January 22, 2007	Monday	Muharram 02, 1428

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KARACHI, Jan 21: Brothers Aqeel Khan and Jalil Khan set a date to meet each other for glory after they rallied to beat their opponents in men’s singles semi-finals on the penultimate day of Pakistan Open tennis championship at CDGK Sports Complex on Sunday.

Top seed Aqeel disposed off fourth seed Nomi Qamar 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) while second seed Jalil handed a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Islamabad’s third seed Asim Shafik.

Aqeel, the country’s top player, surged 5-3 against his opponent in the first set when Nomi broke his serve to reduce the deficit 4-5. Aqeel went 1-0 up taking the opener 6-4.

Similarly, Aqeel enjoyed 3-0 lead in the second set when Nomi came from behind and level 3-3all. The two then fought on even kneel with Aqeel winning 7-6 (7-4) in a tie breaker.

The other semi-final saw Jalil winning straight as Asim mostly played from the baseline to avoid any mishap ahead of Davis Cup trials.

Asim joined Faisalabad’s Shehzad Khan to lodge his protest against surface of the court which was behaving fast.

Couple of other players including those in teens have also voiced their concern on the courts. Players were slipping daily on the courts during matches.

“The courts needs to be painted in such a manner that they behave rough,” Nomi, who represented the country at the Islamic Games in Saudi Arabia told Dawn on Sunday.

The cracks on the courts also needs immediate repair, he said.

Former Pakistan No 1 Nida Wasim took little time to rout former National Hard Court champion, Seher Khwaja 6-2, 6-0 to march into ladies singles final where she meets Sara Mansoor. The latter subdued Nyla Khan 6-4, 6-4 the other day.

Nasir Mushtaq cruised into juniors U-17 final when he notched up impressive 6-0, 6-1 victory over Islamabad’s Sadan-ul-Haq.

Rising star Khawaja Hamza picked up boys U-11 singles title beating Imran Mooraj 6-0, 6-2 in the final on Sunday. This is his maiden title in a national ranking event.

Results:

Men’s singles:

Semi-finals: Aqeel Khan beat Nomi Qamar 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); Jalil Khan beat Asim Shafik 6-4, 6-4.

Ladies singles:

Semi-final: Nida Wasim beat Seher Khawaja 6-2, 6-0.

Juniors’ Under-17:

Semi-final: Nasir Mushtaq beat Sadan-ul-Haq 6-0, 6-1.

Boys’ Under-15 singles:

Semi-final: S. Zuhair Raza beat M. Abid 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, Sadan-ul-Haq bt Omer Shahid 6-3, 6-4.

Boys’ Under-13 singles:

Final: Nameer Shamsi beat Ramiz Fareshta 6-2, 7-5.

Boys’ Under-11 singles:

Semi-finals: Khawaja Hamza beat Ehsan Shahid 6-1, 6-3; Imran Mooraj beat Talha Zuberi 6-4, 6-0.

Final: Khawaja Hamza beat Imran Mooraj 6-0, 6-2.

Monday’s fixtures (finals):

Boys’ Under-13 9am; men’s doubles 10am; ladies singles 1pm; Juniors Under-17 2pm; men’s singles 3.30pm.