Behroozian stuns champion Al Gareeb

Dubai: The UAE's Omar Behroozian stunned GCC champion Mohammad Al Gareeb with a 6-4, 6-2 win but could not prevent his side's defeat.

The UAE lost to Kuwait in the men's section of the 19th GCC Teams' Tennis Championship.

Playing on the second day of the competition at the new Tennis Training Academy in Mirdiff, Behroozian was at his very best with regular breaks to get past Al Gareeb.

The former UAE national champion Mahmoud Nader, however, could not sustain the pressure as he caved in to a 6-0, 6-0 defeat against a promising Abdullah Magdas.

That pushed the encounter into the deciding doubles.

Nader and Behroozian did well to take the opening set 6-4. But the Kuwaiti pairing of Magdas and Al Gareeb fought back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-3 to successfully start the defence of their title.

On the opening day of the competition, the UAE had secured a hard-fought 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia, even as Bahrain went on to power their way past Oman 3-0.

But on the second day, it was a different story as Nader lost his match against Magdas 6-0, 6-0.

The loss severely dents the hopes of the hosts in having a crack at the title this time.

Had they got past Kuwait, the UAE would have had to ensure that they do not lose their matches against Bahrain and Oman.

The UAE's under 18 team too had a bad start as they went down 0-3 to defending champions Kuwait.

Bahrain started off on a winning note with a 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia.

In the boy's under 14 competition, the hosts showed they are among the favourites to defend their crown with a 3-0 win over Oman.

Kuwait too had started on a bright note with a 3-0 win over Oman on the first day, after which Bahrain scored a swift 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia.

The Kuwait juniors continued their good work with a 2-1 win against Bahrain, making the UAE their prime target in annexing the under 14 title.

The 19th GCC Teams' Tennis Championship is sponsored by Masafi, Pocari Sweat, National Bank of Dubai, Dubai Duty Free, Falak Holding and Al Bustan Residence and Apartments.

Results

(Men's) Kuwait bt UAE 2-1: Omar Behroozian bt Mohammad Al Gareeb 6-4, 6-2; Abdullah Magdas bt Mahmoud Nader 6-0, 6-0; Abdullah Magdas/Mohammad Al Gareeb bt Omar Behroozian/Mahmoud Nader 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Saudi Arabia bt Oman 3-0; the UAE bt Saudi Arabia 2-1; Bahrain bt Oman 3-0.

(Boys U 18) Kuwait bt the UAE; Bahrain bt Saudi Arabia 2-1.

(Boys U 14) Kuwait bt Oman 3-0; Bahrain bt Saudi Arabia 2-1; The UAE bt Oman 3-0; Kuwait bt Bahrain 2-1.