Thanks to the widely appreciated and hugely successful Capitala Community Cup, youngsters like Rikeetha and Alex Smith will get the chance to rub shoulders with the biggest stars of the tennis world at an exclusive session during the Capitala Tennis World Championship in Abu Dhabi from December 31, 2009 to January 2, 2010.
Beating the boys
For Rikeetha, it was not just the allure of meeting her dream players that drove her to playing well above herself. "There was extra motivation playing against boys of my age and beating them," she told XPRESS on the sidelines of the Under-12 matches at the Dubai Men's College. A student of the Indian High School, Rikeetha beat Alex 5-1 in the best-of-nine games final after having taken care of three other boys in the group stages and two more on the way to the final.
So who does she fancy meeting on D-Day in Abu Dhabi? "I want to meet Federer," she gushed.
Ten-year-old Alex, on his part, went one better than last year when he reached the semis and just missed out. And the left-handed Australian made his preferences clear as to who he would like to meet. "It has to be either, Nadal or Tsonga," he said, adding: "Nadal because he is a left-hander like me and Tsonga because he has a big serve like mine."
The turnout at the Dubai Men's College was impressive with youngsters from many schools, academies and nationalities vying for a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Eleven-year-old Belgian Bryce Pulings lives in Al Ain, studies at the English Speaking School and wants to be a mechanical engineer when he grows up. And while most of the youngsters pitched for Nadal as the player they wanted to meet, he opted for another Spaniard, who has since pulled out. "I love the way Verdasco plays. I would definitely have wanted to play him," he said.
The likes of Pulings, Thibault Souplet, Hamdy Esmail, Noah Williamson-Chapman may have missed out this time but they will surely have learnt a great deal from their experiences here.
