LAHORE - Abubakar Talha (Wapda) registered an upset victory against top seed Ehtesham Hamayun in the Servis Tyres Junior National Tennis Championship u-12 pre-quarterfinal match played here at Punjab Tennis Academy Bagh-e-Jinnah on Thursday.
Abubakar was up against Ehtesham and after playing phenomenal tennis, he stunned the top seed by 5-4(7-3), 4-1. Both the players matched fire with fire and leveled the score at 4-4. In the tie break, Abubakar played exceptionally and overcame spirited Ehtesham to win the set by 5-4 (7-3). In the second set, Abubakar showed some aggression and outclassed his opponent by 4-1 to register an upset victory and booked berth in the quarterfinals.
In other u-12 pre-quarterfinals, Husnain Ali Rizwan played well against Mustafa Fahd and routed him by 4-2, 4-2 while Hamza Ali Rizwan proved too hot for Yashar Tarar as he crushed his opponent by 4-0, 4-0, Asad toppled Labika Durab 4-1, 4-2, Ali Jawad edged out Zohaib Afzal Malik 0-4, 4-2, 4-1, high-flying Haider Ali Rizwan thrashed Sarim Rasul 4-0, 4-0 and Hania Minhas outclassed Musa Nisar 4-0, 4-0.
In U-18 pre-quarterfinals, Ahmad Nael, Hamid Israr, Huzaima Abdul Rehman, Faizan Fayyaz, Bilal Asim and Hasheesh Kumar registered victories and qualified the quarterfinals. In the first match, Ahmad Nael played well against Hamid Yaqoob and outpaced him by 6-2, 6-4 while Hamid Israr overpowered Taimoor Ali 6-0, 6-1, Huzaima Abdul Rehman thumped Zain Chaudhry 6-1, 6-2, Faizan Fayyaz beat Zaryab Khan 6-2, 6-4, Bilal Asim edged past Abdul Hanan Khan 6-3, 6-7, 10-5 and Hasheesh Kumar had to struggle hard to beat M Mahhateer by 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.
In u-14 first round, Shaeel Tahir, Huzaima Abdul Rehman, Abdul Hanan Khan and Bilal Asim played exceptionally and not only outplayed their respective opponents but also moved into the quarterfinals. In the first match, Shaeel Tahir beat Hamid Yaqoob 4-1, 4-0 while Huzaima Abdul Rehman thrashed Maha Said 4-0, 4-0, Abdul Hanan Khan beat Haider Ali Rizwan 4-0, 4-2 and Bilal Asim outsmarted Asfandyar 4-0, 4-0. Today (Friday), the girls u-18 and u-10 first round matches will be played at 4:00 pm.