Dubai: Roger Federer's victory at the ATP World Tour Finals would surely have pleased 12-year-old Christian Linge. Having modelled his game on the Swiss maestro right down to the single-handed backhand, the Norwegian earned himself the chance to meet his idol in a coaching clinic at the 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi from December 30 to January 1.
And while he still doesn't know whether it will be Federer who will conduct the clinic - he doesn't mind it being Robin Soderling either - Linge, who won the under-12 category of the Mubadala Community Cup in Dubai, believes he has finally put the disappointment of last year behind him.
"I broke a finger last year and couldn't take part, so making it this year was top priority," Linge told XPRESS.
Both the winner and the runner-up of the event will be in Abu Dhabi for the clinic and Linge, who beat Australian Alex Smith in the final, said: "I have been playing a few tournaments in the under-14 category since the under-12 category is too easy. I have been to four finals in the older category, so I was well prepared for this event."
Incidentally, the class VII student at Bradenton Prep practises in his own backyard in Jumeirah with his older brother Thomas Linge. "I want to be a pro and maybe a dentist as well since most of my family are into that," he said.
Unlike Linge, Smith has already rubbed shoulders with a tennis star, having been in a clinic with Soderling last year.
"I was runner-up last year too. We did drills, me and Soderling and I even lobbed him once," said the 11-year-old Class VI student of Wellington International. Smith, whose father is an Emirates pilot and whose mother works in the label company Stuck On You, had his own choice of players when asked who he would like to meet for the clinic. "Definitely Rafael Nadal or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga," he said.
Smith is trained by Roger Tyzzer, a former junior coach of Lleyton Hewitt and he too plans to go professional some day. "I'll probably head back to Australia when I am 17 or 18 to pursue my tennis interests," he said.
Ten-year-old Emile Reas Brand was not so lucky but he had enough reason to be happy with his performance. "I came all the way from Oman just to take part in this tournament. We hardly have any tournaments there and playing against these older guys was a great experience for me," the South African said.
While the boys dominated proceedings, 11-year-old Rai Sengupta flew the flag for the girls. "I have played against guys before and I have had it easy against most of them," said the Standard VI student of Dubai Scholars, who managed to impress despite not qualifying.
