Dubai: At least six emirati players stand a chance of making it to the play-offs for the Dubai qualifiers at the inaugural Dubai Padel Masters that is being played at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

In Friday’s second round of qualifiers, Emirati players Mohammad Al Mansouri, Saeed Al Marri, Hassan Sharif, Eisa Al Marzouqi, Rashid Al Falasi and Omar Sharif all ensured they advanced towards a spot in the main draw of the competition.

Omar Sharif teamed up with experienced Javier Molina to secure their second win with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Yazan Al Kassem and Chakib Jmai to set a meeting with second seeds Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios, easy 6-0, 6-1 winners over the pairing of Shaikh Saeed Bin Hasher Al Maktoum and Mohammad Al Janahi.

Saeed Al Merri and Hassan Sharif were also in good form as they got the better of Thomas Praming and Alan Douglas 6-2, 6-3, while Eisa Al Marzouqi and Rashid Bushaqar Al Falasi dug in deep to defeat the pairing of Javier Ferrer and Miguel Manzanas 7-5, 6-3.

Mohammed Al Mansouri was the last of the UAE players to go through as he teamed up with Guillermo Villafane to beat Juan Reyna and Ignacio Valenzuela 6-3, 6-4 and advance to a meeting with Dirk Jan and Benjamin Cassaigne.

Meanwhile, most of the outstation international players are scheduled to land in Dubai by Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday. The qualifying will take a one-day break on Saturday to enable the outstation players some training time before the start of the main draw from 4 pm on Sunday. The qualifying play-offs will also be held on Sunday evening.

Sharif, a former UAE national team member was pleased with his entry into the third round of qualifying. “The goal for us now is that we need to take two more steps and be in the main draw. We have worked hard on court to ensure we play to our strengths,” Sharif told Gulf News.

Sharif and Molina raced off with the first set 6-1 and then an early break gave the Emirati-Spanish pair a 2-0 cushion. But Al Kassem and Jmai broke to pull one back at 1-3, before Sharif and Molina took the set and match 6-1 to ensure a third round meeting with Misas and Rios, their team-mates from the Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum padel team.

“It’s not going to be an easy match, but we’ve got to just look at things one match at a time and give off our best,” Sharif said.