ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Nadir Mirza and Abubakar Talha registered contrating wins to advance into the semi-finals of the ITF Pakistan Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Juniors Tennis Championship here at the PTF complex on Wednesday.
Nadir came from a set down to defeat Kazakhstan’s Rodion Likashov 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), while Abubakar Talha dominated Chinese opponent Haolin Liu 6-1, 6-0 to book the last-four berth.
However, Pakistan’s Amir Mazari was eliminated from the tournament, losing to Japan’s Takaya Ishii 6-3, 6-0.
In the doubles last-eight fixtures, Pakistan’s duo of Ahtesham Humayun and Salar Khan fell against the pair of Abubakar and Singapore’s Luke Jie Xi Ho 6-1, 6-3.
On the other hand, the team of Nadir and Mikael Ali Baig swept aside Britain’s Enzo Kahi and Indonesia’s Keitaro Ksathra 6-4, 6-1 to book the semi-final spot.
The girls double quarter-finals saw Japanese Nana Okawa and Rino Shinden defeating the pair of Pakistan’s Maham Ashraf and China’s Xinru Zhong 6-1, 6-0.
Meanwhile, national player Amna Ali Qayum and Dicle Izgi of Turkiye were also ousted from the tournament after losing to Kazakhstan’s Aruzhan Bayalina and Sofiya Malysheva 6-2, 6-1.
Results (quarter-finals):
Boys singles: Luke Jie Xio Ho (Singapore) bt Platon Kovalyov (Kazakhstan) 6-0, 6-2
Girls singles: Haniya Aman Minhas (Saudi Arabia) bt Sofiya Malysheva (Kazakhstan) 6-2, 6-0; Alissa Korolyova (Kazakhstan) bt Dicle Izgi (Turkiye) 6-4, 6-2; Yelizaveta Slepchenko (Kazakhstan) bt Serife Pelibn Sari (Turkiye) 6-3, 6-3; Nana Okawa (Japan) bt Seo Hee Jeon (South Korea) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Boys doubles: Platon Kovalyov (Kazakhstan)/Shehryar Anees (Pakistan) bt Rodion Likashov/Ramzan (Kazakhstan) 7-5, 6-4; Alexey Ryabov (Russia)/Yagiz Yildiz (Turkiye) bt Danial/Amanbek (Kazakhstan) 6-4, 6-0
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2025