Clay Court Championship Week
Khan Twins Dominate Boys 14 Clays
by Todd Holcomb, 27 July 2016
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It might be the ultimate family victory, but twins Zane and Faris Khan don't really like playing against each other, even for the championship of a national tournament.
Singles finalists, doubles champions, and twins Faris (left) and Zane Khan with their uncle and coach Shariq Khan
courtesy, Shariq Khan
It happened again last week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where Zane pulled out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Faris in the singles final of the
USTA Boys 14 National Clay Court Championships. The two native Texans also won the doubles title.
Two years ago, Zane and Faris played in the singles finals of both the USTA 12 national clays and hard courts.
"It's a tough one, man," Zane said. "Faris just knows my game so well. He knows how to play me. He's so tough. I don't really care who wins. I try not to think about the gold ball. I just worry about improving."
They're not the first set of twins to deal with the dilemma. Bob and Mike Bryan, the California twins who became the world's No. 1 doubles team, solved the problem in their junior days by flipping a coin and letting the loser default.
The Khan twins' uncle and coach, Shariq Khan, said he had considered it.
"If it was up to me, they would," Shariq said. "There are a lot of people there who wanted to see them to play the final out. We didn't want to disappoint anyone. They went out and put on a pretty good show for people to watch. I think that was the best way to handle it."
Though they were seeded only ninth (Zane) and seventh (Faris), the brothers' achievements last week were no great surprise. Zane is ranked No. 2 among rising high school freshmen by TennisRecruiting. Faris is No. 6.
Their USTA ranking lags a little behind because they've played a limited USTA schedule. They've competed in France, England and Canada this year. Next week, they'll be in the Czech Republic as part of the three-player U.S. team in the World Team Championships.
