Aqeel clinches fourth Asian Tennis Tour title

KARACHI: Aqeel Khan annexed the men’s singles title to his name, beating second seed Muhammad Abid in the final of Begum Kulsum Saifullah Khan Asian Tennis Tour Tournament at S Dilawar Abbas PTF Complex in Islamabad.

Abid took the lead 2-1 by breaking third game of Aqeel, who in turn leveled the score 2-2 all by breaking fourth game of Abid.

The score went up to 5-5 all as both the players held their respective services.

Abid won the first set 7-5 by breaking 11th game of Aqeel Khan with the help of some good winners down the line. The first set lasted 50 minutes.

In the second set the score again went up to 2-2 all. Aqeel built a winning lead 4-2 by breaking sixth game and won the second set 6-3.  Both the players displayed quality tennis from the baseline and hit a number of winners during the first two sets.

Aqeel showed supremacy in the decisive third set and built up a winning lead of 3-1 by breaking third game of Abid.

Aqeel kept up the pressure and won the final set 6-3. He got $900. Abid pocketed $600.

Aqeel earned 48 points from these four ATT tournaments. The match lasted two hours and 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Sara Mansoor, Mahin Aftab, Mehek Khokhar, Ushna Babar, Esha Jawad, Ushna Suhail, Bakhtawar Haider and Sarah Mahboob moved into the quarter-finals.