Team ‘Uncle Saeed’ win NAS Padel Bronze title, Misas and Xavier claim Gold

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Team ‘Uncle Saeed’, comprising Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum and Abdulrazak Ahmed, clinched the Bronze category crown at Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament Padel Championship following a thrilling three-set win, while Javier Lopez Garcia and Alexander Farquharson cruised to the title in the Gold category.

Sheikh Saeed and Ahmed fought back after losing the opening set to down Humaid Ghanem Al Hajeri and Farhan Hudda 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the final on Monday night at Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex. Garcia and Farquharson, on the other hand, had few problems as they brushed aside Martin Noschese and Guillermo Villafane 6-2, 6-3 for the winner’s cheque of Dhs30,000.

The runners-up in the Gold category will take home Dhs 24,000, while the Bronze category champion and runners-up will receive Dhs20,000 and Dhs15,000 respectively.

After his win, Sheikh Saeed conceded he was a bit tense going into the final, “because the technical level of the matches this year has been really high”.

“But we succeeded in breaking through that barrier and play at a level that paved the way for us to win the title,” he added. “I thank all the players who participated in the tournament and for the strong levels they provided. This tournament is confirmation of padel’s development and growth in the UAE.”

Garcia, meanwhile, was delighted his hard work ahead of the tournament had paid off.

“I am very happy to win the title here in NAS,” he said. “I had prepared very hard for this tournament, training for many months. The tournament was really good and I am very happy because a lot of people are getting involved in padel, which is very good for the growth of the sport.

“I am looking forward to playing more tournaments like this one. Hopefully with this pandemic situation, everything will get better."

“The next for me is gonna be international [tournaments]. I will represent NAS in those tournaments and I will try to do my best in all of them.”

Road closures for NAS Run The Tournament kicked off with the NAS Padel Championship on April 14, and will close with the NAS Run, which takes place across two nights with the 0km race scheduled for Wednesday and the 5km for Thursday.