THE Qatar Tennis Federation, headed by former national player Nasser bin Ghanim al Khelaifi, has long been nurturing a dream of getting its players into the ATP events on their merits and achievements, not through wild cards or qualifying rounds.
It has been investing a lot of money into events, both at the local and international levels, and schemes to raise the level of its players. The QTF has also created the facilities for the players, which are one of the best in the world. The local players are not only getting opportunities to play a series of domestic tournaments, they are being sent abroad on regular basis to hone their skills.
A male tennis player has to work his way into the ATP circuit through the Futures and Challengers series events first. Some of the biggest names like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal all have risen through the ranks and files before enshrining their places in sports history.
If we scrutinize the local players and their performances during the just-organised three back-to-back Futures tournaments at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the results leave a lot to be desired.
If asked to summarise the display by the Qatari youngsters in one line, it will be, without being harsh on anyone they have a very long, long way still to go.
Mousa Shannan Zayed is one of the four national players who are being groomed for the future. He redeemed himself a bit as he could clear merely one round in the singles contest. It was in the second Futures Tournament when he came from behind to oust Bahrain’s Ayman Jaffar in three sets. His next challenger was seventh seed Francois-Arhtur Vibert and lost to the French in straight sets by 2-6 2-6.
Apart from Zayed, highlyrated Jabor al Mutawa failed to impress. He was beaten in the first match by Marko Danis of Slovakia by 0-6 2-6.
In the next tournament, French Laurent Malouli defeated him by 6-0 6-2. He wound up with a 1-6 0-6 loss to Italian qualifier Matteo Donati.
Another depressing fact was that no player barring Zayed could even force a three-setter against any rival in the main rounds. Almost the same story continued even in the qualifying rounds of the third and fourth Futures tournaments when there were more players of higher levels in the fray to pick points and fight for the title.
It was in the first Futures tournament this year that the Qatari players had enjoyed some success. As many as six entered in the qualifying rounds and three of them, including the former Qatari No 1 Sultan Khalfan, made it to the main draw.
The 35-year-old Khalfan must be lauded for still maintaining himself as a strong competitor. First, he defeated compatriot Ali al Saygh. Then in the next match, he held off Slovak Miroslav Kleman to book a slot in the main round where he lost the first match fighting against Algerian Mehdi Bouras 4-6 3-6.
The coaching patterns and how the players are taking these coaching sessions have to be analysed minutely. Also the efforts should be made to raise the standards of the domestic events. If there is a tough competition to win a title, it would certainly shape and educate the new crop of players about how to survive at the court and emerge as the winner.
Some may argue that the Qatari players are very young and the level of the Futures events is very high.
Most of our players have been hitting the ball around for about seven to eight years. Now is the high time they start delivering some satisfying results, instead of losing so tamely.
Local players Qualifying round: Jaber al Marri, Sultan Khalfan, Ahmed al Ali all into main round, Ali al Saygh, Jassim al Mulla, Abdulla al Jufairi all lost in the qualifying round.
Main round: Mousa Zayed Shannan beat Ayman Jaffar (Bahrain), lost to Francois- Arthur Vibert 2-6 2-6 Jabor al Mutawa 0-6 2-6), Mohammad al Khinji (0-6 0- 6), Ahmed al Ali (0-6 1-6), Jaber al Marri (0-6 0-6), Sultan Khalfan (4-6 3-6), Abdulla al Mahmoud (0-6 3- 6) all lost in straight sets in the first round.
Qatar F3 Tournament Qualifying round: Jassem al Zeyara, Mohammad al Khinji, Ahmed al Ali, Ali al Sayagh, Abdulla al Jufairi, Jassim al Mulla all lost in straight sets in the first round.
Main round: Mousa Shannan Zayed (1-6 0-6), Abdulla al Mahmoud (2-6 1- 6) and Jabor al Mutawa (0-6 2-6) all lost in first round.
Qatar F4 Tournament Qualifying round: Ahmed al Ali, Abdullah Shannan al Harrasi, Jassem al Zeyara, Ali al Saygh, Abdulla al Jufairi all lost in straight sets in first matches.
Main round: Jabor al Mutawa (1-6 0-6), Mousa Shannan al Zayed (4-6 1-6), Abdulla al Mahmoud (1-6 0- 6) all suffered straight defeats in first matches.
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