Huzaifa Only Pakistani Among 1300 Players To Feature In Orange Bowl C'ships By Muhammad Shafique Raja

Huzaifa Abdul Rehman will be the only Pakistani among over 1300 top ranked tennis players from across the world to participate in next month's Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in Florida, USA.

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :Huzaifa Abdul Rehman will be the only Pakistani among over 1300 top ranked tennis players from across the world to participate in next month's Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in Florida, USA.

Scheduled to be held in Plantation, Florida from November 30 to December 8, the prestigious tennis event is for 12-and-under, 14-and-under and 16-and-under male and female players.

The tournament boasts an impressive alumni list of world's several former and current pros including Jimmy Connors (USA), Chris Evert Lloyd (USA), Bernard Tomic (Australia), Madison Keys (USA), Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Andy Murray (Great Britain).

They all have been amongst past winners of the coveted event.

Huzaifa, who is Pakistan's top junior player has qualified for championships' 16-and-under category by finishing either at No. 1 or No. 2 in his age group tournaments in and outside Pakistan.

The promising player, who has been consistently showing his mettle in tennis arena at the junior level in recent years told APP on Tuesday that he would be leaving for Florida on November 18 (Sunday) for Orange Bowl and Eddie Herr International Junior Tournament, another high-powered event, taking place at Tampa from November 21 to December 2.

He would be the fourth Pakistani lad to represent the country in these events after Aisam-ul-Haq (1997), Nasir Shirazi (1997) and Nofil Kalim (2013).

"I know these are tough competitions. But I'm not nervous. Rather I'm excited to go and take on the challenge in world's some biggest tennis tournaments," he said of the two championships.

After finishing Asian No. 2 in under 14 category in 2016, Huzaifa took a one-year break from competitive tennis, focusing on training to remove his shortcomings.

In 2017, he attended a four-month training session at Potter's Wheel Tennis academy, Beijing under the supervision of Carlos Rodriguez, the coach of former World No. 1, Justine Henin. While in May, this year he underwent a 10-week training at Koza WOS, Istanbul under the watchful eyes of Gavin Hooper, the coach of Monica Seles and Marian Cilic.

"Those long hours of tough training regimes have helped me a lot. My fitness level has increased and I feel myself fully prepared for the future assignments," he said while highlighting the impact of his training stints on him in Beijing and Istanbul.

The last four weeks have been extremely successful for Huzaifa as he displayed superb tennis skills and sportsmanship, winning ITF Juniors Grade-V doubles and finishing as runner-up in singles' event of the same championship. During this period, he also annexed two under 18 national titles.

"It is my dream to participate in the Grand Slam tournaments in future. I'm sure one day I will be exhibiting my skills there," a determined Huzaifa said.

Huzaifa's coach and father Col. (R) Muhammad Faisal, who will be flying to Florida with him sounded optimistic that like world's many pros, the tournaments in the US would act as springboard for his son also. "He is an incredible young talent, who is improving with each passing day.

I believe he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport.

The participation in these championships will give him much needed exposure" the 47-year-old remarked.

But he said to reach to that level, Huzaifa would need several training sessions atstate-of-the art academies abroad.

"Training in foreign countries involves a big amount and it is not possible for a common Pakistani to afford that. Hence we are desperately looking for some sponsorship," he added.