LAHORE - Muzamil Murtaza and Muhammad Abid qualified for the men’s singles final in the New Khan Punjab Open Tennis Championship 2021 after winning their respective semifinals played here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah on Wednesday.
In the men’s singles semifinals, Muzamil Murtaza played superb tennis against his brother Mudassar Murtaza and won the encounter 6-2, 6-4 to qualify for the final. In the second semifinal, Muhammad Abid was up against seasoned campaigner Heera Ashiq and a tough fight was witnessed between both the professional players. Abid had to struggle hard to win the first set 7-6 but he played better tennis in the second one and won it 6-3.
Both the men’s singles finalists also managed to book berths in the men’s doubles final. First, Muzamil, pairing with his brother Mudassar Murtaza, outpaced the pair of Hamza Jawad/Imran Bhatti with a score of 6-3, 6-3 and then Muhammad Abid, partnering with Heera Ashiq, comfortably won the second semifinal against Irfan Mughal and Hassan Shaukat 6-2, 6-3.
The boys U-18 semifinals saw Ahtesham Arif routing Hamza Jawad 6-3, 6-4 and Asad Zaman (McDonald’s) defeating Arman Kamran 6-2, 6-4. In the boys/girls U-14 quarterfinals, high-flying Amna Ali Qayum defeated Abdul Basit 8-6, Nabeel Ali Qayum outpaced Abdullah Pirzada 8-5 and promising Zohaib Afzal Malik overwhelmed Muhammad Sohaan Noor 8-4.
In the boys/girls U-14 doubles quarterfinals, Abdullah Pirzada/Abdur Rehman Pirzada beat Hajra/Fajar Fayyaz 8-4, Abdur Rehman/Nabeel Ali Qayum beat Xeerak Mustafa/Aalay Husnain 8-5, Asad Zaman/Zohaib Afzal Malik beat Amna Ali Qayum/Abdul Basit 8-3. In the boys/girls U-12 quarterfinals, Abdul Basit played well against spirited Hajra 8-2 while Abdur Rehman (AAA Associates) beat Zohaib Afzal Malik 8-6.
Today (Thursday), all the remaining semifinals and finals of different categories will take place here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah. New Khan CEO Adil Khan Abdullah Rokari will be the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, which will also be attended by tennis players, their families and tennis enthusiasts