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With more than 100 line judges, chair umpires and a handful of referees, Chief Umpire, Hany Khafief, has his work cut out as the man in charge.
Walking towards us, on the way to his final line judges briefing before the action begins, Hany directs people to a giant white tent (where the briefing will take place), talks on the phone to renowned tennis referee Alan Mills and still manages to hand uniforms to a few late-comers.
He said: "I'm honestly not sure whether I'm coming or going at the moment. This is a very busy time for me because we have to get all the uniforms out to the officials. We have 84 line judges alone and more than 50 of them are from abroad, with 30 from the UAE. They all have different requirements and T-shirt sizes and they all need looking after."
Best opportunities
Hany, who is now a qualified chair judge but hopes to become a tennis referee in the near future, says the Dubai Tennis Championships has given him the best opportunities he could ever have wished for.
Involved since the tournament's inception 17 years ago, Hany has progressed each year and has worked alongside Alan Mills — referee at Wimbledon — from the start.
He said: "It is amazing that I have had the chance to work alongside Alan. I can honestly say that I would never be where I am today if it wasn't for him. I have learnt so much and I learn something new each time I am around him. He is my inspiration and hero all rolled into one."
But among the madness, Hany is nothing short of a professional when he steps into a tent filled to the brim with eager line judges.
The giant team goes silent and Hany explains the schedule for the day, medical back-up, uniform rules and final protocol.
With representatives from more than 30 countries, Hany gives the briefing in English before answering a barrage of questions and queries from his team.
Hany added: "Everything has to be exact. The officials all have a uniform which even includes trainers and everything must be perfect.
Challenging
"It is a very challenging job but I wouldn't change a thing — I love it."
Hany said the most controversial thing which he could face in a match situation is if a particular player begins to have a personal issue with one of the line judges during a match.
He explained: "This has happened a few times in my time at the tennis and the best thing to do is simply change the whole line judge team, rather than just singling someone out."
Hany, who is originally from Egypt but has lived in the UAE all his life, now umpires matches all over the world and was the first person from this country to become internationally qualified.
He said: "Now I organise everybody and it's lots of fun. But sometimes, when it gets too much, I do secretly miss sitting up there on that chair in the sunshine."
Did you know?
- Serena and Venus Williams have both won the US Open title without conceding a set. Both won 14 sets from the first round to the final — this had happened 24 times previously in the history of the Open.
- American legend Billie Jean (Moffit) King earned the nickname of Queen of Wimbledon through her exploits — 20 Wimbledon titles between 1961 and 1979 — a record later equalled by Martina Navratilova.
- Another tennis legend, Chris Evert, winner of seven French open titles, managed to win at least one grand slam singles title every year in the time period between 1974 and 1986.
- Martina Navratilova won a record 59 Grand Slam titles during her career. Her titles were made up of 18 singles, 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles titles.
— Compiled by Ravi Kant Srivastava
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