ISLAMABAD: Unseeded Muhammad Shoaib of Pakistan caused the major upset when he eliminated third Seed Neema Arthav of India to move into the quarterfinal of Syed Tajammul Abbas ITF Pakistan World Junior Ranking Tennis Championships at Syed Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex, Islamabad on Tuesday.
Shoaib displayed powerful game from the baseline to defeat his opponent in straight-set match 6-1, 6-2. Right from the outset, he was in excellent form and did not allow his Indian opponent to settle down in the match with his cross-court forehand and backhand shots. The Indian player after losing the match broke his racket and got a penalty from ITF supervisor.
Pakistan’s Huzafia Abdul Rehman and Saqib Hayat along with Chen Wei Chen of Chinese Taipei, Ahmed Zyaan of Great Britain, Rattanan Siritaworchar of Thailand, Faisal Ghous of Canada and Suresh Darrshan of Malaysia also advanced into the quarterfinals.
Top seed Ahmed Zyaan of UK eliminated Hamza Bin Rehan in a well-contested two-set match 7-6(2), 6-3.
The second seed Suresh Darrshan of Malaysia eliminated Moosa Choudhry without any resistance at the score of 6-1, 6-2.
Qualifier Huzaifa Abdul Rehman made another upset in the tournament when he overwhelmed sixth seed Nouman Aftab in straight set 6-3, 6-4. Saqib Hayat won his match against Wen Yi Chou of Chinese Taipei in another good three-set match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Rattanan Siritaworchar of Thailand won his encounter against Ahmed Asjad Qureshi in a thrilling three-set match. Asjad was leading 5-2 in the final set but could not maintain the pace of the match. Thai player not only levelled the score but won the match in the tie-break. The match lasted for two hours and thirty minutes. Faisal Ghous from Canada registered a straight set win against Sami Zeb of Pakistan. Chen Wei Chen (Chinese Tapie) beat Zalan Khan (Pakistan) in another straight set match 6-1, 6-1.
Boys’ singles and Girls singles quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday at 10:00 AM. Girls’ doubles semifinals will take place at 1:30 PM, while boy’s doubles quarterfinals will be held at 2:30 PM.