Samir, Kahlke win Dubai doubles-title

Pakistan’s Samir Iftikhar and his German partner Jannis Kahlke win the Dubai Open doubles title.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Samir Iftikhar and his German partner Jannis Kahlke won the Dubai Open doubles title when they defeated the top-seeded pair of Hadin Bava and Julian Lenz 6-3, 7-6(6/4) yesterday.

Iftikhar paired up with second-seed Kahlke to avenge his singles quarter-final defeat to top-seeded Julian.

The winning duo took the first set with ease but the top seeds fought back in the second set to level it 6-6. Iftikhar and Kahlke dominated the tie-break 6-4 to seal the title win.

This was Iftikhar’s fourth title on the International Tennis Federation circuit. The 18-year-old has won 11 doubles matches this year while losing the same number. In singles, he has won 12 while losing 33, a feat that has improved his ranking from 540 to 225 this year.

Previously, the duo beat third-seed Germans Constantin Christ and Delf Gohlke 2-6, 7-5, 10-2 in the semi-final.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2010.