Sport | Tennis
Mixed fortunes for UAE at GCC Championships in Fujairah
The UAE squad ran into mixed luck at the GCC Boy's Under-18 and Under-14 Tennis Championships that got under way at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club on Saturday.
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:08 February 18, 2008
Dubai: The UAE squad ran into mixed luck at the GCC Boy's Under-18 and Under-14 Tennis Championships that got under way at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club on Saturday.
In the Under-18s, the UAE duo of Hamad Abbas Al Janahi and Rashid Bushaqar came up with powerful performances for identical whitewash wins, but their team members in the Under-14 event all lost their opening-round encounters.
Playing in his final year in the juniors of this competition, Al Janahi, who is the top seed here, had an effortless outing with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Mohammad Shatti.
Shatti had started off well with a rousing 6-0, 6-0 victory against Mohammad Al Janahi, but he failed to come up with the same consistency against the more experienced UAE team member.
Bushaqar, who is playing his first competition in the Under-18s as a preparation for future tournaments, was also dominant with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Abdul Aziz Al Rajeh of Saudi Arabia.
"I am aware that there is a bit of pressure on me for being the top seed in this tournament," Al Janahi told Gulf News.
"I want to stay focused and ensure I win this competition this year.
Promoted
Ammar Behroozian, another sub-junior who has been promoted to the junior side, did not have luck on his side as he crashed 6-0, 6-0 against Rashid Al Abidly of Bahrain, while Fujairah youngster Abdullah Al Ali gave it his best shot before going down 7-6 (5), 7-5 against Khalifa Rashdan of Bahrain. Al Ali was leading 5-2 in the second set, but Rashdan suddenly came alive and took the next five games on the trot to come away an easy winner.
All the UAE Under-14 players ended on the losing side with Majid Bushaqar possibly being the only one to put up a fight before going down in three sets - 4-6, 7-6 (5), 2-6 - against Ayman Mohammad Jaafar of Bahrain.
Abdul Hamid Al Shatti made short work of Abdul Rahman Al Janahi 7-5, 6-4, Talal Al Naama breezed past Saud Al Ali 6-0, 6-2 and Mohammad Hamji beat Mohammad Al Fardan 6-3, 6-1.
The Under-14 competition has all six Gulf countries participating, while the Under-18 tournament has only four, with Qatar and Oman the two not fielding teams.
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