ISLAMABAD: Top seed Muhammad Shoaib and third seed Muzammil Murtaza set up the final clash at the 37th OGDCL Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships after securing victories on Friday here at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex.

Shoaib dominated his match against Yousaf Khalil, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win. Meanwhile, Murtaza staged a gritty comeback to upset second seed and veteran Aqeel Khan 3-6, 6-3, 3-0 (retired).

Aqeel claimed the first set and led 3-1 in the second before Murtaza rallied with powerful serves and precision shots. The third seed broke early in the decider to lead 3-0, prompting the 45-year-old Aqeel to retire due to fatigue.

In the Under-18 category quarters, second seed Mohammad Yahya survived a scare against Peshawar’s Rayyan Khan Khalil.

Rayyan stunned Yahya with aggressive play to take the first set 6-2, but Yahya regrouped to secure the next two sets 6-3, 6-1, booking his place in the final.

Mohammad Salar, Abdul Basit and Haziq Aasim also recorded straight sets victories to confirm their semi-final berths.

Men’s doubles semi-finals saw Shoaib and Murtaza teaming up to defeat the duo of Ahmad Nael Qureshi and Saqib Hayat 6-1, 7-5, while Barkatullah and Yousaf Khalil overcame the pair of Abdullah Adnan and Saifullah Khan 6-3, 6-4.

In the boy’s under-14 Shayaan Afridi beat Rashid Ali 4-1, 3-5(3), 4-1 while Khadija Khalil clinched the girls Under-12 title with a crushing 4-1, 4-0 win over Umer Shahnoor.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025