ISLAMABAD        -           Mohammad Shoaib defeated Heera Ashiq in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the 5th Begum Kalsoom Saifullah Memorial National Ranking Tennis Championship 2020 here at Senator Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex on Friday.

In the first set, Shoaib struggled to adjust against experienced Heera, as both the players managed to hold onto their respective serves and the first set went into tiebreak. However, Shoaib managed to overcome his opponent and won the set 7-6. Shoaib continued with his heroics in the second set, as he was increasing pressure on his opponent. His passing shots, serves and returns were too hot to handle for Heera. He managed to break the 10th serve of his rival and took the second set 6-4 to book his place in the semifinals.

Tennis star Aqeel Khan survived a very close scare and came from behind to beat Yusuf Khalil 2-1, as he lost the first set 6-7 (4) on tie break before bouncing back and winning the second and third sets with the margins of 6-0 and 6-1. In the other men’s singles matches, second seed Muzammil Murtaza thrashed Barkatullah, 6-0 and 6-3, while Mohammad Abid outclassed Mudassar Murtaza, 6-2 and 6-4.

Mahin Aftab made another upset in the ladies semifinal by ousting top seed Sara Mansoor in straight sets. Mahin was recently recovered from wrist injury, which had kept her out of tennis for around one year. Both the players showed tremendous fighting skills in the first set. However, Mahin prevailed and managed to break the 12th game of Sara to win the set 7-5. Sara could not continue in the second set due to illness and eventually conceded the match. Sarah Mehboob Khan beat Noor Malik of ZTBL with the margins of 6-2 and 6-1 in the second ladies singles semifinal.

In the men’s doubles quarterfinals, M Abid/Waqas Malik w/o Shakir Ullah/Abbas Khan, Ahmed Chaudhry/Barkatullah beat Yousaf Khalil/Heera Ashiq, 6-3 and 6-4, and Mudassar Murtaza/M Shoaib defeated Imran Bhatti/Mian Bilal, 6-1 and 6-1. In the boys U-18 quarterfinals, Hamid Israr beat Aqib Hayat, 7-5, 6-4, Subhan bin Salik defeated Mahatir Muhammad, 6-3 and 6-2, Hashish Kumar outclassed Faizan Fayyaz, 4-6, 6-3 and 6-1, and M Shoaib outperformed Nalain Abbas, 6-3 and 6-2.

In the boy U-14 quarterfinals, Haider Ali Rizwan beat Hussnain Ali Rizwan, 4-2 and 4-2, Yahya Musa Luni thrashed Saim Shahzad, 4-0 and 4-0, Bilal Asim stunned Asad Zaman, 4-0 and 4-0, and Shahsawar overcame M Hamza Asim, 4-1, 4-5 (5) and 4-1. In the boys U-14 doubles quarterfinals, Shahsawar/Yahya Musa beat Ehtisham Hamayun/Asad Zaman, 4-0 and 4-0, while Ahmed/Bilal Asim thrashed Taimoor Khan/Jamal Shah, 4-0 and 4-0.

In the boys/girls U-12 matches: Amir Mazari beat Taimoor Khan, 4-1 and 4-0, Hamza Roman defeated Jamal Shah, 4-0 and 4-1, Ali Zain w/o Shahsawar, Hamza Ali Rizwan stunned Rayan Sahood, 4-1 and 4-2, Nabeel Ali Qayyum overcame Amna Ali Qayyum, 5-4 (5) and 4-0, Ehtisham Hamayun beat Subhan Aslam, 4-0 and 4-0, Abdul Basit outperformed Eesa Fahad 4-1 and 4-1, and Husnain Ali Rizwan outclassed Haziq Asim, 4-0, 4-0.

In the boys/girls U-10 quarterfinals, Hammad Shah beat Yusuf Raja, 4-1 and 4-0, Hamza Ali Rizwan defeated Samir Mashood, 4-2 and 4-0, Razik Sultan stunned Ali Asghar Zaidi, 4-1 and 4-2, and M Hassan Usman beat Zunaisha Noor, 4-0 and 4-2. In the seniors 45 plus doubles, Rashid Malik (ZTBL) and Hameed ul Haq overcame Azeem Khan and Imran Ahmed 6-1, 3-6 and 10-2.

Former Minister and Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) President Anwar Saifullah Khan witnessed some of the matches and interacted with the players. He also appreciated the players for their hard work and the organising committee for conducting the event in a professional manner.