Sfar looks for confidence boost

Dubai: Selima Sfar, the Arab's region's highest ranked women's tennis player aims to embark on a confidence boosting exercise before she represents her country at this year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Getting my motivation back is a priority at the moment and the faster it comes the better it will be," Sfar said after her 6-1, 6-3 loss to Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko in the first round at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships yesterday.

Coach

"I have been struggling with my singles game, and though I keep working hard, the results have not been coming," said the 30-year-old. To start with Sfar, who is now based in Paris, has been on tour without a coach. "And finding a good coach is difficult and very expensive," she said. "So for the moment, I will target some of the smaller tournaments like the $25,000 and $50,000 and see how many I can win so as to build up on my confidence," Sfar stated.

However, her next event will take her to Indian Wells after which she will try and see how she can step down on some smaller events on tour.

"I need to see how things stand by the end of the year before I decide which direction my career is headed," she added.