Seasoned Spaniard Cesar Ferrer won the 2013 Abu Dhabi Country Club Tennis Open on Friday, defeating UAE’s Omar Behrouzian 7-6, 6-3.
Ferrer, the former world No381, won the opening set 7-4 in a tie-breaker, before winning the last three games of the second set after it was tied at 3-3.
Ferrer said: “It was a really tough match and Omar is a very good player. This kind of surface is very good for him because it is so fast – for me it’s difficult because I come from Spain and I am more familiar with playing defensive tennis, playing on a clay court.
“I was fighting all match, especially in the tie-breaker in the first set when it was 3-3 and then I got it to 5-3, and I got confidence from that.
“In the second set, I went 2-0 up but he’s a good player and he plays very fast, he keeps going and going. In the end maybe I was a bit lucky and I guess I am also more experienced than he is.”
Ferrer also beat Behrouzian in the final of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel-Wilson Tennis Open in June 2012, after the Emirati had to retire injured in the first game of the third set, when the match was deadlocked at one set all.
Behrouzian said: “I knew it was going to be a tough match because we played in a tight final before. I felt that I had a few chances in this final, which I didn’t take, especially in the first set. I wasted a few good opportunities, but I think overall he’s a tough guy, he played a solid match.
“The match was good quality and I think in the end he made less mistakes than me and that’s why he won the match.” Behrouzian understood his opponent’s defensive qualities very well.
“He’s very solid,” he added. “He gets ball after ball back into the court all the time and it’s up to you to try to do something and it’s not easy.”
Meanwhile, Czech Nela Platkova won the women’s Open yesterday after her opponent, Serbian Ana Timotic, had to retire with a calf muscle injury.
And the International Tennis Federation’s world No495 at under-18 level Kareem Allaf won the under-16 tournament – the Syrian youngster beat UAE’s Fahad Al Janahi 6-3, 6-1.
“I’m happy with the win,” said Allaf. “It was a good match, first set was competitive, second set was a little easier as I started to play better. I’m glad they’re making more tournaments here, because they were lacking good tournaments before.”
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