Jordanian wild card Abdullah Shelbayh is relishing the “special” opportunity to compete on Arab soil and is keen to represent his country the best way possible on his Dubai debut on Monday.
The 20-year-old Shelbayh has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings, vaulting from 470 in the world at the start of 2023 to a career-high 181 last month.
A crafty lefty, who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Shelbayh is the first Jordanian in history to win a Challenger tournament, an ATP match, and more recently claim a victory at a Grand Slam event.
He made his major debut in Melbourne in January, where he reached the final round of qualifying before falling in three sets to home favourite Omar Jasika.
Shelbayh arrives in Dubai coming off a tight opening round defeat to world No 46 Alexei Popyrin in Doha. He now shifts his focus to his Dubai clash with the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor, which is scheduled last on Court 1 on Monday.
“It’s very special to me to be able to represent my country in the Arab world at such a big event. It’s my first time here so I’m looking forward to being on court already,” Shelbayh told The National on Sunday.
“I’ve been playing great tournaments this year. Maybe not the result I was looking for last week (in Doha) but I think it’s going to be a great match, I’m going to give it my all and see what happens.”
Shelbayh is not the only Arab to be awarded a wild card in Dubai this week. Tunisian Skander Mansouri will be competing in the doubles main draw alongside Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, while his compatriot Aziz Dougaz fought valiantly in the opening round of qualifying before losing to Frenchman Luca van Assche.
“I’m always happy to see a few other guys also from the Arab world playing this tournament. Aziz and Skander are great friends of mine, I was very happy for them,” said Shelbayh.
“It’s important for us to get these wild cards in these tournaments to make that breakthrough. It’s not that easy to have these wild cards and it is very important for our motivation too because these tournaments are very big, internationally, so I think it’s good to have them.”
Mansouri has enjoyed an impressive run of results in doubles in the last few months and has broken into the top 100 for the first time four weeks ago.
The world No 98 has won seven doubles titles on the Challenger tour in the last 12 months, producing strong performances alongside his British partner Luke Johnson.
“It feels great. It’s always a goal of every tennis player to be top 100, so being top 100 in dubs a few weeks ago is very nice,” Mansouri said of reaching that milestone in the doubles rankings.
Mansouri’s success in doubles has come at the expense of his singles. Making it to finals weekend on most weeks has made it difficult for him to reach his next destination in time for his singles qualifying matches but for now, it is a sacrifice Mansouri is willing to make, given how well he’s been performing in doubles.
His goal now is to crack the top 70 with Johnson so they can compete at the Grand Slams.
In Dubai, Mansouri and Qureshi will kick off their campaign against top-seeded duo Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna.
“It's great to be here in Dubai. I’ve always watched this event on TV since I was young and being here is awesome,” said the 28-year-old Mansouri.
He is thrilled to be sharing this experience in the Emirates with other Arab players like Shelbayh and Dougaz, adding: “It is (more special) for sure. We’ve known each other for so long and we’re usually hanging out together at lower tournaments than this one and it’s great being here and seeing each other in the player lounge, practising together and everything in an ATP 500 and hopefully we’ll see more of this in the next couple of years.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
The five pillars of Islam
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
