Grand Slams on the horizon for young tennis player Imran

Young Malaysian tennis player Imran Daniel Abdul Hazli posing with the trophy after winning the Base 11 and under Stars of Tomorrow tournament in Germany on Sunday.

PETALING JAYA: Abdul Hazli Zainuddin is doing all he can to make his son Imran Daniel Abdul Hazli scale greater heights in world tennis.

The 10-year-old Imran brought Merdeka Day joy to the nation with a stunning triumph in the Base 11 and under Stars of Tomorrow tennis tournament in Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany, on Sunday.

The unseeded Kuala Lumpur boy, who is coached by his father, managed to beat several seeded players on his way to his second international title. In the final, Imran outplayed top seed Nicolas Philibert of England 6-2, 6-1.

Imran opened his campaign by beating Slovenia’s Tim Kuster 6-0, 6-1 and then subdued German No. 1 Marc Majdandzi 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the last eight.

He advanced to the semi-finals in style with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Swede Linus Lofvenhaft on Friday, before beating Holland’s Manvydas Balciunas the next day to make the final.

Following the success, Abdul Hazli now plans to groom Imran to play in the Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open). The four majors also have Under-18 events.

“I hope to see Imran play in the Grand Slams by the time he is 15. No Malaysian has made it but I believe it is possible with proper planning.

“He has to play there early if he is to have a future in tennis,” said Hazli, who was a Davis Cupper in his heyday.

“It is not easy to qualify. Imran has to be ranked in the top 50 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. 

“So, he needs to play in tournaments that offer ranking points. He will play in more Under-12 tournaments from now on. We also plan to expose him in some Under-14 events in the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Circuit next year,” added Hazli.

For Imran, playing in Europe has been a big step up.

“After spending some time taking part in local tournaments, it was an eye opener to compete in Europe,” said Imran, whose first international success was the Under-8 title at the PTT Hatyai Open in Thailand in 2012.

“My next big event is the GD World Junior Tennis Masters in Turkey in November. I’ve been invited to play,” said Imran, who was the Under-10 champion in the SportExcel Circuit in 2013 and 2014.