Malaysian pair’s impressive run at ITF circuit ends in semi-finals
KUCHING: The good run of Malaysian pair Ahmed Deedat Abdul Razak and Syed Mohd Agil Syed Naguib in the men’s doubles of the ITF Men’s Pro Circuit US$ 15,000 came to an end yesterday when they lost to the tournament’s top seeds.
They have to be contented with the US$ 324 prize money and the record they set in the Malaysian tennis history by being the first pair to make it to the semi-finals of a professional event in the country.
ITF No 483 Ruben Gonzales of the Philippines and Hunter Reese of the US were just too good, dumping the Malaysians in straight sets of 6-1, 6- 3 to book their place in today’s final.
They are to play the dark horses ITF No 1998 Arjun Kadhe ( India) and Lukas Ollert (Germany) for the crown after the latter chalked an upset win of 6- 4, 7- 6(5) over the third seeds and ITF No 1556 from Australia Adam Taylor and Jason Taylor.
ITF No 1030 from Uzbekistan Jurabek Karimov, who has been playing here since the ITF Junior Circuits, continued with his winning run after he dumped third seed Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-1 in the singles quarterfinals.
His next opponent in the last four is Japanese Ryota Tanuma, ranked ITF 915, who sweated for a 7- 6( 5), 3- 6, 7- 6( 6) victory over compatriot Takashi Saito,
Tournament top seed Alessandro Bega of Italy also advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-2, 7- 6(4) win over sixth seed Martins Podzus of Latvia.
He wi l l take on American challenger Evan Song after the fourth seed eased to a 6- 0, 6-2 win over eighth seed Lukas Ollert of Germany.
Rewards for the eventual singles champion is 18 ITF points and US$ 2,160 and 10 points and US$ 1,272 for the first runner-up while the doubles champions will collect 18 points and US$ 930 and the first runners-up will receive 10 points and US$ 540.