Mohammad Al-Ghareeb
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Kuwait
| ||
| Men's Tennis | ||
| Islamic Solidarity Games | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2005 Ta'if | Singles |
| | 2013 Palembang | Team |
| Pan Arab Games | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2011 Doha | Doubles |
| | 2011 Doha | Team |
Mohammed al Ghareeb (born July 22, 1980) is a tennis player from Kuwait. He plays right-handed with a single-handed backhand, and is best known for his near-upset of World No. 1 Roger Federer in the second round of the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships. Ranked No. 488 at the time of the match, Al Ghareeb was expected to offer little resistance to Federer, but in a surprisingly competitive match, Al Ghareeb led 4-2 in the first set, and 3-2 in the second, before succumbing 7-6(5), 6-4.[1] According to Federer, Al Ghareeb was "definitely the better player and I think only my experience helped me get through."[2]
Ranked No. 436 as of June 2007, with a career-high ranking of No. 336,[3] Al Ghareeb is Kuwait's top tennis player by a considerable margin.[4] He has compiled a 43-19 record in Davis Cup play for Kuwait (31-9 in singles, 12-10 in doubles), and is its longest-standing member.[5] In 2007, he led the Kuwaiti team in its most successful Davis Cup season to date, reaching the Asia/Oceania Group II final with victories over Iran and Indonesia, before losing the division championship match to the Philippines in a 0-5 sweep.[6]
Al Ghareeb has yet to make a significant breakthrough at a top-level event, though in the 2007 Dubai Tennis Championships he won a set from Top 10 player Tomáš Berdych before losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.[7] Al Ghareeb again received a wild-card to Dubai in 2008, losing 6-4 6-0 in the first round to the fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko. Once again, he received a wild card in 2009, losing 7-5 4-6 4-6 in the first round to third seed Gilles Simon. Simon praised his opponent's play and expressed surprise at his low ranking, saying that Al Ghareeb "has a strange ranking, 400 or so, with his game, it's just unbelievable."[8]
References
- ↑ "A Rather Tough Second Round for Roger".
- ↑ "Agassi loses in Dubai; Federer also struggles".
- ↑ "ATPTennis.com Player Profile".
- ↑ "ATP Rankings By Country".
- ↑ "Davis Cup - Players: Mohammad GHAREEB".
- ↑ "Davis Cup - Team Biography: Kuwait".
- ↑ "Federer breaks Connors' record streak".
- ↑ "Djokovic advances to 2nd round in Dubai". Associated Press. Feb 24, 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2009.