Hamid wins opener in ITF Junior Tennis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hamid Israr Gul got off to a winning start in the ITF International Junior Tennis Championships 2020 that got underway at the PTF Complex on Monday.

Hamid beat Raja Azan Ahmed Sajid (Pak) 6-1, 6-1. Mohammad Shoaib Khan is the top seed of the event, which is being participated by players from different countries around the world. The title favourite Shoaib has got a bye in the first round.

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is adhering to strict Covid-19 rules, as per ITF and government SOPs. The players were eager to compete with each other, especially after a long break due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The foreign players were highly appreciative of the conducive environment and the steps taken by the PTF to ensure implementation of the security and safety SOPs. Rain however disturbed the opening round matches and some of these were postponed for Tuesday.

Results: Boys’ singles first round: Aarav Samrat Hada (Nepal) bt Saim Choudhry (Pak) 6-0, 6-0; Alexander Kamran (USA) bt Nalain Abbas (Pak) 6-0, 6-0; Muhammad Huzaifa Khan (Pak) bt Ahmad Nael Qureshi (Pak) 6-0, 3-6, 6-0; Siddhartha Lama (USA) bt Bilal Asim (Pak) 6-0, 6-0; Roy Keegan (Britain) bt Muhammad Haider Ali Rizwan (Pak) 6-0, 6-1; Muhammad Talha Khan (Pak) bt Ryaan Khawaja Saud (USA) 6-0, 6-0; Hamid Israr Gul (Pak) bt Raja Azan Ahmed Sajid (Pak) 6-1, 6-1; Rohan Belday (USA) bt Jarrar Hussain (Pak) 6-0, 6-1.