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Kedriouk faces tough opposition |
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5/12/2006 2:53:48 PM |
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DUBAI — Top seed Alexey Kedriouk of Kazakhstan hopes to go one better this time in the men’s Super Singles of the 18th Marbella Open Tennis Championship being held at the Marbella Resort tennis courts in Sharjah.
The 25-year-old Kedriouk a runner-up last year, however, will face a tough opposition from three debutants, Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, seeded second, India’s Vinod Sridhar, who is third seed, and fourth seeded Abdullah Magdas of Kuwait. Magdas replaced his compatriot Mohammed Al Ghareeb, who withdrew due to the death of his grandfather.
The four players were introduced during a media conference at the Marbella Resort yesterday. Ajay Kumar, director of the tournament, expressed his satisfaction with the field for the Super Singles though four of the players are new. “We have four top players for this event. Kedriouk reached the final last time while Abdullah Magdas is a new talent in the AGCC.” The defending champion, Fred Hemes of Holland, according to Kumar, has quit tennis. Kumar then thanked the sponsors for their support over the years.
Kedriouk, who got a bye opened his campaign when he took Issam Jallali of Tunisia in the quarterfinals yesterday. Jallali defeated Philip Adamu of Nigeria 6-0, 6-1 on Wednesday night.
Second seed Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, is also determined to win the title on his first appearance. But he said: “I will take each match as it comes.” The Swiss, who was ranked 120 in the world a year ago, was troubled by shoulder injury. “This affected me very much as I did not play for ten months and I have dropped to about 780 on the ATP ranking.” Chiudinnelli, who lost in the first round of the Dubai Open last year, is optimistic of bouncing back. “I have played some tennis and I am getting better,” he added.
Third seed Vinod Sridhar of India, playing in his first prize money event, expressed delight with the opportunity. The 26-year-old India Davis Cup reserve, ranked seventh back home, is confident of at least reaching the final. “I hope to perform well so that I can come back next year,” he said.
The media conference was also attended by Anil Singh, general manager of Marbella Resort, Naim S. Mouj of National Paints and representatives of the sponsors.
The tournament, which offers Dh125,000 worth of prizes, is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Finance and Administration Department, Government of Sharjah. The sponsors are Bank of Sharjah, Kia Motors, National Paints, Al Khaleej, Sun & Sand Sports L.L.C, and co-sponsored by Sharjah TV and Tiffany.
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