Ibrahim topples top seed

Published December 13, 2002

LAHORE, Dec 12: Ibrahim Omer caused a major upset, defeating top seed Heera Ashiq to enter the final of the All-Pakistan Haleeb junior tennis tournament Boys’ Under-12 singles at the Punjab Coaching Centre grass courts Thursday.

Sixth seeded Ibrahim who preferred to play a baseline game displayed some good ground strokes to win the match 6-4, 6-2.

Ibrahim after conceding a 2-0 lead was soon abreast 2-2 and very soon surpassed the hot favourite to finally win the first set. In the next set Ibrahim produced a more stunning performance dropping just two games before winning the set and match 6-2. In the other semifinal, fourth seed Waqas Malik showed his class against unseeded Usman Rafiq and won the match easily 6-2, 6-1. In the boys’ U-18 singles three pre-quarterfinals were decided.

In the girls’ U-18 singles, the top seed Nida Rahim qualified for the final, defeating Shehla Nazir, the fourth ranked, in the lone semifinal of the day with the score of 6-1, 6-1.

Saba Aziz and Zehra Ali marched into the final of the girls U-14 singles after winning their respective semifinal matches.

Results:

Boys’ Under-18 singles (pre-quarterfinals): Munir Ashiq bt Abdur Sheikh 6-0, 6-1; Salman Bashir bt Zeeshan Khan 6-1, 6-4; Shahrukh Khan Niazi bt Ghulam Hussain 6-1, 6-2.

Boys’ singles U-14 (quarterfinals): Khurram Nazir bt Tanvir Munir 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Boys’ singles U-12 (semifinals): Ibrahim Omer bt Heera Ashiq 6-4, 6-2; Waqas Maik bt Usman Rafiq 6-2, 6-1.

Girls’s Under-18 singles (semifinals): Nida Rahim bt Shehla Nazir 6-1, 6-1. Girls singles U-14 (semifinals): Saba Aziz bt Zainab Kalim 6-0, 6-0; Zehra Ali bt Asra Amin 6-1, 6-1.