KARACHI: Davis Cupper Yasir Khan annexed the men’s singles crown of Anti-Tobacco Day tennis tournament when he overpowered elder brother Jalil Khan in a keenly-contested final at the Karachi Club hard court here on Friday.

Top seed Yasir, who is known for his brilliant all-round craft, dominated the first set with some lovely winners in front as well at the back of court. The match was locked at 4-4 at one time but Yasir broke Jalil’s serve to take the first set 6-4.

The second set saw much tougher duel between the brothers but at a crucial juncture, with the scores tied at 5-all, Yasir broke Jalil’s serve to grab the title after one hour and 12 minutes contest.

The organisers were forced to hold the men’s singles final on Friday instead of Saturday as Yasir had to rush to Islamabad to attend the national training camp.

In the women’s singles semi-final, Neha Khan routed Sana Adnan to enter the final. Neha, playing from the base-line, kept her opponent under pressure with a series of winners and emerged taller than her opponent.

Talented Talha Zubair and Hasan set-up a final date in the under-18 singles contest after winning their pre-finals in contrasting fashion.

Talha sailed past Murad Khan while Hasan was given a tough time by Nazif Ahmed before clinching the match on super tie-break in the two-hour contest.

Hasan got off to a sterling start by snatching the well-fought first set 7-5. However, Nazif came back to grab the second with identical score line. Super tie-breaker saw a keen tussle for supremacy between the two opponents but luck and a couple of forceful winners helped Hasan to seize a place in the final.

Results: Men’s singles (final): Yasir Khan bt Jalil Khan 6-4, 7-5

Women’s singles (semi-final): Neha Khan bt Sana Adnan 6-0, 6-0

Women’s singles (quarter-fnals): Shahrukh bt Kinza Ghachi 4-6, 6-4, 10-4; Shahnaz Khan bt Rida Khan 7-5, 7-5

U-18 (semi-finals): Talha Zubair bt Murad Khan 6-2, 6-2, Hasan Farooq bt Nazif Ahmed 7-5, 5-7, 10-7

Boys U-14 (semi-finals): Nauman Aftab bt Fahad Haider 6-2, 6-0, Ebad Ahmed bt Mohammad Ahmed 6-2, 6-1.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2014