WORK IN PROGRESS: Mohd Assri Merzuki needs to work harder and play in more tournaments to bring his tennis to a higher level.
KUCHING: Sarawak’s rising tennis star Mohd Assri Merzuki needs to work harder and play in more tournaments to bring his tennis to a higher level.
The 17-year-old player from Kuching who is presently being developed and groom by Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) as the country’s professional player, is still not ready to stamp his mark in the professional circuit.
Assri failed to capitalise on the wildcard given to him at two Men’s Futures tournaments in Vietnam to gain some ranking points in a professional circuit.
At the Vietnam F4 US$10,000 Futures at Binh Duong Community Centre from Sept 10-16, Assri crashed out the men’s singles first round, losing 2-6, 2-6 to eighth seed Ouyang Bowen from China.
Partnering Thailand’s Wishaya Troncharoenchaikul in the men’s doubles, Assri also lost 0-6, 0-6 to the Thailand pair of Nuttanon Kadchapanan and Kittiphang Wachiramanong in the first round.
In the Vietnam F5 US$15,000 Futures at the same venue, Assri failed to advance to the next round as he lost 3-6, 1-6 to world number 532 Jeong Suk-Young of South Korea in the first round.
At the ATP Tennis Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday, Assri crashed out of the qualifying round when he lost 6-2, 5-7, 2-6 to Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines.
“Looking at the results in the three professional tournaments, although Assri lost all the matches, he has displayed a good fighting spirit,” said SLTA president Dato Patrick Liew.
Liew said Assri may lose out in terms of physical and mental qualities to much older and experienced and higher ranked players but he certainly had the capability to win a set or two and not become a whipping boy.
“I think he has done well, considering that it is like a kid playing against an adult. The opponents are all matured senior players who have around playing for a long time,” he pointed out.
“This (losing matches in pro circuit) is part of the growing process that Assri needs to go through. To him, this is already a big challenge and he has to overcome his fear when he goes on to the court to play against the more fancied opponents.”
“It is a very good experience for him and in this transitional period where he jumps out from a small pool and dive into the big ocean, we want to see how well he can adapt to the higher level of tennis,” said Liew.
According to Liew, SLTA is not expecting Assri to do well in his first few professional outings but hopefully he can learn a lot of things and improve his game along the way.
“There are several levels of tournaments in a professional circuit, from US$10,000, US$15,000, US$25,000, US$50,000, US$75,000, RM125,000 to US$250,00 and each level is tougher than the other,” he said.
Liew said after the ATP Tennis Malaysian Open, Assri will return to resume his training in Florida, US and probably compete in a few more tournaments in the US and Europe.