Sports Bulletin

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (December 9, 2021):-Besides top seed Aqeel Khan, Yousaf Khalil, Mohammad Shaoib and Mohammad Abid moved into the semifinals of the ongoing J7 – 34th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships 2021 after beating their respective challengers at PTF-SDA Tennis Complex, Islamabad on Thursday. The 6th Seed Yousaf Khalil, the upcoming proficient caused a major upset during the course of his quarter final encounter with 4th Seed Heera Ashiq. In his pursuit of victory he added his foot speed and top spin makes him a force to be reckoned with. Yousaf certainly toned down and dispirited his accomplished adversary by upping the velocity of this serves, rallying with self assurance and showing no hesitation in rushing the net frequently. Yousaf Khalil managed to oust the 4th seed with the score-line of 6-4, 6-7(3) and 6-3. In another Men’s Singles quarter final, Mohammad Shoaib toppled Mudassar Murtaza in a thrilling match of the day 2-0 with the final score-line of 6-3, 3-6 and 6-2.  Shoaib served and returned well easing his way to move into the semi final stage. The semi finals will be batted out between Aqeel Khan and Yousaf Khalil and Mohammad Abid and Mohammad Shoaib on Friday 10th December 2021 at same venue. The top seed Aqeel Khan faced resistance from 8th Seed Barkatullah. In the opening set, Aqeel served and retuned well to finish the set at 6-4 but in the 2nd set found his young adversary impeccable and had to concede the set 7-6(8). The final set was marked with aces and long rallies and the score went up to 4-4 all as both players held their respective serves, Aqeel broke the ninth game of the final set by hitting some winners down the line forced out Barkatullah in 6-4. In the Ladies event Sarah Mahboob, Ushna Sohail, Esha Jawad and Noor Malik moved into the Semi finals by winning their respective matches. The best encounter in the ladies event played between Esha Jawad and Sheeza Sajid, Both the players showed quality tennis and long rallies were witnessed. Esha Jawad after losing the first set at 3-6, won the next two in a well contested match at 7-6(2) 6-4. The match lasted 2 hours 10 minutes. The semi final matches will be played on Friday 10th December 2021 at 10:00 AM and Doubles Final of Men’s and Ladies at 2:45 PM at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex courts, Islamabad. Maqbool Hussain Chairman J7 Group will be the chief guest on the Doubles Final. Results: Men’s Singles (Quarter Finals) Aqeel Khan beat Barkatullah 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 Yousaf Khalil beat Heera Ashiq 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 Mohammad Shaoib beat Mudassar Murtaza 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Mohammad Abid beat Hasheesh Kumar 6-2, 6-2 Ladies Singles (Quarter Finals) Sarah Mahboob beat Hania Navaid 6-4, 6-0 Esha Jawad beat Sheeza Sajid 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 Noor Malik beat Kainat Ali 6-0, 6-1 Ushna Sohail beat Mehaq Khokhar 6-3, 6-0. Men’s Doubles (Quarter Finals): Ahmed Asjad Qureshi / Ahmed Kamil beat Waqas Malik / Aabdal Haider 5-7, 6-4, 10-3. Ladies Doubles (Quarter Finals) Sarah Mahboob / Mehaq Khokhar beat Azeena Aleem / Seher Aleem 6-0, 6-1 Men’s Doubles (Semi Finals) Barkatullah / Mohammad Shoaib beat Ahmed Kamil / Ahmed Asjad Qureshi 6-4, 6-1

Abdul Jabbar Faisal / Mohammad Rizwan Malik ISLAMABAD (December 8, 2021):-Over 200 male and female players will participate in the 7th Benazir Bhutto Shaheed National Tennis Championship 2021, which will start from December 13 here at the Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) under the banner of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), Senator Taj Haider along with Senator Farhatullah Babar, Senator Palwasha Khan, Syed Sibt Haider Bukhari and Fazal Subhan told journalists of twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad in a press briefing at the championship venue. Senator Taj Haider further said that the top ranking national players would be in action during the 6-day prestigious national tennis showpiece. “The final will be played on December 18 at ITC Clay courts and top leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will grace the occasion as chief guest to distribute the prizes among the players. One million rupees prize money will be disbursed among the national players, “he added. Responding to a question, he said, “We will try to organize the next edition of the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed National Tennis Championship at international level and at least South Asian countries will be invited for this annual tennis fixture. The event will have 10 different categories including Men's Singles, Ladies Singles, Boys Under-18, Girls Under-18, Boys Under-14, Boys and Girls Under-12, Boys and Girls Under-12, Under-10 Veterans +45 years and Veterans over + 60, “he further divulged. “Due to Corona, the participation of foreign players stopped. It is a nice omen for tennis to organize three international events back-to-back in capital city Islamabad. Sindh government is funding for this event and they approved funds of Rs. 4 million for Benazir Bhutto Shaheed National Tennis Championship and it will be staged in benefitted manners. We will also help to train the budding players and a camp will be established very soon, “he said while adding that the tournament would be supervised by International Referee Adil from Iran and Shahzad Akhtar Alvi would assist him. “Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Tennis Academy was set up four months ago in which 11 ball pickers were training. Tennis competitions would also be organized in remote areas to make poor and middle class children a part of this sport, “he concluded. 

Karachi (Sports Report):-Farhan Altaf and Vindo Das havbe win their Men’s Singles semifinals of the 10th Essa Lab National Tennis Championship held at Modern Club on Wednesday. Results (Day 4) Men’s Single Semi Final Farhan Altaf bt Salmn Ahmed 6-0 ,6-1 Men,s Single Semi Final Vinod Das bt Ahsan Siddiq 6-4, 6-2 U-16 Single Quarter Final Raahim Veqar bt Munir Derbari 6-3 6-4 Ahsan Ahmed bt Kashan Tariq 7-5 6-7 U-14 Single Quarter Final Asad Zaman (LHR)bt Nael Mirza 4-2 4-0 Ahsan Ahmed bt Duraf Das 4-2,1-4,4-2 Nadir Mirza bt Abdullah Raziq 4-0 4-0 U-12 Single Quarter Final Ali bachani HYD bt Abid Bachani HYD 4-0 4-2 Sameer Zaman bt Nael Mirza 4-0 2-4 4-0 Girls 14 Single Semi Final Inaya bt Eshal 4-0 4-0 45-Doubles Semi Final Zafar + Sher bt Rafi Darbari HYD +Abdul Saeed 8-4 Jawad +Iltafat bt Imran +Salim 8-4 35-Doubles Seim Final Robin Das +Vinod Das bt Mustafa+Kamra 8-4 A Saeed +Naseem bt Sher +Iltafat 8-4 U-10 Single Semi Final Majid Ali  HYD bt Humza  4-1,4-1 Men,s Doubles Semi Final Shahab +Adnan bt Ali +Vinot 8-5 U-12 Double Semi Final Ali +Ahmed bt Imdad Ali +Nibras 5-4 (7-5)4-2 Juniors 18 semi Final Mohammad Ahtisham (LHR) bt m Ali Khattah HYD 6-7,6-1,6-1 Raahim Veqar bt Munir Darbari HYD 4-6 7-5 6-4 U-14 Doubles Semi final Nadir Mirza+Nael Mirza bt Taimoor+Kaamil 4-0 4-1

Islamabad (Sports Report):-Aqeel Khan, Barkatullah, Heera Ashiq, Yousaf Khalil, Mudassir Murtaza, Mohammad Shoaib, Hasheesh Kumar and Mohammad Abid moved into the quarterfinals by winning their respective matches of J7 – 34th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships at S.Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue, Islamabad. Top seed Aqeel Khan was in excellent form and eliminated Saqib Hayat without conceding a single game at 6-0 and 6-0. The 2nd seed Mohammad Abid and 3rd seed Mohammad Shoaib won their matches in straight sets without any resistance. Unseeded Hasheesh Kumar of Karachi made the major upset in the tournament when he eliminated 7th seed Ahmed Chaudhary in a well contested three set match. In the final set Ahmed Chaudhary was leading 5-2 and was serving for the match but Hasheesh Kumar fought back not only level the score 5 all by breaking 8th and 10th game by playing consistent game from the baseline and won the final set at 7-5. He will face 2nd seed Mohammad Abid in the quarterfinals. In the Ladies Singles event Sarah Mehboob, Ushna Suhail, Noor Malik, Esha Jawad, Haniya Navaid, Meheq Khokhar, Kainat Ali and Sheeza Sajid qualified for the quarterfinals by winning their respective matches. In the ladies event Kainat Ali caused the upset when she beat 7 seed Mariam Mirza in another thrilling entertaining three set match. Syed Kaleem Imam former President PTF and Secretary Narcotics visited the tournament site and witness the matches. Results: Men’s Singles (Main Draw Pre Quarterfinals) Aqeel Khan beat Saqib Hayat 6-0 6-0; Barkatullha w/o Ibrahim Umer; Heera Ashiq beat  Nalain Abbas 6-0 6-3; Yousaf Khalil beat Mahatir Mohammad 6-1 6-0; Mudassir Murtaza beat Talha Bin Asif 6-2 7-6(6); Muhammad Shoaib beat Ahmed Asjad Qureshi 6-2 6-3; Hasheesh Kumar beat Ahmed Chaudhary 5-7 6-4 7-5; Mohammad Abid beat Ahmed Babar 6-4 6-1; Ladies Singles (Main Draw Pre Quarterfinals) Noor Malik beat Amara Khan 6-1 6-0; Ushna Suhail beat Seher Aleem 6-0 6-1; Meheq Khokhar w/o Asfa Shahbaz; Sheeza Sajid beat Azeen Aleem 6-1 6-2; Haniya Navaid w/o Mehvish Chishtie; Esha Jawad w/o Nida Akram; Kainat Ali beat Mariam Mirza 7-5 4-6 6-2; Sarah Mehboob w/o Rahat Javid; Men’s Doubles (Main Draw 1st Round) Sami Zeb Khan / Ahmad Nael Qureshi beat Israr Gul / Aqib Hayat 6-2 6-3; Shahzad Khan / Mohammad Usman Ejaz beat Abdul Hanan Khan / Faizan Fayyaz 6-4 6-0; Yousaf Khalil / Heera Ashiq beat Mahatir Mohammad / Kamran Khan 6-3 6-2; Asad Ullha / Ejaz Ahmed beat Hasheesh Kumar / Nalain Abbas 6-0 6-3; Ahmed Kamil / Asjad Qureshi beat Abbas Khan / Saqib Hayat 6-3 6-2; Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals Aqeel Khan / Nofil Kaleem beat Sami Zeb Khan / Ahmad Nael Qureshi 6-1 6-3; Barkatullah / M. Shoaib beat Asadullah / Ejaz Ahmad 7-5 6-2; Heera Ashiq / Yousaf Khalil beat Shahzad Khan / Mohammad Usman Ejaz 7-6(6) 62

Karachi (Sports Report):-The formal Opening Ceremony of 10th Essa Lab National Tennis Championship held at Modern Club. Dr. Nazia Shakil, Consultant Dermotologist, was the chief guest, other prominent including Mohammad Khalid Rehmani, Zafar Hasan , Pasha, Raisa Ashfaq, Farha Riaz, perveen Akhter, Ishrat zehra, Sumeira Javed, Noushad Ahmed were present on the occasion. Results (Day-3): Men’s Single 2nd Round Mustafa Tariq bt Robin Das 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 Men’s Single Quarter Final Ahsan Siddiq bt Bilal 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 Vinod Das bt Ibrahim Iltifat 6-2, 6-2 Girls 18 Single Semi Final Zainab Ali bt Inaya Sayeed 6-1, 6-4 Under-16 Singles 1st Round Ali khattak (Hyderabad) bt Abdullah Raziq 6-2, 6-2 Under-16 Quarter final Asad Zaman (Lahore) bt Ali khattak  ( Hyderabad) 6-1, 6-2 Under-14 Boys Single 2nd round Nael Mirza bt Ruhab Faisal 4-2, 4-2 Duraf Das bt Ali Bachani (HYD) 4-2, 5-4 Under-12 Single 2nd round Zohaib Malik (LHR) bt Rashid Ali (Hyderabad) 4-0, 4-0 Ali Bachani( HYd )Zayd Zaman 4-1, 4-1 Ahmed Shaikh bt Hazik 4-1, 4-2 Sameer Zaman bt Faiz Ilyas 4-2, 4-2 Under-12 2nd round Zohaib Malik (LHR) bt Rashid Ali (Hyderabad) 4-0, 4-0 Ali Bachani( HYd )Zayd Zaman 4-1, 4-1 Ahmed Shaikh bt Hazik 4-1, 4-2 Sameer Zaman bt Faiz Ilyas 4-2, 4-2 U-nder12 Single Quarter Final Zohaib Malik (LHR) bt Juaid Mahar 4-0, 4-0 Men’s Double 1st Round Salman+Mustafa bt Imran +Fahad 6-2, 6-3 Sher Ahmed +Shoaib bt Asaad+Sunny 8-1 Aqeel Shabbir +Murad Khan bt Iltafat+Ahtisham 8-5 Men’s Doubles Quarter-Final Ali+Vinod w/o   Shamael +Ali W/O Shahab+Adnan bt Salman+Mustafa 8-5 Ibrahim+Mustafa bt Kashan+Ahsan 8-4 Junior 18 Singles 1st Round Mohammad Ahtisham (LHR) bt Hasnai Kharram 6-0, 6-1 Mohammad Ali Khattak ( Hyd) bt kashan Tariq 6-4,6-4 Rahaam Veqar bt Ammar Ismail 6-4, 6-4 45 Double 1st Round Rafi Darbarai +Mohammad Abdul Saeed bt Noman Farid + Karim Gul 8-5 Zafar +Sher Ahmed bt Capt Aleem +Juniad 8-0 Imran +Salim bt Amir + Kamran 8-4 Jawad +Iltafat bt Razi Nawab+ Waheed  9-7 35 Double 1st Round Mustafa +Kamran bt Ali +Shamael W/O Robin +Vinod Das bt Amir +Shehzad 8-3 Mohammad Ahmed Saeed + Mohammad Naseem bt Shoaib +Javed 8-5 Sher Ahmed +Iltafat bt Rizwan +Adnan W/O Under-10 Singles 2nd round Rashid Ali bt Rohan 4-0, 4-0 Abid Bachani HYD Rohan 4-0, 4-0 Abid Bachani bt Zayd Zaman 4-2, 4-5, 4-2 Under-10 Singles 2nd round Rashid Ali bt Rohan 4-0, 4-0 Abid Bachani HYD Rohan 4-0, 4-0 Abid Bachani bt Zayd Zaman 4-2, 4-5, 4-2 Hamza Arijo bt Ali Raza W/O Majid Ali (HYD) Emre Shazim 1-4, 4-2, 4-0 U-10 Single Semi final Rashid Ali (HYD) bt Abid Bachani 4-2, 4-0 Majid Ali (HYD) bt Hamza Arejo 4-1, 4-1.

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (December 7, 2021):-Top seed Aqeel Khan outclassed Jibran-ul-Haq in straight sets 2-0 in his opening match of the Men’s Singles event of the J7 – 34th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships at SDA-PTF Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue, Islamabad on Tuesday. The second round matches will be held on Wednesday at same venue. Earlier in the morning session, Yaseen Mahsud CEO of J7 Group graced opening ceremony as a chief guest. All prominent senior Executives and Directors of the J7 Group along with Col. Gul Rehman Secretary PTF, Majid Bashir SEVP ITA, Ahsan Raza Zaidi Treasurer ITA, other distinguished guests and officials of PTF were present on the occasion. Results: Men’s Singles (Main Draw 1st Round) Aqeel Khan beat Jibran-ul-Haq 6-3 6-0; Saqib Hayat beat Faizan Fayyaz 6-1 6-3; Ibrahim Umer beat Kamran Khan 6-1 6-3; Barkatullah beat Ijaz Ahmed 6-3 6-1, Heera Ashiq beat Ahmed Kamil 6-0 6-3; Nalain Abbas beat Jabir Ali 6-1 6-2; Mahatir Mohammad beat Asad Ullah 6-3 7-6(3); Yousaf Khalil beat Abdul Hanan Khan 6-0 6-2; Mudassar Murtaza beat Sami Zeb Khan 6-3 6-2; Talha Bin Asif beat Aqib Hayat 6-1 6-0; Ahmad Asjad Qureshi beat Shaheen Mehmood 7-6(4) 6-2; Mohammad Shoaib beat Abbas Khan 6-0 6-0; Ahmed Chaudhry beat Nofil Kaleem 6-1 6-1; Hasheesh Kumar beat Israr Gul 6-4 6-1; Ahmed Babar beat M.Waqas Malik 6-3 7-6(6), Mohammad Abid beat Mohammad Usman Ejaz 6-1 6-2; Ladies Singles (Main Draw 1st Round) Hania Navid beat Zahra Sulman 6-1 6-2; Nida Akram beat Tooba Babar 6-1 6-0; Kainat Ali beat Zahra Khan 6-0 6-0;   

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (December 6, 2021):-Ahmad Kamil, Kamran Khan, Mahatir Mohammad, Mohammad Usman Ejaz, Talha Bin Asif, Abbas Khan, Jabir Ali and Shaheen Mehmood qualified for the main draw of Men's Singles discipline of the J7 - 34th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships 2021 after winning their matches at Syed Dilawar Abbas (SDA)-Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) Tennis Complex Islamabad on Monday. The main draw matches will be played on Tuesday, as Yaseen Mahsud, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of J7 Group, will inaugurate the prestigious national tennis showpiece. As many as 20 players were accepted directly into the main draw according to PTF National Ranking while 4 players were awarded a wild card and 8 qualifiers completed the draw of 32. An official of PTF told Sports Bulletin website: The Draw of Men's Singles and Ladies Singles were taken out by Mohammad Arif Qureshi, ITF White Badge Referee in the presence of the players. According to the Men's Singles Draw, the top eight seeds are Aqeel Khan (WAPDA), Mohammad Abid, Mohammad Shoaib, Heera Ashiq, Mudassar Murtaza, Yousaf Khalil, Ahmed Choudhary and Barkatullah. The J7 Group of Companies is the main sponsor of the 34th edition of Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships whereas Star Marketing is joining hands as co-sponsor. J7 Group - Real Estate entrepreneurs joined hands for the promotion of the game of tennis. The dynamic team of J7 Group is led by visionaries enriched with brilliance, resources and experience. J7 Group is known to have delivered real estate projects in record time.  Results: Men's Singles (Qualifying): Ahmad Kamil beat Faizan Shahid 8-0; Kamran Khan beat Mohammad Bilal 8-6; Mahatir Mohammad beat Ahmed Nael Qureshi 8-3; Mohammad Usman Ejaz beat Mohammad Talha Khan 8-3; Talha Bin Asif beat Hamid Israr 3-2 (Retd.); Abbas Khan beat Mohammad Zaryab 8-6; Jabir Ali beat Abdul Karim 8-1; Shaheen Mehmood beat Azeem Khan 8-4.  Round-II Faizan Shahid beat Azan Shahid 6-3; Kamran Khan beat Mohammad Abdullah 6-3; Mahatir Mohammad beat Zaryab Pirzada 6-4; Ahmad Nael Qureshi beat Dr. Hamid Akram 6-0; Mohammad Talha Khan beat Haseen Inyat Raja 6-3; Mohammad Usman Ejaz beat Shaeel Durab 6-0; Talha Bin Asif beat Hasam Khan 6-2; Hamid Israr beat Parbhat Kumar 6-3; Mohammad Zaryab beat Huzaima Abdul Rehman 7-6(1); Jabir Ali beat Shawal Azeem 6-1; Shaheen Mahmood beat Mohammad Hamza Asim 6-1, Round-I Azan Shahid beat Ahmad Murad 6-0; Zaryab Pirzada beat Umair Javed 6-2; Parbhat Kumar beat Ghoush Raza 7-6; Hamid Israr beat Adnan Rashid 6-0; Mohammad Zaryab beat Mamoon Ilyas 6-3; Shawal Azeem beat Imran Haider 6-1; Jabir Ali beat Azan Sajid 6-1; Azeem Khan beat Nazar Afridi 6-0; Talha Saqib beat Jahanzeb Inam 6-1;

Islamabad (Sports Desk):-The Russian Tennis Federation has won the Davis Cup for the third time after beating Croatia 2-0 in the final in Madrid. Andrey Rublev beat Borna Gojo 6-4, 7-6(5) in the opening match and then Daniil Medvedev clinched the winning point with a 7-6(7), 6-2 victory over Marin Cilic. It’s the first time RTF has won the Davis Cup since 2006 and it completes a clean sweep of the national team competitions in the last month, after the Russian women won the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Prague. Only three other nations in history - USA, Australia, Czech Republic - have ever achieved this feat, and this is the first time it’s been done since 2012.  For Croatia, this was a third final in five years, and the aim had been to take the tie all the way to the deciding doubles, when world No.1s Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic would take to the court, but overcoming RTF’s singles strength proved a step too far. With four players ranked in the top 30, the Russian Tennis Federation was the favourite for the title when the event started ten days ago, and the team certainly made good on its outstanding talent, only losing one live match throughout the entire tournament. Medvedev in particular was formidable, winning all five of his matches in straight sets. “It feels amazing”, Medvedev said afterwards. “But I’m more happy for the team than for myself. We have an amazing team, amazing atmosphere. I’m happy to be part of it and bring the points we need. It’s never easy to come here at the end of the season but they were some of the best weeks of my career.” In the first game, Rublev won a scintillating 36-shot rally with a backhand pass to set up break point, only for Gojo to save it and get himself out of trouble. Rublev kept the pressure on with a quick hold of his own and then forced Gojo to save another break point with an ace. By now the pattern of the match had been established - Rublev was racing through his service games, winning 12 straight points on serve, while Gojo was having to work much harder behind his delivery. Eventually, this pressure told. At 3-3, a couple of loose shots from Gojo let Rublev in and then two more errors from the Croatian - this time forced by Rublev’s relentless aggression and the speed of his shots - meant that the Russian finally had the break he deserved. Having won all three of his matches en route to the final, Gojo had made a habit this week of playing above his average level and beating higher-ranked opponents, but he was finding it much harder to live with Rublev’s sustained power from the baseline. The one thing keeping the match close was Gojo’s ability to play and serve well on most of the big points. This trend continued at the start of the second set as he saved five break points across his opening two service games, including a gutsy hold from 0-40. It left Rublev with a 12% conversion rate on his break points. With 150 Croatian fans having flown in specially for the final, the overwhelming majority of the vocal support was for Gojo. This, combined with Rublev’s struggles at closing out matches in straight sets this week, must have given Gojo belief. While he continued to get nowhere near Rublev’s serve, the longer the set went on, the tighter and more stressed the Russian became, unable to deliver the hammer blow. Eventually, the set wound up in a tiebreak. Gojo, who’d served 14 aces up to this point, immediately got off on the wrong foot with a double fault, and things looked bleak when he left a backhand pass that landed in. But he worked his way back into it and forced Rublev to conjure up his best level. A stunning sequence of forehands - first a passing shot up the line and then a devastating winner from the baseline - set up match point. When Gojo’s backhand drifted wide, it was over. “It was a really tough match”, Rublev said. “It’s true that I have a lot of pressure today because looks like I should win. But he was playing really great during all the event. He beat really great players. Today he was playing also really great. But I was lucky enough to win the match. In the second set I was a bit showing emotions because I feel that I'm really close to win the match. Somehow he always was serving really well and really hard that I could not do anything. But in the end I win the match and this is the most important thing.” The first break point of the match came in the seventh game when Cilic’s forehand suddenly became wayward, but he got it back together to hold, impressively hitting through any tension he was feeling. With Cilic playing well, Medvedev couldn’t afford any slip-ups, but he suddenly found himself facing break point at 3-4 30-40. A bold second serve, which Cilic netted, got him out of trouble. As the set headed to a tiebreak, Medvedev went up an early mini break, Cilic hit back with a forehand winner, and then gained the advantage as Medvedev hit a forehand wide. Serving with the advantage at 4-3, it was Cilic’s turn to miss a forehand. The Croatian then came out on top of a long rally, defying Medvedev’s spectacular defence, to move 5-4 ahead. Two strong serves from Medvedev put him 6-5 up only for an extraordinary smash from Cilic to save set point. It was an incredibly brave shot from deep in the court, particularly for a player who has developed a reputation for getting tight in pressure moments. But, on the next point, Cilic’s Achilles heel struck as he pushed a relatively straightforward forehand just wide to hand Medvedev the chance to serve it out. Medvedev had been targeting Cilic’s forehand throughout the set, to little avail, but the stroke had broken down when it mattered most. An unexpected double fault from Medvedev then brought the scores level once more. The Russian made amends to go 8-7 ahead and then took the set when Cilic was slow to get up to a backhand and pushed it wide. At this stage in the match, Cilic had nothing to show for hard work, like a football team who had played well but hadn’t scored. Having put so much effort into the first set, Cilic’s level dropped a bit in the second, and Medvedev sensed this. A series of winners helped him get the early break and from there he never looked back, pinning Cilic behind the baseline with deep groundstrokes, and choosing his moments to attack. Before you knew it, he’d worked his way to match point, and it was all over when Cilic netted a backhand.

Karachi (Sports Report):-The 10th Essa Lab National Seniors and Juniors Tennis Championship started at the hard courts of Modern Club Karachi on Sunday. Dr. Essa Laboratory & Diagnostic Center is the major sponsor of this prestigious annual national fixture of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) circuit tournament. Karachi Tennis Association is organizing the event under the auspices of PTF/ STA. Results (Day-1): Men’s Singles (Round-I) Adnan Khan bt Mohammad Ahmed 6-2, 6-2 Salman Ahmed bt Imran Abid 6-0, 6-2 Abdullah Khan bt Ahsan Salim 6-1, 2-0 Robin Das bt Mohammad Usman 6-2, 5-0, Rtd Saad Salim bt Fahad Abid 6-7, 6-0, 10-6 Ahsan Siddiq bt Mohammad Asif 6-2, 6-1 Mohammad Bilal bt Arshad shahid 6-2, 6-0 Murad Khan bt Mohammad Abdul Saeed 6-3, 4-6,10-7 Shahab Khan beat Rohaan Masood 6-1, 6-1 Mustafa Burny beat Asaad Ahmed 6-2, 7-5 Under-16 Single (Round-I): Ahsan Ahmed bt Basim Ali 6-1,6-0 Hasnain Khurram bt Mohammad Sohail 6-3 6-4 Girls 18 Singles (Round-I): Daliah Shazim bt Eshal Zain 6-3, 6-1 Under-14 Doubles Abdullah Razzia+ Dhuruf Das bt Nibras Malik +Ibrahim Qureshi 5-3, 4-0 Taimoor +Kaamil bt kazim +Zayaan W/O Under-12 Doubles 1st Round Mahad + Ruhab bt Inaya+Daliah 4-0, 5-4 (6) Men’s Doubles Salman Ahmed +Mustafa Mustafa bt  Imran Dewaney + Fahad Abid  6-2 6-3 Kashan Tariq +Ahsan Siddiq bt Noman  Farid + Qamar Habib  8-3

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD (December 4, 2021):-As many as 35 matches were decided on the day 1st of the ITC Tennis League, which started here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) on Saturday. The players from Wah Cantt and Taxila are also participating in the Tennis League. Results: BOYS & GIRLS U-10 (Round Robin Matches) Amir Masood bt Ayesha Masood 5-3; Behroze Maimoon Bt Wishal Arshad 4-1; Ayesha Masood Bt Wishal Arshad 4-0; Zahra Khan Bt Arshman Maqsood 4-2; Amir Masood Bt Arshman Maqsood 4-2; Zahra Khan Bt Wishal arshad  4-0; Behroze Maimoon Bt Ayesha Masood 5-4(6); BOYS & GIRS U-12 (Round Robin Matches) Lalarukh Sajid  Bt Uzair Maqsood 5-1; BOYS & GIRLS U-14 (Round Robin Matches) Sameer Maqsood  Bt Ammar Masood 6-4; Hassan Usmani Bt  Sameer Maqsood 5-1; Hassan Usmani Bt LalaRukh Sajid 5-0; Ammar Masood Bt Lalarukh sajid 5-0; BOYS & GIRLS U-16 (Round Robin Matches) Sameer Kiyani Bt Hassan Usmani 5-1; Hamza Hussain Bt Abdul Wasay 5-0; Salaar Bt Hamza Hussain 5-0; Hassan Usmani bt Hamza Hussain 5-2; BOYS & GIRLS OVER 16 (Round Robin Matches) Abdullah Bt Azeena Aleem 5-2; Yawar Ali Bt Sahar Aleem 5-3; Hamza Ul Zuhair Bt Haseeb Raja 5-3; Umer Masood Bt Sameer Kiyani 5-4(3); Salaar Bt Haziq Aasim 5-1; Umer Masood Bt Hamza Ul Zuhair 5-3; Abdullah Bt Haseeb raja 5-0; Abdullah Bt Sahar Aleem 5-2; Umer Masood Bt Haseeb Raja 5-2; Yawar Ali Bt Azeena Aleem 5-0; Salaar Bt Sahar Aleem 5-0; Sameer Kiyani Bt Azeena Aleem 5-2; Yawar Ali Bt Haseeb Raja 5-0; Haziq Aasim Bt Hamza Ul Zuhair 5-2; Salaar Bt Sameer Kiyani 5-2; Abdullah Bt Ahmed Murad 5-0; Umer Masood Bt Ahmed Murad 5-2; Haziq Aasim Bt Sameer Kiyani 5-3;  Salaar Bt Hamza Ul Zuhair 5-0; Umer Masood Bt Salaar 5-2.