ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Nomi Qamar sent second seed Asim Shafik crashing out of the 20th Federal Cup Tennis Championship on Friday to set up a meeting in the final with top seed Aqeel Khan.

The third seeded Nomi, playing a consistent game from the baseline, scored a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory while Aqeel put the brakes on veteran Rashid Malik winning 6-2, 6-2.

Nomi built up a winning 5-0 lead by breaking the second and fourth games of Asim, who made several unforced errors. But Asim got his act together in the second set which he won 6-2 before Nomi came back strongly in the third set to take the match.

Top seed Aqeel was simply too good for the Pakistan Davis Cup coach as he displayed an excellent combination of fore and backhand shots to win the second semifinal.

Mariam Rahim and Shiza Ihtisham qualified for the women’s singles final knocking out their rivals in straight sets.

Mariam outplayed Mehvish Chishtie 7-5, 6-0 and Shiza eliminated Nosheen Ihtisham 6-4, 6-4.

Shahzad Khan advanced to the junior under-18 final beating Adnan Khan 6-1, 6-3 and will now take on Wasif Cheema who routed second seed Tanveer Ashiq 6-1, 6-1.

Results:

Men’s singles semifinals: Aqeel Khan bt Rashid Malik 6-2, 6-2, Nomi Qamar bt Asim Shafik 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

Women’s singles semifinals: Mariam Rahim bt Mehvish Chishtie 7-5, 6-0, Shiza Ihtisham bt Nosheen Ihtisham 6-4, 6-4

Men’s doubles semifinals: Aqeel Khan-Rashid Malik bt Inam Gul-Jalil Khan 6-4, 6-2, Hameedul Haq-Asim Shafik bt Nomi Qamar-Mahmood Khan 6-1, 7-5

Boys under-18 singles semifinals: Shahzad Khan bt Adnan Khan 6-1, 6-3, Wasif Cheema bt Tanvir Ashiq 6-1, 6-1

Boys under-14 singles semifinals: M. Usman Ijaz bt Omer Babar 4-1, 1-4, 5-4 (4), Yasir Khan bt Ahmed Aslam 4-2, 4-2

Girls under-14 singles semifinals: Sara Mahboob bt Mehak Khokhar 4-2, 5-3, Anoosha Aslam bt Zainab Khan 5-3, 4-2

Veterans 50 & above doubles semifinals: Sher Khan-Khawar Hayat bt Maj Pervez-Naeem Pasha 6-2, 6-2, Ali Akbar-Col Shahid bt Col Tahawwar Ali-Rashid Khan 6-1, 6-2.