Malaysia’s budding tennis star Ariez Elyaas received a major boost in his career when he was handed a surprise wildcard to play in the main draw of the doubles event in the Malaysian Open ATP 250 which begins today.
The 18-year-old Ariez along with fellow Malaysian youngster Ahmed Deedat Abdul Razak had earlier played in the first qualifying round of the singles event on Saturday.
Although he lost to China’s Zhang Ze 4-6, 0-6, Ariez managed to show why he’s touted as the future of Malaysian tennis with some brilliant play and strong serves.
Ahmed was beaten by Taiwan’s Jimmy Wang 1-6, 2-6.
Despite that loss, Ariez will now have a second chance to prove his worth after being handed the wildcard together with Ahmed as a pair and they will have a chance to rub shoulders with the big guns.
“It was really a shock when I received the news because I was not expecting it at all,” said Ariez.
“The call came late Saturday night out of the blue and I’m still really happy and surprised by that decision.”
However, Ariez is aware that they will have their hands full in the first round itself but has promised to give a good showing of himself.
In fact, Ariez-Ahmed could not have asked for a tougher first round assignment as they are drawn against third seeds and defending champions Frantisek Cermak-Filip Polasek of Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“It is definitely a very tough draw because our opponents are the winners from last year and are very good.” -Star
