Hamza upsets Dong to enter final

ISLAMABAD: Fifteen-year-old upcoming tennis star Hamza Roman stunned second seed Korea’s Dong Hyeon in straight sets to make it to the final of boys’ singles in the ITF Pakistan Khawar Hyat Khan Memorial World Junior Championship Leg-1 here Friday at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex.

The youngster, who belongs to an underprivileged family, powered past his opponent 6-4, 6-2 to earn a place in the final.

Hamza, who will miss the second Leg starting from Monday because of his commitments with the junior Davis Cup team in Sri Lanka, played exceptional tennis to stun many watching him on the court. The tall lean player covered his base-line stylishly, giving no chance to his opponent to make any inroads.

Other Pakistan player Ahmad Nael Qureshi however lost to Kiagaoge Kang. The Chinese player won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to set up the first leg final against Hamza. Katsiaryna Dubik (BLR) will take on her country girl Kira Kalinouskaya in the girls’ singles final.

Results: Boys’ singles semi-finals: Hamza Roman bt Dong Hyeon (KOR) 6-4, 6-2; Kiagaoge Kang (CHN) bt Ahmad Nael Qureshi (PAK) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Girls’ singles semi-finals: Katsiaryna Dubik (BLR) bt Deniz Cakil (TUR) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1; Kira Kalinouskaya (BLR) bt Stefaniya Neporent (BLR) 6-2, 3-0 (retd).

Boys’ doubles semi-finals: Bilal Asim & Ahmed Nael Qureshi (PAK) bt Jun Hyeok An (KOR) & Ye Chan Choi (KOR) 6-2, 6-3; Dong Hyeon Euom (KOR) & Jiwan Park (KOR) bt Howard Chan (HKG) & Xiuyuan Guo (CHN) 6-2, 6-3.