Oliel dreaming of grand slam glory
TENNIS YSHAI Oliel believes he can reach the top 10 of the ATP rankings following a strong run at the Juniors Australian Open.
Oliel, who turned 17 earlier this month, cruised past Alexandre Rotsaert of the US 6-0, 6-0 to set up a quarter-final against Menelaos Efstathious of Cyprus.
Seeded four in Melbourne, Oliel has yet to lose a set, having beaten Francesco Forti and Australia’s Matthew Dellavadova. If he reaches the semifinals he will face top seed Yibing Wu of China.
The Israeli faced a testing schedule, although he and his Belgian partner Zizou Bergs were beaten in the second round of the Men’s Doubles event.
Oliel is the great future hope of Israeli tennis and he said. “Being the world No. 1 or winning a grand slam is a dream, but I very much hope I can reach the top 10.
“My friends think tennis is fun and although it is fun, it’s an enormous amount of hard work and you have to cope with a lot of pressure.”
Winner of the Orange Bowl under-14 and under-16 titles and the Junior Doubles in the French Open last year, Oliel pays tribute to UK philanthro- pist David Coffer’s David Squad tennis academy in Ra’anana, which has nurtured him
“David supports me with everything I need both inside and outside of tennis. He has given me the chance to prove I can fulfil my potential and reach the highest levels.”