ISLAMABAD: Young lad Mohammad Shoaib toppled experienced Mudasir Murtaza in an exciting second round match in the Benazir Bhutto National Ranking Tennis Championship here at the Islamabad Complex courts Wednesday.
Shoaib won 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 in a three-set match that saw many ups and downs. Following the first set win, Shoaib was seen struggling to finish the match as Mudasir got him engaged in long rallies from the baseline. The set was then decided on a tie-break in which Mudasir came out winner 8-6. Shoaib then came back strongly breaking Mudasir serve with some exciting down the line and cross-court forehand shots in the third set. He was also seen making good use of lobs whenever Mudasir came charging at the nets.
Meanwhile, top seed Aqeel Khan and second seed Muzammil Murtaza made it to the third round with easy wins. Muzammil had it easy against Nauman Aftab 6-1, 6-2 while Aqeel beat Barkat Ullah 6-2, 6-1.
In ladies’ singles, Ushna Suhail got off to a winning start beating Apsara Sheraz 6-1, 6-0 while Sarah Mahboob blanked Hareem Fatima 6-0, 6-0 to make it to the second round.
Results: Men’s singles second round: Ahmed Ch bt Imran Bhatti 6-0, 6-1; Muhammad Abid bt Jibranul Haq 6-2, 6-1; Yousaf Khalil bt Shakir Ullah 6-1, 6-1; Shahzad Khan bt Ibrahim Omer 6-1, 6-0; Muzammil Murtaza bt Nauman Aftab 6-1, 6-2; Mohammad Shoaib bt Mudasir Murtaza 6-4, 6-7(8) 6-3; Heera Ashiq bt Ahmed Kamil 6-0, 6-3; Aqeel Khan bt Barkat Ullah 6-2, 6-1.
Ladies’ singles first round: Ushna Suhail bt Apsara Sheraz 6-1, 6-0; Esha Jawad bt Syeda Eraj 6-2, 6-3; Hania Navid bt Oreen Jasia 6-0, 6-0; Mahvish Chishtie bt Natalia Zaman 6-1, 6-3; Farah Shah Khan bt Mariam Mirza 2-6, 6-3, 7-5; Sheeza Sajid bt Saher Aleem 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6(3), Sarah Mahboob bt Hareem Fatima 6-0, 6-0.
Men’s doubles quarter-finals: Aqeel Khan & Shahzad Khan bt Ahmed Kamil & Ibrahim Omer 6-1, 6-1; Muzammil Murtaza & Mudasir Murtaza bt Saqib Hayat & Nauman Aftab 6-2, 6-0; Mohammad Abid & Waqas Malak bt Faizan Khurram & Imran Bhatti 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-5; Mohammad Shoaib & Barkat Ullah bt Syed Nofil Kaleem & Abbas Khan 7-5, 6-1.
Boys’ singles (18 and under): Mohammad Shoaib bt Hamid Israr 6-0, 6-1; Sami Zeb bt Mahatir Mohammad 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5; Ahmed Kamil bt Mohammad Huzaifa Khan 7-6(4), 6-3; Aqib Hayat bt Hasheesh Kumar 6-1, 6-2.
Boys’ singles quarter-finals (14 and under): Bilal Asim bt Asad Zaman 4-1, 4-0; Haider Ali Rizwan bt Mohammad Ibrahim Ashraf 4-1, 4-1; Ahmed Nael bt Shahsawar Khan 4-1, 4-2; Hamid Israr bt Hamza Roman 4-0, 4-1.
Girls’ singles quarter-finals (14 and under): Sara Khan bt Mahrukh Sajid 4-2, 4-0; Zara Khan bt Lalarukh Sajid 4-1, 4-1; Fatima Ali Raja bt Hareem Fatima 4-1, 4-2; Zainab Ali Raja bt Farah Shah Khan 4-1, 4-2.
Boys and girls’ singles under-12 second round: Zohaib Afzal bt Mian Abdullah 4-1, 3-5, 5-3; Samer Zaman bt Ismail Aftab 4-1, 4-1; Hamza Ali Rizwan bt Syed M. Aalay 4-0, 4-0; Amir Mazari bt Taimoor Khan 4-0, 4-1; Amna Ali Qayum bt Eesa Fahad 4-0, 4-0, Ali Zain bt Nabeel Ali Qayum 5-3, 4-1; Hania Minhas bt Hamza Hussain 5-3, 4-0; Hamza Roman bt Abdul Basir 4-1, 4-2.
Boys’ and girls singles (under-10): Eesa Fahad bt Uzair Maqsood w.o; Shayan Afridi bt Abdul Wasay 4-0, 4-2; Haris Bajwa bt Syed Aalay 4-1, 4-2; Mahnoor Farooqui bt Zarnaaz Noor w.o; Ismail Aftab bt Aqtan w/o. Seniors 45 plus doubles: Rashid Ali & Col. Faisal bt Wakeel Khan & Amjad Nasir 6-1, 6-3.
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