The UAE's Faisal Bastaki battled past countryman Khalid Al Hassani to clinch the under-14 West Asia Tennis Championships which concluded in Amman, Jordan, late on Wednesday.
This was the second straight success for Bastaki, following his title-triumph at the GCC Championships earlier this year.
"This moment is like a dream-come-true for me. The feeling of flying the UAE flag in a distant land makes this effort all the more satisfying," Bastaki said upon his arrival at the Dubai International Airport yesterday evening.
"This has been an amazing few days for me personally, and for UAE tennis," he added.
Bastaki's claim on the title to come out as the best junior in West Asia was not easy though.
After trailing Al Hassani by a set, he waged a superb fightback to win the next two sets to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
"I knew it would be tough as Khalid is such a fine player," Bastaki stated.
"And I did not want to put too much of pressure on myself as the title would come to the UAE. That may be one the reasons why I relaxed a bit too much in the first set," Bastaki recounted.
However, after that reversal he pulled back and took the next two sets and the crown.
"I really cannot express how happy I feel deep inside," Bastaki said.
"So much of hard work has gone into reaching this stage," he added.
Besides Bastaki and Al Hassani, young Rashid Bushaqar was also a member of the three-member junior squad attending the training camp conducted by the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) in Amman.
"The idea of having a training camp followed by a real competition among the best players from the region is really good," Bushaqar said.
The West Asia Tennis Championship attracted 29 of the best juniors from the region including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the six GCC countries.
Down, but not out following his defeat to a superior opponent, Al Hassani said that he has many lessons to draw from this competition.
"For one, this definitely means that the UAE has among the best crop of juniors in the region," Al Hassani observed.
"It also means that we have to work hard to stay there now," he added.
The UAE junior squad was scheduled to travel for a couple of junior ITF competitions in Tunisia, early this morning.
Gulf News
