Ahmed secures unexpected berth in tennis semi-final

KARACHI: Eighth seed Ahmed Chaudhry stunned third seed Mohammad Abid in the quarter-finals of men’s singles in Benazir Bhutto (Shaheed) Tennis Championship underway in Islamabad.

Ahmed played impressively in the last-eight stage and brushed aside Abid 6-2, 6-4.

He will face Pakistan No 1 Aqeel Khan, who overpowered Heera Aashiq by 6-2, 6-0, in the semi-final.

Aqeel’s younger brother Yasir Khan, who is seeded fourth in the event, defeated Mudassir Murtaza 6-1, 6-2.

He will face second seed Shezad Khan, who dispatched Usman Rafique 6-1, 6-1.

Sarah Mansoor and Sarah Mehboob will vie for top honour in the ladies singles final.

Sara Mansoor defeated Khunsha Baber by 6-1, 6-0, while Sarah Mehboob overpowered Mahin Aftab by 6-0, 6-3 in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Aqeel and Ahmed won the title of men’s doubles when they beat top seeds Shezad Khan and Yasir Khan 6-4, 6-4.

In the boys under-18 event, Muzammil Murtaza defeated Barkat ullah by 7-6(4), 6-4, while Aman Attique recovered from a set down to beat Nofil Kaleem by 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

In under-14 singles semi-finals, Aaqib Umer defeated Hamza bin Rehan 7-5, 6-3, while Shoaib Khan beat stubborn Noman Aftab by 7-6(3), 7-6(2).