LAHORE, Dec 14: The men’s singles event of the Punjab Open Tennis Championship reached the semi-finals stage at the Bagh-i-Jinnah courts here on Saturday.

In the most exciting quarter-final of the men’s singles category, Ahmed Babar faced significant resistance from his opponent Zain Nawab Abbas before the former won the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

After being outclassed by Zain in the first set, Ahmed made a noteworthy comeback, winning the next two sets and the match to make the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, in other men’s singles quarter-finals, Usman Rafiq and Hera Aashiq emerged easy winners. Usman crushed Sheheryar Salamat 6-1, 6-2 and Hera routed Mohammad Mudassir 6-0, 6-4.

Mohammad Abid marched into the semi-finals after his rival Saif Ali opted to leave the court due to fitness problems. After losing the first set 0-6, Saif did not return for play.

Results:

Men’s singles:

Quarter-finals: Ahmed Babar bt Zain Nawab Abbas 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Usman Rafiq bt Sheheryar Salamat 6-1, 6-2; Hera Aashiq bt Mohammad Mudassir 6-0, 6-4; Mohammad Abid bt Saif Ali 6-0 -- (Saif retired).

U-18:

Pre-quarterfinals: Mohammad Mudassir bt Zeeshan Ashraf 8-4; Haris Irfan-ul-Haq bt Naushair Tariq 8-2; Saad Zafer bt Shafe Bagri 8-2; Hafiz Arbab Ali bt Fahad Khan 8-2; Malik Hamza bt Zaryab Pir Zada 8-4; Abdul Haider bt Asad 8-2; Mohammad Muzammil bt Jafeer Ali 8-0.

U-14:

Pre-quarterfinals: Mohammad Muzammil bt Ahmed Kamil 6-0, 6-0; Haris Irfan-ul-Haq bt Ahmed Mauz 6-0, 6-0; Nalain Abbas bt Usama 6-0, 6-2; Hafiz Arbab Ali bt Hamza Bin Rehan 6-1, 6-1.

U-12:

Pre-quarterfinals: Hamza bin Rehan bt Sahman Mustansar 8-0; Abdullah Adnan bt Afnan Tariq 8-0; Ahmed Kamil bt Syed Rasab Bukhari 8-0; Usama bt Shimza Tahir 8-1; Nalain Abbas bt Mohammad Sikander Ali Khan 8-0; Mustafa Mazhar bt Shaeel Tahir 8-0; Mohammad Said bt Hassan Ali 8-3.—Sports Reporter