennis over the coming days, and we invite all Bahraini fans to come and support the players.”
A cool $10,000 will be pocketed by the champion at the end of four days of play on Sunday, while cash prizes will also be awarded to other top finishers.
Participation in this tournament has been limited to Arab players with the highest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings, while the ATF has granted hosts Bahrin two wild cards, which the BTF has awarded to national team star Elyas Abdulredha and Saudi Arabian player Ammar Alhogbani. There are also two ITF juniors in the field.
Dougaz is the tournament’s top seed and he is looking forward to defending his crown.
“This is my first time playing in Bahrain, it’s nice to be here and it’s good preparation to start the season – happy to get some matches in and try my best,” Dougaz told the GDN.
“I won this tournament last year in Qatar, so there is less pressure this time because I’ve already done it.
“The field is good this year, most of the Arab players are getting better, and the level is getting better, which is good. These kinds of tournaments are nice for us Arab players – they give us extra money, we need it very much because the tour is super expensive and all the players need that boost.”
The other players seeded from second through eighth, respectively, in Bahrain are Hazeem Naw (current ATP ranking 328th) from Syria, Mohamed Safwat (467th) from Egypt, Moez Echargui (499th) and Aziz Ouakaa (658th) from Tunisia, Samir Hamza Reguig (699th) from Algeria, Taha Baadi (763rd) from Morocco, and Mohamed Nazim (1,091st) from Algeria.
The rest of the participating players are Toufik Sahtali of Algeria, Fadi Bidan of Lebanon, Karim Ibrahim and Karim Mabrook of Egypt, Alaa Trifi of Tunisia, and Mohamed Alkotop of Jordan.
Dougaz is set to take on Alkotop in the first round, while Naw will face Bidan. Safwat will take on Sahtali, Echargui will play Abdulredha, Ouakaa will take on Mabrook, Reguig will face Ibrahim, Baadi will play Trifi, and Nazim will go up against Alhogbani.
“It’s going to be really good competition,” added Dougaz, who is scheduled to play in the Australian Open next month. “To play against each other and to practice all week, it can only improve our level.
“I want to defend my title, and if I win, I’ll be super happy.”
Matches are scheduled to begin from 2pm today. All are welcome to attend and watch the action. Entry is free.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh