ShareKUWAIT: Syrian tennis player Hazem broke out the first surprise of the third Arab Tennis Masters Tournament being held in Qatar by beating first seed Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan (7-6, 6-2) on Monday in the quarter finals round.
Hazem will meet Egypt’s Mohammad Safwat in the semi-finals as he beat Algeria’s Sameer Raqeeq (6-2, 6-2). Tunis’s Mohammad Aziz Daqaz is into the semifinals by beating Egypt’s Kareem Maamoun (6-2, 6-3), and will meet Lebanon’s Hadi Habeeb who beat Morocco’s Yaseen Al-Dulaimi (7-5, 6-2).
Meanwhile Mohammad Safwat said all matches were tough due to having 16 of the best Arab players participating. He said the previous edition was according to the groups system, and the player had a chance to compensate for a loss, but the current one means a loss will negate the chance to compete for the title, and will go for the consolation rounds, which increased the challenge and made matches stronger.
He said the Arab Tennis Federation (ATF) took Arab Tennis to new levels of development and that the current tournament had a major role in promoting the game and increased its popularity among upcoming players and hoped the tournament be held every year.
ATF Assistant Secretary General Waleed Sami said the levels players are displaying are a source of pride, adding that ATF was keen on the participation of ATP ranked players in order to increase competition among players and that what took place.
