CAIRO - Egypt's young tennis star Karim Hossam proved his mettle in the boys' singles at the US Open, a senior official at the Egyptian Tennis Federation said. "We should be proud of Karim's performance at the US Open," Israa el-Sanhouri, the President of the Egyptian Tennis Federation (ETF), told the Egyptian Gazette. Karim Hossam is considered to be Egypt's best young tennis player since the legendary Ismail el-Shafei, who grabbed the Wimbledon title in 1964 at the age of 16. El-Shafei is the only Egyptian player to have entered the Top 40 in Grand Prix/ATP's ranking history. He also has the distinction of being one of only four players to have beaten Björn Borg at Wimbledon. "Despite the exit of Karim in the quarter-finals of the US Open against British player Kyle Edmund, he performed very well and we're all proud of him," Israa added. According to the official, Egypt will participate in many different local and international tournaments in the near future. "We aim at raising the level of our players and giving them more experience. Increasing the number of local championships will also help us spot talented new stars with international potential,” she stressed. Israa, the first woman in Egypt's history elected to lead a major sports federation, added that the main objective of the forthcoming championships is to let the world know that Egypt is safe, beautiful and a land of civilisation. In November, the Young Pharaohs will be participating in a junior championship in Mexico, followed by another junior championship in the US in December. The Egyptian Tennis Federation, established in 1920, joined the International Tennis Federation in 1923. Israa that tennis is widely played in ten regions nationwide: Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Port Said, Assiut, el-Minya, Ismailia, the East Delta, the Red Sea and 6th October City. "There are over 5,000 players registered in the Egyptian Federation, representing 77 clubs all over the country. "The ETF also organises training camps for the players, inside and outside Egypt," Israa, who has herself been playing tennis since she was 19, added. Karim Zaher, the young Karim's coach at Al-Gezira Club, is delighted by what the player has already achieved, stressing that this is the fruit of all his hard preparation. "We should be proud of Karim as he is still a youngster and we're hoping for a lot from him in future," Zaher told the Gazette. The veteran coach added that this promising young star grabbed the African Youth Tennis Championship for three consecutive years between the ages of 14 and 16. "Because of what he has achieved in the US Open, Karim has shot up the world rankings to 26th place," Zaher told the same paper.
