ISLAMABAD: Aqeel Khan’s reign at the domestic circuit finally ended on Sunday as he tasted straight sets defeat in the men’s singles final of the 36th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships here at PTF-SDA Tennis Complex.
Forty-four-year old Aqeel, who virtually dominated the domestic scene for almost 22 years, finally crashed to straight sets defeat against Mohammad Shoaib who won 6-2, 6-4.
Twentyone-year-old Shoaib, who has now become Pakistan No 1, was too strong for Aqeel in the first set where he broke his serve twice sending in some powerful aces in between.
“I always struggled with serve but now I have started gym training that helped me a lot. Even today in the final I fired some aces that helped me take the upper hand against Aqeel,” Shoaib said.
After winning the first set with utmost ease, Aqeel stayed in the second set on serve before Shoaib broke clear at 4-3 courtesy of some exciting down-the-line and cross-court sizzlers.
His attacking game had no answer from the veteran player. “For the first time, I played according to my game plan which helped me a lot. Besides playing an attacking game, I also managed to maintain the rhythm necessary for a smooth game. That helped me a lot,” Shoaib added.
He hoped to dominate the circuit from here on. “I am trying to improve my game with every tournament. These ongoing tennis events have brought to the fore some astute and buoyant young ones while players like me got the opportunity to play the best. These back-to-back four tournaments helped me improve my game to a considerable level,” Shoaib said.
Shoaib got off to a flying start, taking a 4-2 lead by breaking the first game of Aqeel and kept the same pressure to win the first set at 6-2.
In the second set, Aqeel fought back but young Shoaib did not allow Aqeel to settle down breaking the 7th game of Aqeel to win the Federal Cup men’s singles title.
Meanwhile, Sarah Mehboob clinched the ladies’ singles title beating youngster Amna Ali Qayum from Islamabad in well-fought straight set 6-4, 7-5. In the first set, Sarah took the lead 5-4 and broke the 10th game of Amna to win 6-4.
Sarah took a 5-3 lead in the second by breaking the 8th game of Aman but Aman fought back bravely and managed to level the score 5-5. In the 12th game, Aman could not maintain her confidence and hit two double faults, providing an easy opportunity for Sarah to take the title.
Muhammad Arsh won the Under-10 title defeating 2nd seed Muhammad Faizan in straight sets 4-2, 4-1. Results: Men’s singles final: Muhammad Shoaib bt Aqeel Khan 6-2, 6-4. Ladies’ singles final: Sarah Mahboob Khan bt Amna Ali Qayum 6-4, 7-5. Boys & girls’ Under-10 singles final: Muhammad Arsh bt Muhammad Faizan 4-2, 4-1.
