By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah International Tennis Complex welcomed the 23rd Arab Tennis Ranked Players on its courts on Tuesday as they began their competitions in the group stage of the 2nd Arab Masters Tennis Tournament. The tournament will continue until December 27th 2022. In the first day competitions, there were II matches.

Essa Qabazard

Kuwait's Mohammad Al-Awadhi defeated Bahrain's Fares Alabdul Kareem (6/1-6/3) in the first group; Morocco's Yassine Dlimi beat Egypt's Akram Al-Sallali (6/2-7/5). Essa Qabazard from Kuwait defeated his compatriot and teammate Yaqoub Mohammad (6/0-7/6) in the third group while Jordan's Abdallah Shelbayeh beat Lebanon's Hasan Ibrahim (7/6-6/0). Meanwhile, Tunisian Mohamed Oukaa overwhelmed Saudi Saud Alhogabani (6/4-3/6-6/1) in a very tough match.

In the second group, Kuwait's Bader Antar lost to Lebanon's Benjamin Hasan (6/0-6/1), while Mohammed Safwat (from Egypt) defeated Saudi Arabia's Ammar Alhogabani (6/4-6/4). Jordan's Mousa Alkotop was squeezed by Algeria's Toufik Sahtali (7/6-7/6). In the fourth group, Kuwait's Ali Al-Shatti lost to Egypt's Kareem Maamoun (6/6-2/6); Walid Ahouda (from Morocco) defeated Algeria's Rayan Dylan (6/1-6/1).

Member of the Board of Arab Tennis Federation Waleed Sami lauded the organization of the tournament, adding that "the tournament was a success." He said the championship is as important as the ATP 250 events. It paves the way for Arab Tennis players to compete worldwide. Morocco's player Walid Ahouda was happy with his first win. "The levels of the competitions were high. This was expected," he said as he lauded the role of KTF and ATF President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah in developing the game and taking Arab Tennis to greater height. He thanked the organizing committee for its hospitality.