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Israeli tennis sensation Yshai Oliel secured his first Grand Slam title after partnering Patrik Rikl to win the Boys Doubles crown at the French Open.
The 16-year-old high school student from Ramla became the fourth Israeli to win a junior grand slam title and when he becomes professional in 18 months time, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Anna Smashnova, Dudi Sela and Shahar Peer who all became top 30 players.
Oliel had bowed out in the second round in the Singles' competition, but together with his partner from the Czech Republic, they went all the way at Roland Garros.
A product of The David Squad, Oliel produced some excellent tennis against Chung Yun-seong and Orlando Luz, winning 6–3, 6–4.
Oliel won the the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl tournament in 2014 and is expected to compete at Wimbledon next month. But he is reluctant to look too far ahead. "This is my greatest achievement since winning the Orange Bowl when I was 14, he said.
"It helped that there were hundreds of Israelis and members of the Jewish community that came along to Roland Garros to cheer me along. I feel very proud to be out there representing Israel.
"I'm having a few days rest and then I have to start training on grass courts for the upcoming tournaments in England."
He is scheduled to play at Roehampton and the Wimbledon qualifiers although it is not yet clear if he will again be teaming up with Riki for the doubles. Last year Oliel reached the second round in the Wimbledon junior boys doubles tournament.
Oliel is a product of the David Squad established by UK businessman David Coffer and his son, Adam. For the past 11 years, the David Squad has been training a cadre of top Israeli tennis youngsters with the potential to win major international tournaments.
"The David Squad is seeing a great generation coming through and this success inspires the younger players," said David Coffer.