Sunday, May 08, 2011

Gulf News

Fujairah The UAE’s top player Omar Behroozian earned the right to challenge former top-100 player Peter Wessels from the Netherlands in the final of the 2011 Shaikh Zayed Cup being held at Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort Fujairah.

Behroozian bettered Oman’s Mohammad Al Nabhani 6-3, 6-2 in one semi-final while Wessels had a tougher outing as he got past Australian Sebastian Swierk 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1 in the other semi-final to set up a mouth-watering title clash in this annual tournament with a total prize money purse of Dh25,000.

Later, Behroozian teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Al Sa’ad to get the better of Wessels and Swierk 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 and win the doubles crown. The UAE’s top player, who has been a regular feature in the nation’s Davis Cup squad, was pleased with the way he has made a comeback to regular competitive tennis in the region following a lengthy knee injury that kept him out for nearly one season.

Confidence boost

“This win in the doubles is a definite confidence boost for me ahead of our Davis Cup next month,” Behroozian told Gulf News.

“The idea now is to maintain the momentum and see how well I can match up to a former top-100 player in the final,” he added.

Behroozian was effusive in his praise for the organisers of the Shaikh Zayed Cup led by Khalid Al Ali and Le Meridien’s Patrick Antaki. “By far, this is a tournament that one feels like playing on a regular basis simply because it is so well organised,” Behroozian said.

“And the timing is perfect for us as we can carry forward this form into the Davis Cup that is bound to be a tough campaign,” he added.

Seeded number two in this competition, Behroozian was also happy with the way his other Davis Cup team-mates were progressing. “Mahmoud [Nader Al Beloushi] has been in good touch and he showed this by reaching the quarter-finals, and Hamad [Abbas Al Janahi] has shown tremendous enthusiasm to give his best on court despite being away from the team while studying in the US,” Behroozian said.

By Alaric Gomes?Senior Reporter

Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.