Bahrain's Yousif Dhaif qualifies for main draw in ITF Futures Tennis

Manama : Bahrain’s Yousif Dhaif ousted compatriot Roy Boutagy 7-5, 6-4 in the second and final qualifying round of the men’s singles yesterday to qualify for the Round of 32 in the ITF Futures Tennis Tournament at the Bahrain Tennis Club in Juffair.

The other three Bahraini players in contention were defeated as India’s Aditya Deswal knocked out Hamad Abdul A’al 6-1, 6-1, Norway’s Thomas Linge beat Kareem Abdulnabi 6-3, 7-5 and Mateusz Terczyski of Poland dashed the hopes of Ali Dawani and winning 6-0, 6-1.

In the other matches, Italian Joy Vigani was a 6-4, 6-1 win over Briton Gregory Howe, Egypt’s Mohammed Abdel Aziz brushed aside Bastiaan Loohuis 6-1, 6-1, Sri Lankan Sharmal Dissamayake was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over India’s Ashutosh Singh 6-3, 6-1 and Bahrain-based Filipino Jeriko Bohol advanced after a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win over India’s Jugual Boruah.

The Round of 32 for the men’s singles and women’s starts tomorrow with the top seed in the men’s singles and last year’s runner-up Scott Griekspoor of the Netherlands ranked, 331 in the world, with last year’s winner and fifth seed Tobias Simon, ranked 623, back to defend his title.

The women’s qualifiers also took place with wins for Emma Jansen (Belgium) 6-2, 6-2 against Nela Platkova (Czech Republic), Tanasha Khandpur (India) against Kalpaka Pradip (India) 6-2, 6-0, Nina Kolar of Slovenia 6-2, 6-3 against Nida Shahid Kamal of India 6-2, 6-3 and Rosalie Van Der Hoek from the Netherlands 7-5, 6-1 against Maria Kalavska of the Czech Republic.

In the women’s singles, defending champion and second seed Fatma Al Nabhani of Oman, ranked 308, is back in the fray to defend her title as is German Vivian Heisen, ranked 603. The top seed is Chinese Lu Jiajang, ranked 207, with Indian Prerna Bhambri (401) third seed and Kazakhstan’s Kamila Kerimbayeva (409) fourth.

Today, both action in the men’s and women’s doubles will be seen, with matches from 10am in the morning session and an afternoon session starting from 4pm.

The tournament, in its fifth edition, is being held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee.

Event sponsors are Bahrain Duty Free, Solidarity Holding, GPIC and Bapco.