Dubai: The UAE’s Omar Behroozian gets another opportunity to cement his status as the face of tennis for the country after being handed out a wild card entry as the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open celebrates its silver jubilee next week.
This will be the tenth time — the first came way back in 2001 — that Dubai Duty Free, the owners and organisers of the tournament, are handing out a wild card entry to the 35-year-old Behroozian.
“It has always been our endeavour to promote tennis at the local grassroots level. And handing out a wild card to Omar has always been among our priorities as we realise the impact he has as a player among the local tennis community,” Salah Tahlak, tournament director, Dubai Tennis Championships told Gulf News.
“Over the years, Omar has tried his best to match some of the best players in the world. Perhaps, this year can be special for Omar and for tennis in the UAE if he can manage to enter the second round of the competition,” he added.
Making his Davis Cup debut for the UAE in 1996, Behroozian has been the mainstay of the sport in the country. And despite being sidelined occasionally with injuries, Behroozian seems to have hit solid form of late with the UAE player claiming the singles crown at the GCC Tennis Championships held in December 2016.
“The annual tournament has been one long experience for me. It’s been tough at most times, but it is also an enjoyable experience I have cherished as I’ve always landed playing against some of the best top-50 players in the world. All thanks to the Dubai Duty Free, and I can only promise that I will get better with time,” Behroozian said.
“2016 was a very good year for me with the GCC Men’s title definitely a highlight. But like during the past, now comes the real challenge for me. I have to ensure I am at peak form so that I portray tennis as a sport in the UAE,” he added.
Behroozian has faced some of the best tennis players during the previous nine occasions, prominent among them being former British No.1 Tim Henman. Behroozian hit his best form in the middle of July 2003 as he rose to a career best No.805. But injuries at crucial stages of his career saw the UAE player end 2016 at N0.1648.
“Tennis has been my life and I have always given a 100 per cent for the game,” Behroozian insists.
“Last year was memorable. And even though I have not figured at the tournament I have had the pleasure of sharing a tennis court during practice alongside players such as Roger [Federer] Rafael [Nadal] and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. This tournament saw me thrown at the deep end of the pool when I was just 19 years old [in his match against Henman]. But I have managed to stay afloat and decide on my course,” he added.
“The past years have given me experience at the highest level. I have become very realistic as I put less pressure on myself. This year I don’t have any points to defend, so perhaps I can achieve the goal of winning at least one match in the Dubai tournament,” he added.
