If Eleni Daniilidou lives out her potential and becomes a big name in the world of women’s tennis, she could be the person who revolutionises the way players spend their time between the change of ends. Daniilidou, an 18 year-old Greek Goddess of the tennis courts, shuns the towel-over-the-head or feast-on-bananas options to slip on the earphones to her MP3 player and slumps back in her chair to relax and listen to music.

“It helps me to focus on the next game and it seems to work,” said the modest teenager.

And work it did. Daniilidou was last month crowned the fourth Habtoor Tennis Challenge champion after upsetting some quality opposition on her way to a final which saw her win 6-4, 6-4 over Hungarian teenager Aniko Kapros.

“This tournament is the first time that I have tried it out. I listened to music during the breaks between games and it helped me to gather my thoughts,” she explained. “It is something I like to do when I am practising so I thought I would give it a go out here in Dubai. I will certainly be doing it again too!” While the vision of Tim Henman walking out onto the centre court at Wimbledon with a portable disc player may be a bit far-fetched, Daniilidou does bring a certain amount of fresh air into a sport which has become dominated in recent years by media hungry stars. 

Daniilidou’s reward for her superb victory was a winner’s cheque for US$12,000 in the US$75,000-plus hospitality tournament. But it very nearly never happened for the girl who is looking to relaunch her career after a knee operation put her out of the game for the best part of a year.
“I am so grateful to the organisers for letting me enter as a wild card because I was too late getting my entry in. To be honest I completely forgot!” she said.

It was indeed a gripping final that captured the skill, speed and emotions displayed during the week-long event. Both players displayed the type of tennis that showed their rankings will rocket, while Daniilidou’s tears of joy at the presentation ensured she has found a place in the hearts of Dubai’s tennis fraternity for a long time to come.

The one-hour 20-minute rally feast at the Metropolitan Resort and Beach Club was a classic and the champion’s willingness to go for her shots more than her opponent certainly paid off. When Kapros took risks, they did not pay off but nevertheless she was gracious in defeat.

“There were plenty of long rallies but Daniilidou came up with the big shots when it counted and I missed mine,” she said. Eventually, Kapros, despite the support of her father in the stands, cracked on the big points and Daniilidou, always looking relaxed, ran out a deserved victor.

“This is my first title and it will always be a special moment in my life,” she said. “Dubai has felt like a home to me this week and I can not wait to come back to defend my title next year. It is a magnificent tournament and without doubt the best one of its kind that I have played.”

That sort of praise is music to the ears of the organisers who have seen this event grow in stature over the past four years. The inaugural tournament in 1998, which was won by Kira Nagy, carried US$25,000 in prize money.

This year’s introduced a new tournament director in Hany Kafif, a well known figure among tennis circles in the UAE. The 32-year-old Egyptian stepped up from his previous role of tournament referee this year and did an admirable job.

“It is a fantastic tournament,” he said. “The hospitality laid on for these girls is unrivalled and out of 64 players and about 30 coaches we did not receive one complaint. The International Tennis Federation representative went home very impressed also. It was a trouble-free week.”

Kafif is well qualified to talk about tennis. After deciding his promising tennis career as a youngster was not going to reap the rewards he dreamed off, Kafif went into accountancy and became an auditor for KPMG. But he still had ambitions to be part of the game and took up officiating. He climbed the ranks and soon turned his hobby into his career and ‘ closed the books on his accountancy job.
He is now an international affiliated referee. His job has taken him to South America, Asia and “you name a country in Europe and I’ve been there”. His highlight came when he was selected to officiate at Wimbledon in 1994.

Unfortunately for this year’s Challenge, there were no players from the world top 100 competing due to the tournament clashing with another in Portugal, but the entire field was made up from girls ranked above the 200 mark. 

“It is the clay court season and most people have their minds set on Roland Garros,” explained Kafif. “The Portugal tournament is held on clay so it was disappointing, but in the end it did not take anything away from the Habtoor Tennis Challenge which was a resounding success once again.”

There was plenty of expectations on the Tunisian shoulders of Arab hope Celina Sfar, but her army of fans were to be disappointed when the quarter-finalist at the recent WTA Dubai Women’s Open faltered in the second round to Kapros. Sfar cited her long trip from the USA and her recent busy schedule for a tired looking performance.

But it was refreshing to see so many of the up-and-comers playing so well at the superb courts of the Metropolitan Resort and Beach Club.

“I think we will be seeing many of these players break into the top 100 this year and go on to become big players in the game,” added Kafif.

“This tournament is not designed to attract the world’s best. It attracts the girls who want to go onto better things in the game and that is why we see such commitment from the competitors.” Kafif was full of praise for the driving force behind the tournament, Khalaf Al Habtoor, who provides his own personal support by turning up for most of the matches. 

“Khalaf is a big tennis enthusiast and has made the tournament what it is today. He took up all the options presented to him and ensured the girls wanted for nothing while they were staying in Dubai.
“We do not want this tournament to get too big and lose its personal touch. We are happy with it being an International Tennis Federation event. What other tournaments can you get to speak with the players and mingle with them after the games? Most of the time you are stuck behind barriers at big events and can’t get close enough to really enjoy the action. That is different for the Habtoor Tennis Challenge because it is a class event and it does not cost a penny to come down to watch.”

The guest of honour, Sheikh Hasher Maktoum, Director, Dubai Department of Information, also threw his weight behind the event by attending games and he presented the prizes along with Mr Habtoor.

Singles winner Eleni Daniilidou from Greece

Germany's Angelika Bachmann lost in the semifinals to Hungary's Anika Kapros

Eleni Daniilidou displays her trophies

Doubles final runners-up Laurence Courtois of Belgium and Jeda Norrlander of the Netherlands and doubles winners Caroline Dhenin of France and Katalin Marosi-Aracama of Hungary

Khalaf Al Habtoor addresses the crowds at the final

Khalaf Al Habtoor is interviewed for television as Sultan Al Habtoor looks on

Singles finalists Daniilidou and Kapros at the start of their thrilling match

Nadedja Ostovskaya from Bulgaria lost in the semi-finals to Daniilidou

Sheikh Hasher (Left) and Khalaf Al Habtoor presents the awards.