KARACHI, May 27: Second seed Nomi Qamar had to bring out his best in reaching the Men's singles final of the Anti-Tobacco Day tennis tournament organised by the Pakistan Women's Tennis Association , warding off keen challenge from third seed Jalil Khan 6-1, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5 on Thursday at the Salma Noorani Hardcourt of the Karachi Club.
Dropped from the Pakistan Davis Cup squad that lost to Taipei, in which Jalil was included along with his elder brother Aqeel, Nomi got off to a hurricane start, claiming the first set with effortless ease 6-1.
Completely taken aback by Nomi's forceful approach, Jalil got his act together and matched his opponent point for point, which had Nomi withdraw on the defensive forced him into many unforced errors.
With the spectators urging him on, Jalil drew abreast 6-6 which forced the set into a tiebreak. Continuing to commit blunders at vital stages Nomi drew down his racket in complete disgust, when Jalil bagged the set 7-6 (7-5), with a powerful forehand crosscourt smash which had his opponent completely stranded on the court.
Growing in confidence Jalil took the early lead in the final set only to see Nomi getting back into his strides drawing abreast 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 to edge ahead 4-6.
As the seesaw tussle continued, Jalil fighting back tooth and nail crept closer 5-6. But with service advantage in hand, Nomi came through an exhausted winner claiming the final frame 7-5.
Joining Nomi in the final was old rival Aqeel Khan, who after winning the first frame 6-0, had a battle on his hands against fourth seed Adnan Khan before the teenager surrendered the second frame 4-6, after a hectic struggle.
In the ladies singles Dr. Shahrukh Rasool moved into the next round with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Nida Muljee. Joining her in the next round was Shehnaz Tariq, completely at ease while downing Shahdana Khan 6-1, 6-0.
Shandana's older sister Shahana beat Sofia Khan in a keen 6-3, 6-3 encounter, but meeting Zarmeen Shoaib for a place in the semi-final later in the evening, Shahana was forced to bow out, losing the match 6-3, 6-3 with Zarmeen on the offensive from the word go.
Also going through into the next round was Sanam Mughal. Two very interesting veterans doubles were also played on Thursday. In the first match, Zahid Hussain and Akber H. Khan had to draw into their reserves in overcoming Yaqoob Admain and Zakaria Ali Mohammad 6-4, 6-4.
The same could be said about Yousuf and Shahid to had to break into a sweat while disposing off Ashraf and Ilyas 6-4, 7-5.
Following were Thursday's results:
Men's singles (semifinals):
Nomi Qamar beat Jalil Khan 6-1, 6-7, (7-5), 7-5. Aqeel Khan beat Adnan Khan 6-0, 6-4.
Ladies singles:
Shehnaz Tariq beat Shandana Khan 6-1, 6-0. Dr. Shahrukh Rasool beat Nida Muljee 6-3, 6-0. Shahana Khan beat Sofia Khan 6-3, 6-3.
Quarterfinals: Zarmeen Shoaib beat Shahana Khan 6-3, 6-3.
Veterans doubles:
Zahid Hussain and Akber H. Khan beat Yaqoob Admain and Zakaria Ali Mohammad 6-4, 6-4. Yousuf and Shahid beat Ashraf and Ilyas 6-4, 7-5.