FIRST ATP RANKING POINT: Mohd Assri Merzuki will play in two Men’s Futures tournaments in Vietnam this month.
KUCHING: Mohd Assri Merzuki is set to pick up his first professional ranking points when he competes in two Men’s Futures tournaments in Vietnam this week.
The two back-to-back tournaments to be held at the Community Sport Centre in Binh Duong are the US$10,000 Men’s Futures starting today until Sept 16 and the US$15,000 Men’s Futures from Sept 17-23.
Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA), the body responsible for grooming Assri and developing into a professional player, is confident that Assri can do well in both tournaments.
“We managed to get a wild card entry for him in both competitions and with the luck of the draw, hopefully he can earn his first pro circuit ranking points,” said SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew.
According to Liew, Assri is doing well at the moment where he is not only physically strong and fit but also mentally prepared to compete in a pro circuit.
“He had committed to training full-time in the Florida, US under coach Doru Sorin Morariu,” said Liew.
“Although it may be tough and competitive in the pro circuit, I strongly believe that he will be able to produce some good results in the two events.”
This is not the first time that the 17-year-old player from Kuching has played in a Futures event.
He played in the USA F30 Futures in November in Pensacola, Florida in November last year and the USA F4 Futures in Palm Coast, Florida in February this year and the USA F17 Futures in Innisbrook, Florida in June this year.
Assri’s other competitions this year include 5th Malacca ITF International, 45th Brunei ITF Junior Circuit, 19th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (I), 23rd Mitsubishi-Lancer International Junior, International Spring Championship, 36th Sibiu Medias Sen Junior ITF Tournament and the recent Tobago ITF Juniors where he bagged the singles and doubles titles. He is now ranked number 202 in the ITF Junior Boys Singles and 341 in the ITF Junior Boys Doubles.
“We are preparing for him to go fully professional when he turns 18 years old on December 28,” said Liew.
After the two Futures tournament, Assri has been lined up for the Malaysian Open ATP 250 Series in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 23-30.
“He is also being trained as an assistant coach for junior programme in the US and in the case that he could not perform on the professional stage, he can become a coach,” added Liew.