Sheheryar Tennis reaches semis stage

LAHORE: Aqeel Khan, Muzammil Murtaza, M Abid and Yousaf Khan qualified for the semifinals of the 3rd Sheheryar Malik Memorial National Grass Court Tennis Championship after defeating their respective opponents in the quarterfinals played here at PLTA courts on Thursday.

In the first quarterfinal of the day, top seed Aqeel Khan was up against Shehzad Khan and after facing some resistance from veteran opponent, Aqeel overcame him by 6-3, 7-6. Aqeel was off to flying start in the first set and just conceded three points to take the set by 6-3. Shehzad showed his class and aggression in the second set and fought till the end to make it 6-6. Aqeel then utilized his vast experience and skills to overcome spirited Shehzad by 7-6 to win the match and book berth in the semifinal.

In other quarterfinals of the day, second seed M Abid drafted a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory against Yasir Khan. Abid played superb tennis with powerful shots and down the line volleys, which helped him win the first 6-2. In the second set, though he conceded three points, yet it was also easily sailing for the second seed, who took the set 6-3 to move into the semifinals. Third seed Muzamil Murtaza overpowered Davis Cupper player Abid Ali Akbar by 7-5, 6-3 while Yousaf Khan outpaced energetic Mudassar Murtaza by 6-4, 6-4.

In men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals, Aqeel Khan/Shehzad Khan outlasted Imran Bhatti/Mian Bilal 6-3, 6-3, Maik Abdul Rehman/Heera Ashiq thumped Shakir Ullah/Azeem Khan 6-0,6-3, Yousaf Khan/Asad Ullah overwhelmed M Minhas/Hamza Khalid 6-4, 6-3, Abid Ali Akbar/Ahmad Ch routed Saqib Hayat/Ahmad Babar 6-2, 6-2, Hassan Riaz/Musa Ch hard to struggle hard to beat Ikram Ullah/Rashid Khan 6-3, 5-7, 12-10, M Abid/Waqas Malik outpaced Abdaal Haider/Usman Rafiq 6-2,6-2 and Mudassar Murtaza/Muzamil Murtaza edged Ahmad Kamil/Ahmad Asjad 6-4, 7-5.

In ladies singles quarterfinals, top seeds Sara Mansoor, Mehek Khokhar, Sarah Mehboob and Noor Malik recorded easy wins against their respective opponents. In the first quarterfinal, Sara outclassed Meeram Ch 6-3, 6-0 while Mehak Khokhar overwhelmed Esha Jawad 6-1, 6-3, Sarah Mehboob crushed Ashtifila Arif 6-0, 6-0 and Noor Malik thrashed Asfa Shahbaz 6-1, 6-0.

In U-18 quarterfinals, M Mahatir beat Osama Khan 2-6, 6-2, 10-3, Abdullah Adnan beat Hasheesh Kumar 6-3, 6-2, Ahmad Kamil beat Semi Zeb 6-0, 6-2 and Nauman Aftab beat Hamid Israr 6-1, 6-1. In U-12 pre-quarterfinals, Hamza Roman beat Yashar Tarar 4-0, 4-0, Haider Ali Rizwan beat Rafay Atta Ullah 4-1, 4-1, Hania Minhas beat Labika 4-0, 4-0, Ali Jawad beat Asfandyar 4-0, 4-1, Hussnain Ali Rizwan beat Ismail Aftab 4-0, 4-1 and Hamza Ali Rizwan beat Taimoor 4-0, 4-2.