Dream is to have a Qatari in top 100: al-Khelaifi

By Mikhil Bhat/Doha

A Qatari player in the top 100.” Nasser Ghanim al-Khelaifi has a dream which is as simplistic as it is challenging.

Al-Khelaifi is one of Qatar’s most successful Davis Cuppers and the president of Qatar Tennis Federation. He was the part of the team that reached and played in Group II of Asia Oceania in the 1990s. In short, he knows how it is done. He knows how it feels to be there.

“My dream is to bring one Qatari player in top 100 and this is always going to be my dream (till we realise it),” he told Gulf Times yesterday ahead of the Qatar Total Open, which kicks off today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex here.

As of yesterday, there is one Qatari player in the ATP singles rankings – Mousa Shanan Zayed – and none in the WTA singles rankings.

The enormity of the task, however, is not lost on him. “Of course this is a big ambition. We are working hard and we know it is not easy. We are a small country, but we are hoping that we make it,” the 39-year-old, who also heads the French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, added.

Qatar Total Open’s 11th edition this year will see eight of the top ten players in a draw of 64 fighting it out for a total of $2.3 million prize money.

The impact of this Premier tournament has been enormous, according to al-Khelaifi.

“Now we have many Qatari girls playing tennis. We also have a national team and under-16 and under-18 girls are playing, so this is part of the success of this tournament,” he explained, perhaps alluding to the participation of 11 girls in the Qatar Total Youth Tournament last week.

“We also have the best tennis players participating in the Qatar Total Open which is makes this year special.”

The Qatar Tennis Federation has taken under its wings many boys and girls to impart tennis training. This is QTF’s action plan to realise dreams like al-Khelaifi’s and goals like winning 2 gold medals at Asian and Arab Championships, moving to Group II of Davis Cup, winning an ITF event and have at least 5 players ranked in top 100 ITF Juniors, increasing the competitive level of Qatari tennis players at the ITF level and winning GCC competitions in under-12, -16 and -18 categories.

“It is our dream to have at least one player play in these tournaments (Qatar Open), ATP or WTA, that’s our ambition. Not only 8-9-year-olds but we also have some who are just 5-6 years old. So this is our ambition, we have built a strategy and we have good plan. In the future we hope that we have some of the best players in the Arab region and the world.”

The infrastructure for such an ambitious plan is definitely there. There is, of course, the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, and a new stadium that al-Khelaifi mentioned last month after the ATP event, which was won by Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

“The new stadium will be ready in about three to four years. The QTF has finalised the design and the construction will start soon,” he had said. “I wish that the Qatar Tennis Federation can host the most important championships in tennis.”

What about team competitions? “Yes, of course. We used to play in Group 2 and now in Group 4. It’s been very difficult last five years. So now we have thought of looking at young players and train them from scratch and bringing them to play in the Davis Cup,” al-Khelaifi outlined the plan.