Beach tennis has a good future, say Qatar players

Although it wasn’t to be today for Qatari mixed doubles team Mubaraka Al-Naimi and Sultan Al-Alawi, who lost to Japanese team Naoaki Yamamoto and Erina Otsuka in straight sets (6-0 6-1), the players nonetheless hope to kickstart a bright future for the sport in their home country.The Japanese were head and shoulders above the Qataris, both originally tennis players who had only trained in beach tennis for a week before the tournament, but the home team said despite the defeat they were happy to have taken one game from their opponents.Al-Alawi also said that he hoped their appearance would inspire other Qataris to take up the sport. “I’m trying now to speak to the Olympic Committee to have more beach tennis events for the local players, so we can make players here who can reach a good level at these tournaments,” he said. “Hopefully in the future we will see more Qatari players in these tournaments.”Al-Naimi said the home support made the whole experience “very fun and exciting”.She added, “I feel proud of my country hosting such a big tournament. To have the World Athletics Championships last week was so nice also, and now this. I hope all the players enjoy their time here and they experience good facilities, and I am sure they will.”Also on Centre Court, a tight match between Henrique Freitas and Manuela Cunha (POR) and Javier Mendez and Beatriz Rivera (PUR) saw the Puerto Ricans squeeze ahead in the final set to see them safely through to the next round.Continuing a successful day in the mixed doubles for Japan, Satoshi Goda and Aoi Shibayama beat Portugal’s Pedro Maio and Catarina Alexandrino in straight sets. Elsewhere on Katara Beach’s four Beach Tennis courts, both American teams crashed out of the mixed doubles by two sets to love, with France’s Mathieu Guegano and Mathilde Hoarau beating Mark Bonfigli and Nadia Johnston, and Carlos Rivera and Nicole Melch failing to overcome Russia’s Nikolai Gurev and Liudmila Nikoian.In the only preliminary game of the women’s doubles, Venezuela’s Valentina Persad and Iosune Roncal edged past Manuela Cunha and Catarina Alexandrino (POR) to bag themselves a spot in the last 16, where they will face Americans Nicole Welch and Nadia Johnston.The men’s doubles will start tomorrow (13 October) while the final 16 women’s and mixed doubles teams will do battle, including the top qualifiers who received a bye to the 1/8 finals.