Muscat, Sept 3 - Oman’s preparation has reached the final stage for the upcoming Davis Cup competition that will be held in Amman Jordan, from September 6 to 15. In the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV event, hosts Jordan will be joined by Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Guam, Bahrain, Iraq, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Cambodia.
The Oman team is currently playing in Group IV, after the new amendments to the system by the International Tennis Federation after the team achieved the top position in Muscat last year and was supposed to be promoted to the third group.
The final stage of the preparation programme includes an internal camp closed to all players on the tennis courts in Ras Al Hamra as they are similar to the tennis courts in the Jordanian capital Amman. The team will leave for Jordan on September 6, three days before it begins action in the tournament.
Till now the best position achieved by Oman in Davis Cup was the promotion to the Group II in 2002.
Over the past years, the team maintained its position before retreating in 2007, after which the team returned to a better position after hosting last year’s Davis Cup, by winning all games.
Summer camp in Miami
Oman squad had undergone an outdoor camp in Miami, USA, which was the first gathering of the national team in preparation for this tournament. The team joined a camp at the Academy (Costa del Sol) by the head coach Brian Dabul for 28 days. The team consisted of Abdullah al Barwani, Younis al Rawahi, Muneer al Rawahi and Abdullah al Raisi. However, top player Mohammed al Nabhani was absent from the camp because he was in another camp in France and is currently attending an internal camp, according to the programme set by the technical staff.
The team’s programme in Miami included daily morning and evening training sessions, apart from the Omanis taking on the players of the academy and ranking players in the United States in tune-up to the top tournament.
Salman bin Abdul Rahim al Balushi, Executive Manager of the Oman Tennis Association, the head of the delegation of the team at the Miami camp said that the camp came out well as planned by the technical staff and benefited the Omani players.
“Omani players had their task cut out and the camp served well to raise our technical performance. It was one of the most successful training camps for the national team and our players are in good shape for the Davis Cup Group IV tournament. We aim to qualify to the third group,” he added.
The national team is led by none-playing captain Khalid bin Talib al Nabhani. The playing squad include Khalid’s brother and experienced Oman player Mohammed bin Talib al Nabhani, Abdullah bin Hamdi al Barwani, Younis bin Tufail al Rawahi and his brother Mounir bin Tufail al Rawahi.
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