Aisam, Aqeel outclass Heera, Haider

LAHORE: Pakistan’s ace tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and national number one Aqeel Khan were through to the next round of Hassan Tariq Rahim (HTR) Masters Cup (Invitational) Tennis Tournament at Lahore Gymkhana Courts here on Monday.

The top tennis pair of the country prevailed over struggling youngsters Heera Ashiq and Abdul Haider in straight sets. With every serve served and every forehand and backhand smacked, Aisam and Aqeel added points to their tally. The few points earned by Heera and Haider were due to the follies shown by the winning pair.

The experienced pair won the match in straight sets.In their opening match, Aisam and Aqeel put on a superb display, not allowing Imran Bhatti and Tariq Sadiq to play freely, and won the match 6-1 and 6-3.

In men’s singles, Heera beat Mudassir Murtaza after a tough fight. Heera warmed up with an opening set win 6-4, but Mudassir bounced back to level the match by winning the second set by 6-3.

Heera gathered his act together in the third set and took points bit by bit, not allowing Mudassir to settle down for an inch. Heera won the final set 6-1. In another match, Shomael Chodhary beat Mohammad Shoaib after a tie-break 7-6 (2), and 6-0.

Ahmed Chaudhary beat Abid Ali Akbar. The former lost the first set, but won the next two. Muzammil Murtaza beat Yousaf Khalil 6-2 and 6-1. In ladies singles, Sara Mansoor prevailed over Nida Akram 6-0, 6-0.

Mehak Khokher beat Mehwish Chishti 3-6, 6-2 as the later retired out of the match following cramps.In under-18, Ahmed Kamil beat Shehryar Tariq 6-1, 6-0; Saqib Hayat defeated Taimour Saleem 6-3, 6-1; and Nauman Aftab overpowered Ahmed Asjad Qureshi 6-3, 6-1.