Lebanon’s summer tennis schedule was in full flow Thursday with the season’s opening tournament in Holiday Beach Jounieh. Wily veterans along with budding up and comers graced the preliminary rounds in their bid to qualify for the main draw Monday, where top seeds such as Nancy Karaaki and Bassam Baida await. With the local football and basketball federations drawing the curtains on their respective leagues, tennis will assume center stage for summer sports in Lebanon. With the ever-growing allure and popularity of the sport perpetuating the country, tennis has a wide array of aspiring players, with the Holiday beach draw boasting an impressive tally of 45 players for the men’s draw. The congested draw meant a shortened qualifying format, with the unpopular first to nine games dictating the outcome of the matches. Seasoned veteran Robert Harb dispatched 20-year-old newcomer Charles Fakhri 9-3, in a dazzling display of service expertise. The young Fakhri found the going tough against his powerful opponent, and it proved too much to withstand. The Lebanese school champion Emilio Khoury made easy work of his inexperienced counterpart Mohamad Aido 9-2 in an emphaticallyone-sided affair. The promising Khoury will head into Monday’s draw as the tournament’s dark horse. Another veteran Philip Hobaika made use of his experience to overcome youngster Samer Abaid 9-3. Once again heavy serving proved effective as Hobaika blasted his younger opponent off the court, with mammoth strokes and superior shooting. In one of the day’s more entertaining encounters, Carl Hobaika faced Wael Ayash, the younger brother of former junior champion Wissam Ayash. The battle demonstrated the impressive guile of Lebanon’s tennis youth, with both players putting in formidable performances. At 5-5 the deadlock was finally breached, when Hobaika took the initiative with an 11th game break. He never looked back, reeling off four straight games to seal the tie, 9-5. Big serving Elie Keghdi saw off Nour Nehmeh 9-6 in the day’s late game. Despite not being the most astute baseline tactician, Keghdi mustered a series of blistering serves to reach the finish line in resounding fashion. In Wednesday’s over 35 encounter, Philip Hobaika once again prevailed against robust opponent Mohamad Masri 9-7 in a close contest. Hobaika will now partake in tomorrow’s veteran and men’s qualifying after two praiseworthy wins Thursday. The day’s final match was an encounter between 27-year-old stalwart Wassim Saikaly and Herag Bardoian. Unfortunately for Saikaly, his ambitions would come to an abrupt halt after succumbing to the savvy play of Bardoian. The final day of qualification resumes Friday at 2 p.m., when Thursday’s winners will look to secure the remaining spots for Monday’s draw. In their way lies the country’s best, sharpening their knives in search of the first title of the season. From TheDailyStar