Dubai: The UAE's Hamad Abbas Al Janahi hopes to carry forward his Dubai experience into a busy tennis season that will climax with the country's Davis Cup fixture in the middle of April.
"This has been a great learning experience and I hope I can carry this forward so that we can gain a re-entry into Group III of Davis Cup for next season," Al Janahi told Gulf News after going down in straight sets to Japan's Tatsuma Ito in the first round qualifiers for the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open.
Since the past few years, the youngster, only 21, has been one of the mainstays of the UAE's campaign in Davis Cup. Last year the country slipped back into Group IV of Asia-Oceania.
However, with the preparations getting under way towards this major competition to be held in Qatar in April, Al Janahi is hopeful he can come up with a much improved performance and see the UAE back into Group III.
But his next step will be the ITF Futures starting at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club from March 4 followed by similar tournaments in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. "So these tournaments will be part of my preparations for the Davis Cup and I hope to get the maximum out of these to take my game to the next level," Al Janahi disclosed.
Things have not been all that easy for the country's tennis squad as the UAE players have struggled to find their rhythm, be it at the Gulf and Arab levels or the higher stage. "I had no match confidence as the last time I played was at the Arab Games in Qatar in December. I was struggling on my forehand and by the time I actually started gaining confidence the match was over," Al Janahi rued.
"But there are positives that I can take forward. For the time-being my attention is to get fitter on my legs and get some good results during the ITF events," he added.
