Sharjah: Top seed Alexandra Dulgheru will face a possible second round clash against the Czech Republic's Nicole Vaidisova following the singles draw for the 11th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge to be held this week.
The draw was held at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa yesterday afternoon, but with the weather playing up with incessant rains, this annual competition could be headed towards a late final this year.
Attending the draw ceremony were officials and sponsors including Thomas Ferrand and Mohammad Bin Tarraf from Emirates NBD, Manu Madan, general manager, Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa, Mark Abou Diwan from AMC and tournament consultant Hani Al Khafief with tournament director, Farid Al Jayyussi.
"There's barely anything that we can do about this weather," Al Khafief told Gulf News.
"We can only hope and expect the rains to stop and clear out as soon as possible for the qualifying to get under way later today," he added.
However, that did not seem possible as rains continued through a major part of the day forcing players to stay in their rooms.
Considering all this, Al Khafief did not rule out the possibility of having the finals on Sunday, instead of on a Saturday. "We are behind on the qualifying schedule and we need to get those out of the way first so that the main draw matches can get under way," Al Khafief said.
This year's draw has thrown forward many an interesting encounter with the top seed Dulgheru and comeback girl Vaidisova setting up a possible meeting in the second round at the upper end of the draw.
However, Dulgheru will have to first account for Hungary's Aniko Kapros in her first round, while Vaidisova takes on another Hungarian, Katalin Marosi in her first round encounter.
Third seed Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, who is making her second appearance at this tournament, will be up against wild card Jara Ghadri, the German girl with Syrian roots. While Sarah Moundir of Switzerland, a second wild card winner, will face either one of the four qualifiers coming through or a lucky loser.
