ISLAMABAD - Pakistan number one U-18 tennis player Muzammil Murtaza stunned world junior ranked 212 player Hua Chen Yu of Chinese Taipei in straight sets in the pre-quarterfinals of the ITF Junior Circuit Week-I, Grade-5 Tournament being played in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
In the pre-quarterfinals, Muzammil played some breathtaking tennis against Hua Chen Yu, who was dictating terms in the first set, but then he finally settled down well and started playing aggressively. His powerful returns and back hand shots were too hot to handle for Hua. The first set went into tie-breaker as both the players managed to hold onto their respective serves. Muzammil then found his touch and outclassed Hua by winning the first set 7-6 (4).
It was one-sided second set, as Muzammil was hitting winners from every corner of the court. He kept Hua on running, which made Hua tired and he was not able to move freely. Muzammil’s tactics paid off and he wrapped up the second set 6-2 to book quarterfinal encounter with another Chinese Taipei player Chang Lin Tsai.
Muzammil also made it to the quarterfinals of the doubles event, as partnering with Rin Muller of Netherlands, he upset second seeded pair of Han Chin Lin/Shan Yusan Ou of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 2-2 (retired).
Talking to The Nation, Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) treasurer M Khalil Chughtai said: “Keeping with its goals and development programmes for juniors, the PTF has been encouraging the youngster and sponsored Muzammil Murtaza’s tour of Sri Lanka providing him opportunity to show his talent and skills at international level.
“Syed Nofil Kaleem, who recently won the doubles title of the Amman World Ranking Tennis Tournament-2 in Jordan, was unfortunate to make his game click in Colombo and, as along with M Ali Sahibzada and M Raza Shawani, who are also participating in this ITF Junior Circuit on self-financed basis, could not show the desired results,” he added.
“The ITF Junior Circuit is an excellent platform for the upcoming junior players to demonstrate their skills and talent and gain exposure at the international level. PTF president Salim Saifullah Khan and senior management of the PTF also lauded Muzammil on his recent performance and wished him good luck for his tasks ahead,” he concluded.