Aqeel, Jalil take family matters to the final

KARACHI: Top-seed Aqeel Khan clinched a comprehensive win against his Davis Cup partner Nomi Qamer 6-0, 6-1 to book a final against his brother Yasir in the Sindh Open Tennis Championship. Yasir, the tournament’s thirdseed, outplayed yet another Khan from the family, Jalil, 6-1, 6-4 in the second semi-final.

Aqeel showed his superiority with ease in the match, his backhand-slice coupled with powerful ground-strokes from the baseline overpowered Qamer in less than an hour. “I thought it was going to be tough,” Aqeel told The Express Tribune. “We’ve played over 100 matches against each other so I thought he could read my mind as I could read his but maybe it wasn’t his day.” In the second semi-final, 20-year-old Yasir outplayed his older brother with his aggressive forehand and service games.

Yasir had lost to Jalil in February’s Wesbury Open final. “Jalil’s double hand and back hand are very powerful while Aqeel’s game is much more defensive and I only have to tackle the backhand slice,” said Yasir.