CAIRO: The Palm Aroussy Tennis Academy (PATA) at the Palm Hills Club, has been buzzing with activity over the last few days, as the events of the Palm Hills International Tournament unfolded. Saturday and Sunday will see the climax of the competition as the singles and doubles events reach the final stages. The Egyptian players have been faring relatively well so far, with Karim Maamoun and Sherif Sabry reaching the quarterfinal stage in the singles and Mahmoud Ezz/ Omar Hedayet getting to the doubles semifinals.The biggest surprise of the tournament to date was the defeat of the top seed Juan-Martin Aranguren of Argentina, hindered by an apparent reoccurrence of a shoulder injury that has plagued him in the past, and an in-form Marek Semjan of Slovakia. Semjan won the match 6-4, 6-2.In a one-week tournament, where several players are involved in both the singles and doubles draws, it is often necessary for them to play twice on the same day so that the tournament can stay on schedule. Aranguren is one of these players, yet before his loss he managed to take time off that hectic schedule to take part in one of the academy's training sessions. The youngest students, children aged between three and five were thrilled at the occasion. They seem to generally enjoy their practice sessions, which are adapted to their particular need for short bursts of fun activities instead of long, drawn-out technique instructions. This special session, however, proved to be a particular treat for both them and their parents. The parents enjoyed seeing their children have such a great time and appreciated the fact that the No.1 seed invested his time in this clinic. Juan-Martin Aranguren, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, started playing as a tennis professional in 2000. Having a father who is a tennis coach, and has a tennis academy, meant that the sport was a constant presence in his life, and turning it into a career was as logical as it was inevitable. Aranguren, whose goal is to be ranked among the top 100 in the world, playing a lot of tennis is one of his trademarks. It may surprise some people to know that he played and won the most matches of any tennis professional in 2007. Last year also saw him participate in the Pan-American games in Brazil and reach the quarterfinals there, something he says was worth sacrificing ranking points for. He could have been globetrotting, trying to raise his ranking further, but preferred to join his fellow Argentineans in the athletes' village and learn from the experience. Besides training with Aranguren, the regular training sessions for the children continued on schedule and often coincided with the official matches, immersing them in the atmosphere of the tournament. Academy director and head coach, Hassan El Aroussy, had been hoping to give as many of his students a chance to get as close to the action as possible and keep them hooked on the game. So far the plan seems to be working. The men's single's final takes place on Sunday the March 30 at 6 pm and will be broadcasted live.
