LAHORE: Eight players qualified for the main draw-of-32 in the men’s singles first round of the National Tennis Championships at the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association courts here on Tuesday.

Top seed Aqeel Khan forged ahead after crushing defeat over Waqas Ahmad 6-2, 6-2 while other prominent players who went through were M. Abid, Muzammil Murtaza and Muddasir Murtaza.

In the only match which entered the third set, Yousaf Khalil beat Nauman Aftab 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. The match lasted 40 minutes as Yousuf fought back bravely after losing the first set.

In an unusual result, 59-year-old Pakistan Lawn Tennis Association secretary Rashid Malik, who is also featuring in the tournament as a wildcard entrant, beat Mian Bilal, 25, with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

Results: Men’s singles first round: Imran Bhatti bt Abdaal Haider 6-3, 6-3; Waqas Malik bt Shakir Ullah 6-3, 6-2; Shehzad Khan bt Azeem Khan 6-2, 6-0; Mudassar Murtaza bt Abdullah Adnan 6-4, 6-3; Usman Rafiq bt Hassan Riaz 6-2, 6-2; Yousaf Khalil bt Nauman Aftab 5-7, 6-1, 6-2; Heera Ashiq bt Ahmad Ch 6-1, 6-1; Abid Ali Akbar bt Saqib Omer 6-3, 6-3; Asad Ullah bt Israr Gul 6-3, 7-5; Muzamil Murtaza bt Malik Abdul Rehman 6-1, 6-3; Ahmad Babar bt Shoaib 6-3, 6-3; Yasir Khan bt Ijaz Khan 6-1, 6-2; Barkatullah bt Faizan Khurram 6-3, 6-2; M. Abid bt Ahmad Kamil 6-2, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2019