Mahatir, who was in sublime form, displayed outstanding tennis skills and techniques and kept his opponent Sami Zeb Khan under pressure to win the title clash 2-0. Mahatir won the first set conceding just three points while the second set was identical to the first one, which the champion won with the same margin of 6-3, thus claimed the coveted U-18 trophy.
Emerging star Hamza Ali Rizwan played well against spirited Zohaib Afzal Malik 4-2, 4-1 to win the U-12 title. Hamza was off to a flying start against the recovering Zohaib, who made into three finals in the Westbury National Tennis in Karachi, but due to food poisoning, he couldn’t deliver there and same was the case in Islamabad, where he again failed to give his best against ATF-ranked Hamza, thus losing the final by 2-4, 1-4.
In the men’s doubles semifinals, Aqeel Khan and M Abid outpaced the pair of Heera Ashiq and Yousaf Khalil (PAF) 6-3, 6-3 while another promising pair of Muhammad Shoaib and Barkat Ullah had to struggle hard to beat Muzammil Murtaza and Mudassir Murtaza 4-6, 6-3(10-7).