Dubai: Eliza Omirou of Cyprus and the UAE-based Kareem Allaf were crowned champions at the 13th Dubai ITF Junior Championships by Zata that concluded at the Al Wasl Club on Saturday.
Third seed Omirou battled for a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over second-seeded Eleni Christofi from Greece in the girls’ final after Allaf had secured a smooth 6-4, 6-4 win over wild card Ammar Al Hogbani of Saudi Arabia in the boy’s section.
“I am so relieved and happy with my first tournament win on the ITF circuit,” Allaf told the media after his win.
Allaf has been an UAE resident since he was first introduced to the sport as a six-year-old by father Ammar. Allaf has won a few junior level competitions on the domestic circuit at the same venue, but he said: “Nothing compares to this win. I am relieved and I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Now that I have won this, it gives me so much confidence to continue,” Allaf said.
A break in the seventh game was enough to help him take the opening set 6-4. In the second, the Syrian boy maintained the pressure to break in the fifth for 3-2, only to see his Saudi Arabian opponent break back. However, Allaf kept his composure and broke to go 5-4 clear to serve out for set and match in an hour and 35 minutes.
What is even more interesting is that these two players have played in the finals during the last two weeks in Bahrain and Kuwait. On both occasions, Al Hogbani was the winner. “So it was important to keep my focus and deny him [Al Hogbani] a hat-trick of titles. I just tried to stick to my game and let my shots do the talking,” Allaf related.
The girls’ final could have gone either way but it was Omirou showing more enterprise and poise as she broke her Greek opponent in the first game and then again in the seventh to secure the singles title. Omirou had earlier teamed up with Turkey’s Inci Ogut for the doubles crown.
Al Wasl Club’s tennis officials Omar Abbas and Zayed Abbas were joined by Sarah Baker, General Secretary and Khalid Al Ali, board member, Tennis Emirates and Ahmad Zakaria of sponsors D-Souq.com at the trophy presentation after the finals.
