LAHORE, Aug 26: Except for Aqeel Khan no other Pakistani player qualified for the ITF Satellite Circuit (third leg) semifinals at the Model Town Club courts on Thursday.
Besides Aqeel, the other two who contested for last four were Shahzad Khan and Asim Shafik.
Aqeel made a quick entry in the last four when his rival Mirco Pehar (USA) retired on medical grounds after losing the first set 6-2. Aqeel made a fine start breaking Pehar's service in the first game and then in the third to win the first set.
But the humidity and hot weather forced Pehar to give up the fight and he decided to concede the match. Upcoming Shahzad, however, lost to Enrico Welenfeld (Italy) in the best quarterfinal of the day with the score 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
Shahzad, from Faisalabad, lost the first set easily. But he roared back winning the second after being tied 5-5. He held his serve to take 6-5 lead and then he broke his rival's service to wrap up the set 7-5.
Shahzad maintained his attacking game in the third set and once led it 3-1. But Welen feld staged a comeback and caught up with Shahzad at 5-5 and won the next two games in a row to book a place in the semifinals.
Toshiaki Sakai (Japan), the most likely finalist, ousted the third Pakistani Asim in a lacklustre match 6-2, 6-0. Sakai, who had won the second leg at the same court last week and remained the runners-up of the first leg at Islamabad, needed only 27 minutes to eliminate the challenge from Asim.
In the doubles, Aqeel and Vijay Kannan (India) had qualified for the final, beating Vikas Punna - Vishal Punna (India) 6-4, 6-4 in the first semifinals. Mirco Pehar and Sakai Toshiaki also entered the final after thrashing Moroccans Yassir Bouyahya - Kamil Filali 6-3, 6-3. Themen's singles pre finals ad the doubles' final will be played on Friday.
