The UAE powered their way to two fine wins on the opening day of the GCC Under-14 Tennis Championship, being held in neighbouring Muscat.
The UAE, who ended tied in second place along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last year, powered their way to convincing 3-0 wins against Qatar and Bahrain.
In their opening encounter, the UAE defeated Bahrain 3-0, while they secured a similar result against Qatar in their second match.
Faisal Bastaki gave the UAE the best of starts with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Bahrain's Khalid Fakhru. Teammate Khalid Al Hassani then breezed past Rashid Yousuf 6-2, 6-1.
In the doubles, Bastaki and Hassani proved too strong for their Bahraini opponents with a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash.
In their second match, Bastaki put the UAE on a sound track with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Mohammad Salah Al Shemmeri.
Al Hassani then put the issue beyond doubt with a 6-3, 7-5 verdict against Abdulla Al Shemmeri.
In the doubles, the UAE pairing dropped a set before winning 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 to the Al Shemmeri brothers.
Kuwait, too, stayed on course to regain the title with two wins.
In their first match, Kuwait defeated hosts Oman 3-0 and then cruised past Saudi Arabia 3-0.
The UAE are scheduled to play Saudi Arabia today. They will face Kuwait to possibly decide the title on Wednesday after tomorrow's rest day.
Results: UAE bt Bahrain 3-0; Qatar bt Saudi Arabia 2-1; Kuwait bt Oman 3-0; UAE bt Qatar 3-0; Kuwait bt Saudi Arabia 3-0; Bahrain bt Oman 3-0.
