Mohd Assri Merzuki in action at the recent Kuching leg of the ITF Men’s Futures US$15,000 tournament.
KUCHING: Sarawak ace Mohd Assri Merzuki still has a long way to go in his quest to be among the top ATP players in the world.
The 19-year-old professional from Kampung Semariang, Kuching showed glimpses of promise when he competed in the Manila and Kuching legs of the ITF Men’s Futures US$15,000 tournament recently.
Assri crashed out of the men’s singles first round in Manila but made the finals of the men’s doubles with his partner from Czech Republic Ivo Minar.
In the Kuching leg, Assri beat compatriot Marco Danielo Geronimo 6-0, 6-1 in the first round only to lose 5-7, 1-6 to eventual finalist Carlos Boluda-Purkiss, the tournament seventh seed from Spain in the second round (last 16).
In the men’s doubles, Assri and Ivo reached the semi-finals where they lost 3-6, 3-6 to the Chinese Taipei pair of Ho Chih-Jen and Hung Jui-Chen.
“Assri was unlucky to play the top seed in the first round men’s singles but in the doubles, he and Ivo did well to reach the final where they lost to the top seeds,” said his coach Doru Murariu who is from Romania.
According to him, Assri had an easy draw in the first round against Marco but it was really tough for him to play the former top 20 ITF ranked player.
“Assri had the chances against Carlos but he couldn’t make good his chances. He still needs confidence and self-belief that he is capable of beating those who have higher rankings than him.
“His game is there and he showed the ability to become a good doubles player. With the good results in Manila and Kuching, I believe Assri will now be ranked in the ATP men’s doubles top 900 and around 1,300 in the men’s singles,” said Murariu.
In the transitional period from an ITF junior to an ATP pro, Murariu felt that Assri need to get used to playing against higher ranked players.
“Our emphasis is on the doubles where Assri’s goal is to be in the ATP top 500 in the men’s doubles rankings,” he added.
“This is achievable because he has developed a very fast game at the net, his serve is more consistent, and he also enjoys playing in the doubles.”
Assri has returned to the US for another two weeks of training at Tennis Players Fitness Institute in Bradenton, Florida before flying to Turkey to play in two Men’s Futures US$10,000 events which will be part of his preparation for the Sukma XVII challenge in Perlis in May.
After Sukma XVII, Assri will represent Malaysia in the Davis Cup in Iran after which he will head for Europe to play in clay court tournaments where he can play better.
Another state Sukma player Aslina Chua is also training at Tennis Players Fitness Institute for three months in preparing for Sukma challenge.
“She is fitter, lost some weight and her game has improved a lot especially from the baseline,” said Murariu.
Aslina is playing in weekend tournaments (ITF juniors or national juniors) in and around Florida.
She will fly to Turkey together with Assri to play in Women’s Futures events there.