Salah Tahlak hopes Dubai tennis wild cards will inspire young UAE players

The ATP tournament of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which gets under way on Monday, will see five of the world’s top 20 players in action.

You can expect plenty of fireworks from two Russian stars, defending champion Daniil Medvedev (world number 4) and 2022 winner Andrey Rublev (world number 5).

Childhood friends Medvedev and Rublev fought for the title last year with the former winning in straight sets to clinch his first Dubai title.

Polish star Hubert Hurkacz (world number 8), Russian Karen Khachanov (world number 17) and Frenchman Ugo Humbert (world number 18) will add top-20 quality to the Dubai field.

The organisers have also offered wild cards to two evergreen stars, three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray of Great Britain and French entertainer Gael Monfils.

But Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, is equally excited about two lesser-known players, Sumit Nagal and Abdullah Shelbayh.

While Nagal became the first Indian player in almost 35 years to win a Grand Slam main-round match in last month’s Australian Open, Shelbayh is a rising Jordanian player who is making remarkable progress.

The 26-year-old Nagal’s is an inspiring story. Unable to find sponsors and with less than $1,000 dollars left in his bank account, Nagal feared for his life as a professional tennis player.

But the Indian showed remarkable resilience to overcome the obstacles and has now put his career back on track.

He will take on Italian Lorenzo Sonego, world number 21, in the first round in Dubai, thanks to the wild card from the tournament organisers.

“We always look at young talent that can bring something new to the tournament. We are not only looking at the top 10 or top 20 but also at the others. So when we consider our wild cards, we always look at these things,” Tahlak told the Khaleej Times.

“He (Nagal) has got a good ranking (98). Dubai is one of the cities that has a lot of Indians. He has done well, he has done good for the sport, so it will be a good exposure. It will help him take the next step in this career.”

Meanwhile, Shelbayh, the 20-year-old Jordanian who featured in the Next Gen ATP Finals, the tournament for the best-emerging players, last year, is being hailed as the future of Arab tennis.

“He is an Arab talent, he is a young player who is doing very well,” Tahlak said.

“Getting a chance to play here is very good for his tennis, and also for the sport in the region.

“And it’s also the best chance for the UAE players to see him and get inspired.”

Offering a wild card to Monfils, 37, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist and one of the greatest entertainers of all time who enthrals fans with his extraordinary shot-making and brilliant athleticism, was also a brilliant move from the organisers.

“He is a great player, he is an entertainer,” Tahlak said. “Also, he is very polite, very accessible, he will bring a lot of fans to the stadium.”

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