Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse celebrate after winning the King of the Court Finals in 2022.
Doha: The Aspire Zone will host the King of the Court Crown Series Finals from today, with home favourites Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse defending their crown against a stellar field .
Ahmed and Cherif won the King of the Court Finals in January in front of their home crowd, they are once again one of the favourites for the first title in the new year.
2022 was a great year for the duo, never finishing outside the top-9 in any tournament.
“We started really good at the beginning of the season. Then there were some tough moments for us after our win in Rosarito. We were second in Jurmala, thereafter we missed the chance to be on the podium in the World Champs. We know we weren’t really playing well, but to finish in the top-10 every time is most important. Good points.”
“After that we started to play well, winning the Maldives and we finished third in South Africa. That’s the most important, to every time be one of the best. It was hard, but we did it. We are looking forward to next year, but it will be even more tough.”
“It was a tough season. It also was positive, because at the beginning of the last season we started as the world number 1 and we are number 2 now. There were some ups and downs, but we are happy to be back,” Cherif said while looking back at that successful season as the Tokyo Olympics bronze winners look forward to another brilliant show in Doha.
Cherif said winning the King of the Court Finals in front of the home crowd was really enjoyable.
“It was really fun. We saw that all the people were watching, and it was an entertaining event. Everybody loved it and was proud of us that we won it. There was no pressure in that event, I came one day before, I was on vacation. I came to have fun. It’s a really fun format, I love it.”
In the final last year, especially the last round, all opponents kept serving Ahmed as the 27-year-old scored 10 points in the final round.
“I don’t know what they were thinking. He was more ready than me, because he was there two weeks before the event, practicing. Maybe they thought I was in shape, but I managed.
When they played me, I played it in a simple way. It’s a different format, you don’t have to side-out and then serve and run to the net. It’s just side-out after side-out. It’s easier to see the court, make a system and score. If you are smart it’s going to be easy for you,” Cherif said.
A general view of the court during last year's King of the Court Finals at Aspire Zone.
“It’s going to be a proud moment if we can reach the final again this time. It’s going to be a good challenge for us. It’s going to be tough, I don’t know how many top teams will come. We’re looking forward to be 100% and enjoy the lovely format, the atmosphere.”
“You need to be the best server, you need to be the best side-outer. It’s hard for everyone. The most important thing is the serving and side-out. For me it’s tough to say who will win, the best servers, they will win the event for sure. There’s no tactic, you can’t study anything. Because you don’t have time. You need to get in there and then learn quickly how the teams play.
It’s hard to say who is the best team, because in every King of the Court event since it started, there is a different champion. The champion of this event will not be the champions of the next. Everything is changing, it’s hard to say who is the best,” Cherif said.
