UAE’s promising talent Fahad Al Janahi completed a phenomenal week in Doha by winning the singles title of the Qatar Asian Junior Championship 14-and-Under Series.
It was Fahad’s last tournament in this age category and the top-seeded 14-year-old made sure he finished on a high note, beating No2 seed from Lebanon Carlos Chammas 6-2, 6-0 in the final.
Starting 2013, Fahad will be competing in 16-and-under tournaments as well as more ITF junior events (ages 13 to 18).
“Fahad played very good from the first match to the final match with a lot of concentration and confidence,” UAE junior national coach Hichem Bramly told Sport360°.
“In the quarters, he won 6-3, 6-3 against Saudi Arabia’s GCC U-14 champion Faisal Al Rebdi, to whom he had lost in the quarters at the same GCC tournament in Bahrain last May.
“In the semis, he had a big battle with Lebanese Tamim Hallak. They played for two hours 30 minutes and Fahad won 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. In the final, Fahad started very well, very consistent and dominating.”
Fahad and fellow Emirati Abdulla Ahli, however, lost their doubles encounter against No2 seeds Haider Abdaal and Luis Velasquez 3-6, 7-6(10), 10/8.
Bramly added: “Abdulla Ahli is Fahad’s best partner. They played at a great level and confirmed their status of being GCC doubles champions for the last two years.
“They beat the top seeded Lebanese pairing of Chammas/Hallak 6-2, 6-1 but were really unlucky in the final.
“They played very good and were leading 6-3, 3-0 but lost the second set 12/10 in the tiebreak and missed a match point at 8/7.
“Also, the doubles final was played just one hour after the singles final.”
Fares Al Janahi, Fahad’s cousin, also had a good week in Qatar, making the third round in singles, and the semi-finals in doubles. Fares’ good results this year have seen him get selected for the ITF U-14 West Asian team.
“Fares lost his third round match against Qatari Issa Shannan. They played for three hours and Fares was leading 4-1 in the final set but didn’t know how to finish the game,” said Bramly.
“It was a very good test for Fares and very good preparation for the coming Asian U14 tour in Vietnam.”
The UAE juniors still have the Qatar Asian Junior Team Cup 2012 – a team competition with a round robin format that kicks off on Sunday. They open their campaign against Saudi Arabia at 11:00.
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