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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Success on the second try
By Inas MazharTop seed Karim Alami easily defeated unseeded Belgian Christoph Rochus 6-3, 6-1 to win Egypt's International Tennis Challenger. For his efforts, Alami received $18,000 and an additional 100 points to his ATP ranking. Rochus, the world's No 145, pocketed $10,600 and 73 ATP points.
The 27-year-old Alami, ranked 39 in the world, was runner-up to Spain's Alberto Berasatagui in the same event in 1997. This year, fifth-seed Berasatagui, whose world ranking has dropped from 19 to 64, was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
On route to the final, Alami beat Egypt's Hesham Hemeida 6-1, 6-4, and Spain's David Sanchez 6-2, 6-1. In the quarter-finals, the Arab champion outlasted Germany's world No 240 Marcello Craca, 7-5, 6-4 and downed Spain's world No 102 Jacob Diaz, 6-2, 6-2 in the semis. His match with Rochus, dubbed the dark horse of the championship after ending the title dreams of several of the tournament's top seeds, lasted one hour and five minutes.
Karim Alami about to return the ball en route to winning the Challenger(photo: Amr Gamal)
At the site of his triumph, the Gezira Sporting Club's central tennis court, Alami addressed the crowd in English following his victory. "Thanks to the Egyptian crowd for supporting me ever since I came here the first time and today," he told spectators as he held the cup in one hand and a microphone in the other. "This was an unbelievable and great event. The level this year was higher. Great tennis was played and the organisation was great. I was very glad to finally win this tournament in the end and I hope to come back next year." The newly-crowned king then thanked the crowd in Arabic.
Rochus, who entered the tournament's main draw on a wild card, defeated Spain's Feliciano Lopez in the first round 7-5, 6-0, the only first-round match played on the event's third day. Rochus then pulled off the surprise of the tournament, beating the defending champion Spain's Alberto Portas, the tournament's seventh seed, 6-4, 6-4. In the quarter-finals, he continued his giant killing ways, defeating the tournament's second seed and the world's No 46, Spain's Alberto Martin 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided game. In the semi-final, he downed the fourth seed and the world's No 62, Armenia's Sargis Sargissian 6-2, 7-6. Rochus' series of upset wins might have taken its toll, however, as the Belgian wilted in the final to Alami's powerful forehands and backhands.
The Spaniards, known to be masters of the clay courts, failed to dominate this time. Eleven Spaniards joined the main draw. Eight reached the second round and four the quarter-finals. Only one, Jacob Diaz, managed to reach the semi-final, the closest any Spaniard came to the final. However, the Spaniards made up for this unusually poor showing by playing in an all-Spanish doubles final. Third-seed double Juan Ignacio Carrasco and Jairo Velasco beat their compatriots, the fourth seeded Moron Alex Lopez and Alberto Portas 6-7, 6-4 and 7-6 to claim the doubles title, $7,750 in prize money, and 100 ATP points. The runners-up pocketed $4,500 and 73 points.
Altogether, 64 players took part in the six-day Challenger with more than 10 of them ranked in the world's top 100. According to the ATP tour rules, no player ranked in the top 50 in the world is allowed to participate in Challenger events. Alami and Spain's Martin, though currently ranked in the top 50, were ranked 61 and 67 respectively before they entered the Challenger.
