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
