"Being Spanish is no longer an excuse, but a responsibility," goes a Nike ad which aptly sums up the way Spaniards have approached this sporting year. European football crown, Carlos Sastre's Tour de France victory, Pau Gassol's exploits with the Los Angeles Lakers and not to forget Rafael Nadal and the all-conquering Spanish Davis Cup team minus Nadal.
Little wonder then that when a renowned Spanish tennis academy lands in Dubai for a high-performance camp, the response is overwhelming.
That's what Luis Miguel Reis, exclusive agent in Dubai for the Equelite Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy found out to his delight. Registration closed a month before the six-day camp started on December 18 despite the fee of Dh3,200 and the 40 lucky trainees were sure having a great time at the courts of Emirates Golf Club.
"We have been doing this for the past five years. This year, we have a couple of ITF juniors and two UAE national team juniors in Mohammad Al Janahi and Abdulrahman Al Janahi among the 40," Reis said.
Reis is accompanied in coaching by former Spanish doubles player Fransisco Martinez and the national under-16 coach Pablo Garcia and while the trio are pleased with the response, the standard of tennis in this part is not very encouraging, according to them.
"It's difficult to pursue your dreams beyond a certain level here. Thereafter you are on your own. The two UAE juniors are good and they will benefit from practising with the top ITF juniors, but for the other expat players who have a bigger dream, they have to move on," Reis said.
The academy also provides scholarships for six talented players who don't have the financial back-up to fund themselves. That apart, around 20-25 players are taken to the academy's headquarters in Villena, Spain during the summer for a two to six-week camp. "It's a wonderful experience for the youngsters. This July, we had Ferrero himself sparring with the youngsters. What an experience it must have been for them getting to hit balls against a former World No 1, Grand Slam champion and Davis Cup champion," Reis said.
One of the goals of the academy here in Dubai, as with most academies worldwide, is to identify promising players for more intensive training. "We know what the standard here is like, but we are still optimistic of finding talented youngsters who can make it big on the circuit. Once we have identified someone, we take him or her for a two-year stint to our academy in Spain," Reis said.
Mosquito bytes
- Known as Mosquito, Ferrero won the French Open title in 2003 and became the World No 1 later that year
- Currently No 55, Ferrero defeated co-Spaniard and current World No 1 Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters earlier this year
- Besides his academy, Ferrero owns a hotel next to his academy and is owner of the Valencia Open tennis tournament
- He also owns an 18-hole golf course next to his academy
Dubai bound
The Equelite Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy has plans to open a full-time centre in Dubai in the middle of next year. This will be on the lines of the one they opened in Cairo recently. "We also have plans to open two more centres in Mumbai and Shanghai to go along with the one in Dubai," Reis said.
Future prospect: Sophia hopes to emulate Jankovic
Serbian Sophia Sabljarevic is the lucky one this year as she will be going to Villena to train with the best for two years. And the 13-year-old is understandably thrilled. "I want to be a professional player and follow in the footsteps of Jelena Jankovic who is my idol," she said.
Reis has high hopes on Sophia and says she is as hardworking as they come. "The only thing is she has a single-fisted backhand and we encourage double-fisted, but it's too late to change that now," he said.
