Dubai: The UAE's best tennis player has called for an urgent search for a third player for the nation's Davis Cup squad if they are to reach their potential in the future.
"From the onset we need to focus on our goals for the next season, and perhaps the most important thing would be to get a third member capable of matching a certain level on the Davis Cup squad of the UAE," Omar Behroozian told Gulf News after landing at Dubai International Airport from Doha on Sunday.
Behroozian, 30, won all five of his singles matches at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex last week to lead the UAE to one of two spots on offer in Group III of the Davis Cup's Asia/Oceania Zone for the 2013 season.
Hamad Abbas Al Janahi also did well, losing just one of his five singles matches during the week, as the UAE and Cambodia booked their places in Group III for next season. Behroozian has been a mainstay in the national squad in their annual Davis Cup fixtures for well over a decade now. But the UAE player still feels he can sustain his game for the next few years, provided there are other players willing to step in and shoulder some of the burden.
"I am the top player on the squad and Hamad [Abbas Al Janahi, 11 years his junior] is getting back to his level. What we need now, and urgently, is a third player who will be capable of playing at a level where we can compete, either to stay put in Group III or seek a promotion into Group II," Behroozian said.
The paucity in the national squad has been such that this year the UAE had to travel with fresh faces like Saud Al Ali and Abdul Rahman Al Janahi. Faisal Bastaki is studying in Ireland, while Khalid Al Hassaini is busy with his police training course that is scheduled to end later this year.
"That leaves us with very few options and one of these is to find a third solid player as soon as we can. After that we need to set our goals and use the entire season pursuing these goals," Behroozian said. "Honestly, the UAE is good enough for Group III and our main goal now is to stay there for a couple of years."
