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Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum, President, tennis Emirates with Ibrahim Abdul Malik and Ahmed Abdul Malik looks on as Dusan Orlandic, general manager, Tennis Federation of Serbia and Sara Ahmad Baker sign a memorandum of understanding in Dubai. Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Dubai: Shaikh Hasher Maktoum, Dubai Director of Information and President of Tennis Emirates (TE), has hailed the strategic tie-up with the Serbian Tennis Federation (STF) as “the best step in the right direction”.

Moments after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dusan Orlandic, General Manager, STF, Shaikh Hasher said that the UAE can be hopeful of a player at the Grand Slams in a few years’ time based on this exchange between the two associations.

TE signed a similar MoU with the Saudi Arabia Tennis Federation in February as part of the Board of Directors’ strategy till 2016. The General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) has been the coordinating body for the agreements.

As per the agreement, the tennis bodies will exchange ideas and expertise at various levels, including coaching, grassroots development, community tennis and a special emphasis on women’s tennis and tennis for the disabled.

“The idea is to have our players on the world stage. In the past, we have proved ourselves on the Gulf stage, the Arab stage and the Asian stage and now in a matter of time we can have some of our stars playing even at the Grand Slams,” Shaikh Hasher told Gulf News.

“It is our hope to have at least a few players at the international level. We have a group of very talented youngsters and having one or a few of them playing at the highest level is a dream for all of us. This is a long-term plan, not a thing that can be accomplished over one year. But the good thing is that we are ready for the long haul,” he promised.

Orlandic, whose country boasts of top tennis stars such as Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki in the men’s section and former world No.1s Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic in the women’s, said both countries stood to benefit from a venture of this kind. “The key to success for such an effort is hard work, desire, passion and motivation and we can get promising juniors coming through the system. We have ample of experience in this sector and I am sure tennis in the UAE will benefit,” he said.

“Having the knowledge is yet another important element and I feel confident we can go a long way together with this agreement,” he added.

Representing GAYSW, Ebrahim Abdul Malek promised to oversee the programme that could take tennis in the UAE to the next level. “They have a successful youth development programme and the UAE stands to benefit a lot from them. I am sure we are headed in the right direction,” Abdul Malek said.