Omar Behrouzian confirmed his status as the best tennis player in the region by winning the Men’s Open Final of Abu Dhabi Wilson Tennis Cup presented by Healthpoint.
The UAE number one proved he is still the master, beating former student 19-year-old Iranian youngster Amirvala Madanchi in straight sets, 6-3 6-0, in a hard-fought final on Court One at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City.
“It was a very tough final and I am delighted to have won,” he said. “I know Amir very well, we have practiced together and I actually coached him for a few months. It is tough when you play someone you know very well, because there are no secrets.
“I knew the pressure was on me too, but I dealt with it well. The first set was pretty tight at 4-3, but after I won the first set I felt very comfortable.”
The turning point of the match came in the first game of the second set when Madanchi lost his service game having been at 40-0.
The talented Iranian fought hard to get back into the game with some powerful baseline play, but Behrouzian’s experience and level-headedness made the difference.
“There is always pressure, but I was very cool and calm the whole way,” he added. “This week has been about dealing with the pressure because I have been the favourite and also dealing with the conditions. It was very windy today and very sunny, experience teaches you how to deal with those things better.”
Reflecting on the tournament he said, “This is the best tournament around. It is very well organised, there is a great atmosphere around and you get too see a lot of talented young players.
“I will definitely come back next year and try to defend my title.”
In the Ladies Open Final Magali De Lattre successfully defended her title against prodigious 17-year-old Sanjana Sudhir, winning a very close and entertaining match 6-4 6-4.
Special mention must go to Karim Najia who, at just 13-years-old, won the Boys under 16 and under 18 competitions.
An awards ceremony brought to a close a fantastic three weeks of tennis at Zayed Sports City during which 512 players, from 7-year-olds to open age, competed across singles and doubles Open and Cup sections in the UAE's biggest amateur tennis event which broke new records for a numbers of players in a single tournament in the UAE.
The awards were given by Barry Bremner, General Manager, Zayed Sports City, who paid tribute to all the competitors: “Tennis is a sport with tremendous growth potential in the UAE and we are proud to be able to host such terrific, ground-breaking events at Zayed Sports City
“I’d like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone who played for making this another record-breaking tournament.
“I’d like to thanks Healthpoint and Wilson for their support and PSS-Emirates for the fantastic organisation.”
WINNERS LIST:
Men's Open: Omar Behrouzian
Ladies Open: Magali De Lattre
Men's Doubles Open: Depla Dries + Mhar Joseph
Women's Doubles Open: Zaric Dragana + Perez Rosa
Mixed Doubles Open: Sanjana Sudhir + Sigi Meeuws
Men’s Cup: Amr Hazem
Ladies Cup: Rai Sengupta
Men’s Doubles Cup: Roshan Razik + Rajesh Kumar
Ladies Doubles Cup: Carmen Soodroo + Carolina Benia
Men’s Singles Veteran: Morhaf Al Ahmed
Women’s Singles Veteran: Danielle Mailhot
Boys 18s: Karim Najia
Girls 18s: Rabines Luciana
Boys 16s: Karim Najia
Boys 14s: Patrick Wong
Girls 14s: Anaya Singh
Boys 12s: Amir Rakhimov
Girls 12s: Sriram Deepshika
Under 10s: Adham Salhab
Under 9s: Shayan Shahid
Under 8s: Aruna Alimbetova
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