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  • Ageless Wonder: Younes El Aynaoui Wins Challenger Title

    4/22/08 5:48 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - 36-year-old Younes El Aynaoui wins title at the Challenger Series event in Chiasso, Switzerland on Sunday. It’s the Moroccan’s second smaller title in as many months.

    Remember Younes El Aynaoui? Well, the rockin’ Moroccan is back. No, he is not on the main ATP circuit again (at least not yet), but he is doing just fine for a 36-year-old in tennis’ minor leagues.

    The likable veteran captured a Challenger title on Sunday in Chiasso, Switzerland, where El Aynaoui defeated top-seeded Alberto Martin in the final 7-6(2), 6-3. En route to—and including—the championship match El Aynaoui took out most of the biggest names in the field, among them seventh-seeded Dominik Meffert in the second round, Simon Greul in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 seed Nicolas Devilder in the semifinals. Obviously none of those guys are household names at the ATP level, but all of them have seen action main draws of ATP events recently.

    What makes his performance last week all the more impressive is that it was El Aynaoui's second title in as many events in 2008. He won a Futures tournament in Spain back in March. That’s right; a minor blip in Davis Cup two weeks ago not withstanding, the 36-year-old has not lost a match this season.

    Is he ready to bring his flamboyant game back to the big stages? Well, probably not since ranking is down to around 300 in the world. Tennis fans, however, would love such a return, as El Aynaoui was a fan favorite in his heyday and he is still remembered fondly for one of the greatest matches ever played: a 21-19 in the fifth set loss to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Australian Open.

    Whatever happens from this point on, what El Aynaoui has done so far in 2008 is a triumph for both himself and for 30-something-year-olds everywhere.

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