Kids Take Centre Stage On Day One

© Dubai Duty Free Tennis ChampionshipsSabine Lisicki has fun at Kids Day.

Hundreds of school children from across the UAE took to centre court on the opening day of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud.

More than 450 boys and girls took part in a special tennis clinic under the tutelage of local tennis ace Clark Francis from Clark Francis Tennis Academy.

Just like the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Francis has been conducting The Clark Francis Tennis Show for twenty years. "The aim is to develop kids from as young as four years old, right through to the professional ranks. It was a great turnout and a wonderful day was had by all," added Francis.

Tournament Director, Salah Talak was on hand to witness the clinic and say hello to some of the aspiring youngsters. "The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is not just for the elite players. It is great to see so many kids on centre court, and having so much fun," he said.

After being put through their paces for over an hour, the kids were treated to an appearance from two of the world’s top female players. Sabine Lisicki of Germany and Lucie Safarova from Czech Republic both took to the court to join in the action. Ahead of their first up encounters in Dubai, the women hit balls with the kids, signed autographs and posed for photos. "I remember watching my heroes on court when I was young so now it is great to be an inspiration to the kids," Lisicki went on to say.

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organizers was also impressed with what he saw. "What an absolute treat for these kids who are the stars of tomorrow to be hitting on court with these fantastic players. Sabine and Lucie are both great ambassadors for women’s tennis," he added.

The atmosphere on centre court was fantastic with the kids having a great time. Julius, a seven year old from Netherlands was one of the kids taking part in the fantastic clinic. "The best part for me was playing in front of the crowd”. I also really liked being so close to Sabine and Lucie," Julius said.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Play begins at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on 20th February with the WTA Tour event, and continues on February 27th with the ATP tournament that features defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic, former four-time champion Roger Federer, 2012 Brisbane champion Andy Murray and Wimbledon semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Tickets for the event are available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at http://www.timeouttickets.com/. For further information about tickets, prices and tournaments visit http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/ or phone the call centre on +971 4 358 9797.