Hamza upsets Bilal in second leg of ITF Juniors

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hamza Roman upset third seed compatriot and hot favorite Bilal Asim in a thrilling three-set match as the second leg of the ITF Pakistan J30 World Junior Tennis Championships got underway here at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex Monday.

Hamza edged out Bilal 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in a match of the day. After losing the first game, Hamza started playing aggressive tennis, breaking back the 2nd game of Bilal in the same style to level the score 1-1. Hamza continued his winning pace and broke the 4th and 6th game of Bilal to win the first set comfortably 6-1.

In the second set, Bilal changed pattern of the game by playing a mix of cross-court and down-the-line shots, and serve and volley games. Both the players played an excellent game of tennis and reached 4-4. At this stage, Hamza made some unforced errors and hit the ball into the net resulting in losing the 10th game and 2nd set at 4-6.

In the decisive set, both the players exhibited a high standard of tennis and long rallies that ultimately finished in favour of Hamza at 7-5. The match lasted 2 hours and 29 minutes.

President PTF Senator Salim Saifullah Khan and Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, president of Islamabad Tennis Association, in a message, conveyed their best wishes to all the participants, especially the foreign players for a comfortable stay and a good tournament.

Mrs Zarmeeneh Rahim was the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Results: Boys’ singles 1st round: Ahmad Nael Qureshi (PAK) bt Mustansir Ali Khan Barons (PAK) 6-1, 6-0, Aahil Kaleel (SRI) bt Muhammad Kashan Tariq Qureshi (PAK) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, Taichi Tamura (JPN) bt Muhammad Haider Ali Rizwan (PAK) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, Jain Pyun (KOR) bt Abdullah Khan (PAK) 6-2 6-1, Hamza Roman (PAK) bt Bilal Asim (PAK) 6-1, 4-6 7-5, Toki Adachi (JPN) bt Inam Qadir (PAK) 6-0, 6-2, Muhammad Hamza Aasim (PAK) bt Thanathip Poti (THA) 6-1, 6-3, Naqeeb Hussain (SRI) bt Muhammad Husnain Ali Rizwan (PAK) 6-0, 6-0, Asad Zaman (PAK) bt Abdul Baasith Cader (SRI) 6-1, 6-2, Yoshito Oda (JPN) bt Ahtesham Humayun (PAK) 6-4, 6-1, Takuto Fuke (JPN) bt Rayyan Khan (PAK) 6-0, 6-1.