UAE win doubles title at Gulf Cup

Dubai: The UAE pairing of Faisal Bastaki and Rashid Bushaqer Al Falasi picked up the first medal for their country when they won the boy's under-18 doubles at the Gulf Youth Tennis Cup being played in Bahrain.

Going into the final, the top-seeded UAE pair waged a grim battle before settling for a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) win against the second-seeded pair of Abdul Rahman Al Awadi and Mohammad Al Shati of Kuwait.

"This is just a confirmation that we are headed in the right direction," Tennis Emirates Technical Director Slah Bramly told Gulf News.

However, both UAE players faltered in the singles semifinals with Al Falasi going down to Al Awadhi in three sets 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 and second-seeded Bastaki upset by the unseeded Al Shati 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 to set up an all-Kuwaiti final.

"We are bridging the gap between the UAE and a leading tennis nation like Kuwait. Even the results in the singles indicate a similar trend and it is a good sign for us as such a thing has not happened in previous years," Bramly added.

The fight for the boy's under-14 title will also be an all-Kuwaiti affair with top seed Nasser Al Obaidli meeting countryman and second seed Abdul Hameed Al Shati.

The UAE still stands a chance for another medal following Fatma Abbas Al Janahi's fourth straight win in the girls under-14 section. In her last encounter, Al Janahi secured an emphatic 6-0, 6-0 win against Qatari Fatima Al Ali. Her final round-robin match will be against Basel Ola also from Qatar to decide the gold medallist in this category.