MEDIA

Younes El Aynaoui is determined to retire in style. The Moroccan player defeated American Ryler Deheart 76 (3) – 76 (4) in the first match of the second day of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2010. In his first match of the competition Younes surprised everyone with his excellent display of tennis and outstanding condition in a match that lasted an hour and 45 minutes. 

 

Younes announced recently his retirement from the tennis courts and has selected the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2010 as his last tournament. El Aynaoui considers that it is time to move on and dedicate all of his time to his family and new challenges. He is very impressed with the newcomers and wouldn’t mind becoming a coach in the near future.

During his long career Younes suffered from a lot of injuries that kept him on and off the courts. Younes has not played competitive tennis since September 2008. However, as of December 2009, he scheduled to play at the ATP Champions Tour tournament in London, where he made his debut at the senior tour.

 

Born on the 12 of September 1971 in Rabat, the Moroccan player enjoys of great popularity in his native country. He received a gold medal – the nation's highest sporting honor – from King Mohammed VI. In a 2003 poll by leading Moroccan newspaper L'Economiste, readers named El Aynaoui their favorite role model for society, ahead of the prime minister and athletics star Hicham El Guerrouj. The center court of the Royal Tennis Club in Marrakech is named after El Aynaoui.

 

Another winner of the day was Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal who defeated Italian Simone Bolelli, registering a fluent 6-3, 6-3.

 

Nadal gave enough evidence that he had recovered from his knee injury and that he is determined to win the event.