KUALA LUMPUR: Up-and-coming player Naufal Siddiq Kamaruzzaman is all set to build on his excellent form after his breakthrough performance at the National Championships last weekend.
Naufal notched a double victory at the second leg of the national circuit in Johor, where he claimed his first singles title and also won the doubles with Aiman Hamdan.
The 20-year-old has received a main draw wild card for the ITF Futures M15 (US$15,000) event in Seremban (July 18-24).
He will also play in two M15 events in Kuala Lumpur (July 25-31) and Kuching (Aug 1-7) but may have to go through the qualifiers.
The Negri Sembilan-born, who is in his third year of studies at Middle Georgia State University, is currently back in Malaysia for his summer break.
He hopes to do well at his home tournament in Seremban next week.
"I defeated Aiman, Ashaari Zainal, as well as Koay Hao Sheng, who has been in good form, en route to the finals in the national meet, and I am very pleased with my performance," said Naufal.
"I spent three weeks training at the Bolt Tennis Academy in Tampa (Florida) before returning to Malaysia. The stint helped my game.
"My goal in Seremban is to earn senior-ranking points. To do that, I will have to win one match in the main draw.
"The draw is not out yet, but we have seen the entry list. It is full of professional players ranked within the top 1,000.
"It (winning a match) will not be easy, but I will give it my best shot. Hopefully, the home-crowd support will give me a boost."
Naufal was a skinny teenager before he decided to gain muscles through an intensive weight-training programme. He now weighs a decent 72kg.
In terms of height, Naufal is a rarity among Malaysian players as he is 1.85m, considered an ideal height for modern tennis players.
Naufal, who is now studying marketing, has one year left before he completes his degree and he expects to pursue his MBA.
