ISLAMABAD: The 36th Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships saw some awe-inspiring contests at the hard courts of PTF-SDA Tennis Complex, Islamabad during the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Sixth seed Mudassar Murtaza upset 4th Seed Muhammad Abid in a thrilling three-set match with a scoreline 5-7, 6-2 6-2, whereas top seed Muhammad Shaoib struggled hard to win his encounter against talented Yousaf Khalil in an exciting three-set match 7-5 5-7 6-2.
Third seed Muzammil Murtaza faced tough resistance from 8th seed Barkatullah to qualify for the semifinal in a straight-set quarterfinal match 7-6(2) 6-4.
Second seed Aqeel Khan conveniently won his encounter against upcoming proficient Ahmad Nael Qureshi 6-2 6-4.
In the second set which was marked with aces and long rallies and the score went up to 4 all as both players held their respective serves, Aqeel broke the 9th game of talented Qureshi by hitting some winners down the line and forcing out the youngster in 6-4 by holding the 10th game.
In the semifinal, Aqeel Khan will take on Mudassar Murtaza on Friday, while Muhammad Shoaib will face Muzammil Murtaza on Saturday.
In the junior 18 and under category 5th seed Muhammad Hamza Aasim, the upcoming proficient from Islamabad caused a major upset in the quarterfinal encounter against 3rd seed M. Salaar Khan. In pursuit of his victory, he added his foot speed and topspin to make him a force to be reckoned with. Hamza managed to oust the 3rd seed 6-2, 6-3.
Top seed Hamid Israr, 2nd Seed Hamza Roman and 4th seed Ahmad Nael Qureshi comfortably won their matches and moved to semifinals.
Results in brief
Men’s Singles (Quarterfinals): Muhammad Shaoib beat Yousaf Khalil 7-5 5-7 6-2, Muzammil Murtaza beat Barkatullah 7-6(2) 6-4, Mudassar Murtaza beat Muhammad Abid 5-7 6-2 6-2, Aqeel Khan beat Ahmad Nael Qureshi 6-1 6-4.
Men’s Singles (Quarterfinals): Yousaf Khalil / Barkatullah beat Aabdal Haider / Zaid Mujahid 7-5 6-3; Mudassar Murtaza / Abdullah Adnan beat M.Zaryab Khan / Huzaima Abdur Rehman 6-4 7-6(4); Muhammad Abid / Ahmad Chaudhary beat Hamza Aasim / M.Salaar Khan 6-1 6-3; Muhammad Shaoib / Muzammil Murtaza beat Semi Zeb Khan / Ahmad Nael Qureshi 6-3 6-3.
Men’s Singles (Pre-Quarterfinals): Aabdal Haider / Zaid Mujahid beat Hamza Haziq / Hamza Aasim 6-2 6-0; M Zaryab Khan / Huzaima Abdur Rehman beat Saqib Hayat / Hamza Roman 7-5 7-6(5);
Hamza Aasim / M Salaar Khan beat Talha Khan / Kashan Tariq 6-3 6-3;
Muhammad Abid / Ahmad Chaudhary beat Kamran Maqbool / Amir Mazari 6-1 6-1; Semi Zeb Khan / Ahmad Nael Qureshi beat Kamran Khan / Zalan Khan 6-3 6-0.
Ladies Singles: Soha Ali beat Shandana Rabbi 6-1 6-1, Natalia Zaman beat Sana Bilal 6-0 6-0, Kainat Ali beat Amna Khan 6-1 6-3, Amna Ali Qayum beat Asfa Shahbaz 5-7 7-5 6-2, Sheeza Sajid w/o Arzoo Ishfaq, Lalarukh Sajid w/o Mehaq Khokhar, Marrukh Sajid w/o Zara Khan.
Junior 18 & Under Singles (Quarterfinals): Hamid Israr beat Zohaib Afzal Malik 6-1 6-2, Muhammad Hamza Aasim beat M Salaar Khan 6-2 6-3, Ahmad Nael Qureshi beat Kashan Tariq 6-2 6-4, Hamza Roman beat Hamza Hussain 6-1 6-3.
Boys 14&Under Singles (Quarterfinals): Zoahib Afzal Malik beat Syed Mahd Mahmood 4-1 4-1, Muhammad Junaid Khan beat Zohaib Amjad 5-4(8) 4-1, Muhammad Shayyan beat Essa Fahad 4-1 4-1, M.Hassan Usmani beat Razik Sultan 4-0 4-0.
Boys & Girls 10&Under Singles (Pre-Quarterfinals):
Azan Imran beat Arham Amjad 4-0 4-2, Arsh Imran beat Hashir Mustafa Subhani 4-0 4-0, Amir Masood w/o Arshman Abbasi, Behroze Umer beat Muhammad Bilal Kamran 4-0 4-0.
