Iftikhar reaches Zazim Bari Cup semis
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s rising tennis star Samir Iftikhar reached the semi-finals of ITF World Ranking Grade IV Zazim Bari Cup in Istanbul after a straightsets win over Sam Hutt of Great Britain.
With the 6-2, 6-1 win, Iftikhar avenged his three-set defeat at the hands of his opponent at the Qatar Open earlier this year. Earlier, Iftikhar earned a hard-fought win against Stefan Apostal of Romania to reach the quarter-finals. The British born Iftikhar, dubbed as world class talent by experts, broke the Romanian’s serve twice in the first set to win it 6-1.
However, Apostal showed great courage to come back with a 6-4 win in the second set. The deciding set hung in the balance as both players fought gallantly but Iftikhar displayed great back-hand shots to break the Romanian and seal the result. He will now meet numberone seed Alaxendre Metrevili of Georgia in the semi-finals.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 24th, 2010.
Pakistan’s rising tennis star Samir Iftikhar reached the semi-finals of ITF World Ranking Grade IV Zazim Bari Cup in Istanbul after a straightsets win over Sam Hutt of Great Britain.
With the 6-2, 6-1 win, Iftikhar avenged his three-set defeat at the hands of his opponent at the Qatar Open earlier this year. Earlier, Iftikhar earned a hard-fought win against Stefan Apostal of Romania to reach the quarter-finals. The British born Iftikhar, dubbed as world class talent by experts, broke the Romanian’s serve twice in the first set to win it 6-1.
However, Apostal showed great courage to come back with a 6-4 win in the second set. The deciding set hung in the balance as both players fought gallantly but Iftikhar displayed great back-hand shots to break the Romanian and seal the result. He will now meet numberone seed Alaxendre Metrevili of Georgia in the semi-finals.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 24th, 2010.