Qatar Trip Day 7 – Final Day, Final Battle & A Strong Finish
Yesterday evening, Rafa’s dad Jeff arrived just in time to witness Rafa’s doubles victory — the perfect way to close Day Six and start the final day with extra motivation and family support.
This morning, we stayed true to our routine. Keeping consistent habits has played a huge role in Rafa’s confidence and sense of control throughout the week. After an early breakfast and a bit of schoolwork, we headed to the courts for our last morning practice. Today’s session had a specific purpose: to work on the areas that didn’t go as well in last night’s singles semifinal. We focused on returns, decision-making, and a few targeted drills to sharpen Rafa’s mindset and execution for the final match of the trip.
After training, we returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for the afternoon showdown — the playoff for third place, a match with important ranking points on the line.
Match for Third Place – A Tight Battle Against a Familiar Rival
We arrived at the tennis centre with a clear plan to beat our opponent, Arjan — a player we know extremely well after practicing with him all week. Strong backhand, powerful forehand, excellent volleys, and great touch at the net. His weaker area was his movement, so the strategy was simple but demanding:
move him side to side, change direction with safe margins, and wait for the right ball to force an error or hit a clean winner.
The match began with a bit of inconsistency from Rafa, while Arjan started confidently and playing some of his best tennis. Even so, Rafa stayed steady and managed to raise his level when it mattered most. The first set went to a tiebreak, and Rafa played it with great composure to take the lead.
The second set was almost a copy of the first — long rallies, tight games, and small details deciding the outcome. This time, the tiebreak went to Arjan, who played more consistently in the key moments.
Everything would be decided in a super tiebreak.
Rafa approached it with calm, confidence, and a very clear tactical mindset. Point by point, he stayed solid and made excellent decisions. In the biggest moments, he was the sharper player — and he closed out the super tiebreak to win the match and secure 3rd place in the tournament for the second week in a row.
A Strong End to a Successful Two Weeks
With this final victory, Rafa completes two fantastic weeks of competition in Qatar:
✔️ Doubles Champion
✔️ Back-to-back Singles Semifinals
✔️ Back-to-back 3rd Place Finishes
✔️ A huge amount of experience and confidence
✔️ Valuable ranking points — enough to place Rafa close to Top 60 in Asia (U14)
A brilliant effort, a clear progression, and a very successful trip from start to finish.
Well done, Rafa. Qatar has been a big step forward.