ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Shoaib continued his impressive run in the ITF M-15 Leg-2 by advancing to the men’s singles semi-finals at the PTF Tennis Complex on Friday.

Shoaib defeated Turkey’s Kerem Yilmaz in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(9), in a closely contested quarter-final to maintain the fine form that saw him win the ITF M-15 Leg-1 title earlier.

The result made Shoaib the first Pakistani player since Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan to reach back-to-back ITF men’s semi-finals, underlining his growing stature on the international circuit.

In other quarter-final matches, Sweden’s Arvid Nordquist beat Turkey’s Mert Naci Turker 6-3, 6-4, while Russia’s Nikita Ianin overcame Kazakhstan’s Grigoriy Lomakin 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Italy’s Edoardo Cherie Ligniere caused a major upset by knocking out top seed Reguig 7-5, 6-2.

In the doubles semi-finals, Russia’s Andrei Kunitsyn and Ianin defeated Pakistan’s Muzammil Murtaza and Lomakin 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Turker and his compatriot Melih Anavatan advanced after receiving a walkover against Yilmaz and Canada’s Adam Farag-Cao.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026