$25K Pakistan-1 Satellites (Aug 9 - Sep 5)

[jayakris]

The venues are:

Week 1 - Islamabad Club, Islamabad (Clay)
Week 2 - Coaching Centre, Lahore (Grass)
Week 3 - Coaching Centre, Lahore (Grass)
Masters - Karachi Gymkhana, Karachi (Hard)

Here is the Entry List:

1 KHAN, Aqeel (PAK,581)
2 SANNA, Tommaso (ITA,752)
3 KANNAN, Vijay (IND,768)
4 PEHAR, Mirko (USA,799)
5 PUNNA, Vishal (IND,846)
6 KANNAN, Kamala (IND,911)
7 WELLENFELD, Enrico (ITA,922)
8 MATHEW, Jaco (IND,970)
9 SINGH, Ashutosh (IND,1046)
10 IVANOV, Dmitry (UZB,1068)
11 LIBERHAN, Tushar (IND,1219)
12 SYED, Rahil (IND,1286)
13 CAFFERATA, Tommaso (ITA,1343)
14 POLVANI, Federico (ITA,1441)

Nice to see two grasscourt events (grrrrrrr ... India can't seem to get one on!)

Hey, Vishal Punna decided to finally get some points .. Tushar plays its too .. I heard a rumor that Somdev has decided to come to US for college tennis, but I haven't heard from him in a very lonmg time to confirm it .. Still no sign of Arun-Prakash .. Oh well.

Only one Pakistani (other than Aisam) has a ranking - Aqeel. Hope we will see a few more Pakistanis with points after these satellites.

It all starts next week.

Jay

[PKBasu]

Pretty thin field, which offers a terrific opportunity for Indian players to significantly enhance their rankings. But I won't be surprised if Pakistan discovers a fair number of decent players, starting with the Khan brothers who did well in doubles at the India satellites.
I expect 24-year-old Vijay Kannan (who wasn't completely healthy during the Indian satellites) and 20-year-old Vishal Punna to dominate this circuit. Good to see Punna finally turn up at a subcontinental Satellite (I guess he heard our cries...). Sad to see the continuing absence of Somdev and ArunPrakash. Quite frankly, Vishal Uppal should also come back and play these: the two grass events should be a boon for him.

[PKBasu]

Good to see Tushar entered, but where is Karan Rastogi? I suppose he wants to play the US Open juniors, but somehow I feel this would have been a better use of time. He needs to pick up some ATP points and make an early transition to the pro tour. Perhaps the Sri Lanka satellites will provide the opportunity for him...

[vishnureddy]

First qualifying round, played on Saturday

Cheong-Eul Kim (S Kor) Bt Yassir Bouyahay (Morroco), 6-4, 6-4
Dane Fernandez (Aus) bt Adnan Khan (Pak), 6-1, 6-2
Yannick Nelord (Ind) bt Leo Puhanic (Austria), 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
Vikas Punna (Ind) bt Ikram-ul-Haq (Pak), 6-2, 6-0
Mehmood Khan (Pak) bt Aftab Anwar (Pak), 6-0, 6-3
Gurrnehar singh (Ind) bt Rashid Malik (Pak), 6-1, 6-1
Siddharth Gulati (Ind) bt Manchit Madan (Ind), 6-3, 6-1
Nomi Qamar (Pak), bt Shahid Afridi (Pak), 6-0, 6-1
Vivek Shokeen (Ind) bt Inam Gul (Pak), 6-1, 6-3
Akbar Pataudi (Pak), Muteeb Pasha (Pakistan), 6-2, 6-4

Second Round Result:

Sandeep Kumar (Ind) bt Usman Ejaz (Pak), 6-2, 6-1


Sunday's, matches for second qualifying round

Matches start at 9:30 am.

Hamid-ul-Haq (Pak) vs Siddharth Gulati (Ind)
Atsufumi Yoshikawa (Japan) vs Vivek Shokeen (Ind)
Sujai Reddy (Ind) vs Nomi Qamar (Pak)
Vishal Gaur (Ind) vs Mehmood Khan (Pak)
Arindam Datta (Ind) vs Gurmebar Singh (Ind)
Wrik Ganguly (Ind) vs Vikas Punna (Ind)

Matches starting at 10:30 am are:

Usman Bangash (Pak) vs Cheon-Eul Kim (S Korea)
Varun Walia (Ind) vs Akbar Pataudi (Pak)
Muhammad Shafiq (Pak) vs Yannick Nelord (Ind)
Kamran Khalil (Pak) vs Dane Fernandez (Aus)

Is Vikas Punna related to Vishal Punna?

[vishnureddy]

Results:

Second round:

Wrik Ganguly (Ind) beat Vikas Punna (Ind) 7-6 (5), 6-1
Mehmood Khan (Pak) beat Vishal Gaur (Ind) 6-0, 6-0
Gurmehar Singh (Ind) beat Arindam Datta (Ind) 7-6 (5), 4-0 (retd)
Siddharth Gulati (Ind) beat Hamidul Haq (Pak) 4-6, 6-4, 4-1 (retd)
Nomi Qamar (Pak) beat Sujai Reddy (Ind) 7-6 (0) (retd)
Yannick Nelord (Ind) beat Muhammad Shafik (Pak) 7-6 (8), 6-7 (5), 7-5
Vivek Shokeen (Ind) beat Atsufumi Yoshikawa (Japan) 6-4, 6-2
Dane Fernandez (Aus) beat Kamran Khalil (Pak) 6-2, 6-4
Varun Walia (Ind) beat Akbar Pataudi 6-1, 6-4
Cheong-Eul Kim (Korea) beat Usman Bangash (Pak) 6-0, 6-0


Today’s matches:

Singles (1st round):

Aqeel Khan (Pak) vs Mio Puhanic (Austria),
Asim Shafik (Pak) vs Jaco Mathew (Ind),
Mehmood Khan (Pak) vs Andrian Venturi (Aus),
Nomi Qamar (Pak) vs Vishal Punna (Ind),
Kamala Kannan (Ind) vs Rahil Syed (Ind),
Kamil Filali (Morroco) vs Vijay Kannan (Ind).

[vishnureddy]

Any bets on "Who will top the points chart after these grueling 4 weeks?"

I bet on Vishal Punna.. Go Vishal!

Subodh

You jinxed him Subodh . He lost in the first round


Singles (1st round)

Aqeel Khan (Pak) beat Mio Puhanic (Austria) 6-3, 6-2
Dmitry Ivanov (Uzb) beat Gurmehar Singh (Ind) 6-4, 6-3
Asim Shafiq (Pak) beat Jaco Mathew (Ind) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Nomi Qamar (Pak) beat Vishal Punna (Ind) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Rahil Syed (Ind) beat Kamala Kannan (Ind) 6-2, 6-1
Vijay Kannan(Ind) beat Filali Kamil (Morocco) 6-2, 6-4
Adrian Venturi (Aus) beat Mehmood Khan (Pak) 6-0, 6-2


Doubles (main round)

Vikas Punna and Vishal Punna (Ind) beat Kamala Kannan and Vijay Kannan (Ind) 7-5, 6-0
Mirko Pehar(USA) and Toshiaki Sakai(Jap) beat Aqeel Khan and Shahzad Khan(Pak) 6-4,7-6(2)
Jalil Khan and Asim Shafiq(Pak) beat Leo Puhanic and Mio Puhanic 6-1,4-2(retd)
Jeevan Nedunchezhiy and Sujai Reddy(Ind) beat Adnan Khan and Akbar Pataudi(Pak) 6-4,7-6(7)
Tommaso Cafferata and Tommaso Sanna(Italy) beat Rahil Syed and Varun Walia(Ind) 6-2,6-2
Jaco Mathew(Ind) and Atsufumi Yoshikawa(Jap) beat Manchit Madan(Ind) and Enrico Wellenfeld(Italy) 7-5,5-7,6-3


Pretty bad day for the Indians

[jayakris]

Oh dear, Vishal ! Come on ... Hope Tushar does well; he is the one whose results I am really looking forward to .. Jeevan is also there!

Jay

[saleem_hamad]

Article about yesterdays matches.

http://www.dawn.com/2004/08/10/spt7.htm

U guys can visit the sports section at www.dawn.com for reports on the previous days matches.

Hamad

[Dhruv]

I thought Tushar had withdrawn due to a medical but maybe I am wrong.

[jayakris]

Tuesday results:

Wasif Cheema (PAK) d. Tommasor Cafferata (ITA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Ashutosh Singh (IND) d. Siddharth Gulati (IND) 6-3, 6-2
Enrico Wellenfeld (ITA) d. Wrik Ganguly (IND) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Sanna Tommaso (ITA) d. Warun Walia (IND) 6-2, 6-2
Vivek Shokeen (IND) d. Dane Fernandez (AUS) 6-3, 6-4
Yannick Nelord (India) d. Jalil Khan (PAK) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
Mirko Pehar (USA) d. Sandeep Kumar (IND) 6-0, 6-0
Toshaiki Sakai (JPN) d. Jeevan Nedunchezhiya (IND), 6-0, 6-0
Cheong-Eul Kim (KOR) d. Shahzad Khan (PAK) 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(4)

Doubles (1st round):

Arindam Datta (IND)/ Tamer El Sawy (EGY) d. Nomi Qamar/ Muhammad Shafiq (PAK) 6-1, 7-5, 6-2.
Yassir Bouyahya/ Kamil Filali (MAR) d. Ashutosh Singh/ Gurmehar Singh (IND) 6-3, 6-3

Not a great start for Indians .. Yes, Tushar has not gone there. Jeevan had a baptism by fire at this level. Yikes.

Jay

[jayakris]

Here are the first round results in the porper draw form ..

Code: Select all

Singles Round 1:

1 Aqeel Khan (PAK)       d.   Mio Puhanio (AUT)       63 62
  Dimitry Ivanov (UZB)   d. Q Gurmehar Singh (IND)    64 63
  Ashutosh Singh (IND)   d. Q Siddharth Gulati (IND)  63 62
7 Enrico Wellenfeld(ITA) d. Q Wrik Ganguly (IND)      46 61 62
3 Tommaso Sanna (ITA)    d. Q Varun Walia (IND)       62 62
  Asim Shafiq (PAK)      d.   Jaco Mathew (IND)       36 62 62
Q Vivek Shokeen (IND)    d. Q Dane Fernandez (AUS)    63 64
Q Nomi Qamar (PAK)       d. 6 Vishal Punna (IND)      36 63 64
  Rahil Syed (IND)       d. 8 Kamala Kannan (IND)     62 61
Q Yannick Nelord (IND)   d.   Jalil Khan (PAK)        63 26 61
Q Cheong-Eul Kim (KOR)   d.   Shahzad Khan (PAK)      76(4) 36 76(4)
4 Vijay Kannan (IND)     d.   Kamil Filali (MAR)      62 64
5 Mirko Pehar (USA)      d. Q Sandeep Kumar (IND)     60 60
  Adiran Venturi (AUS)   d. Q Mehmood Khan (PAK)      60 62
  Wasif Cheema (PAK)     d.   Tommaso Cafferata(ITA)  36 61 64
2 Toshaiki Sakai (JPN)   d.   Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan   60 60

Doubles Round 1:

  Vik.Punna/ Vis.Punna     d. 1 K.Kannan/ V.Kannan        75 60
  J.Khan/ A.Shafik         d.   Leo Puhanio/ M.Puhanio    61 42 ret
4 J.Mathew/ A.Yoshikawa    d.   Manjit Madan/E.Wellenfeld 75 57 63
  T.Cafferata/ T.Sanna     d.   R.Syed/ V.Walia           62 62
  Jeevan.N/ Sujai Reddy    d.   Adnan Khan/ Akbar Pataudi 64 76(7)
  YassirBouyahya/ K.Filali d. 3 A.Singh/ G.Singh          63 63
  ArindamDatta/ T.El-Sawy  d.   N.Qamar/ Muhammad Shafiq  61 75 62
2 M.Pehar/ T.Sakai         d.   A.Khan/ S.Khan            64 76(2)

Kamala Kannan, Vishal Punna, Jeevan - all losing, and Tushar withdrawing last week ... Makes me very disappointed. Everybody I was looking forward to seeing some good performances from .. Thank God for Vijay Kannan advancing - but we know well about his tennis and expect that from him. How the heck did Rahil take out Kamala that easily?

Jay

[jayakris]

Wednesday results from Islamabad (clay):

Code: Select all

Singles Round 2:

1 Aqeel Khan (PAK)       d.   Dimitry Ivanov (UZB)   60 75
7 Enrico Wellenfeld(ITA) d.   Ashutosh Singh (IND)   62 63
Q Vivek Shokeen (IND)    d. Q Nomi Qamar (PAK)       75 64
3 Tommaso Sanna (ITA)    d.   Asim Shafiq (PAK)      62 63
  Rahil Syed (IND)       d. Q Yannick Nelord (IND)   36 76(2) 76(4)
Q Cheong-Eul Kim (KOR)   d. 4 Vijay Kannan (IND)     36 61 64
5 Mirko Pehar (USA)      d.   Adiran Venturi (AUS)   62 64
2 Toshaiki Sakai (JPN)   d.   Wasif Cheema (PAK)     60 61

Doubles QF:

  Vik.Punna/ Vis.Punna     d.   J.Khan/ A.Shafik         64 76 (3)
  T.Cafferata/ T.Sanna     d. 4 J.Mathew/ A.Yoshikawa    67(4) 60 61
  YassirBouyahya/ K.Filali d.   Jeevan.N/ Sujai Reddy    75 64
2 M.Pehar/ T.Sakai         d.   ArindamDatta/ T.El-Sawy  60 62

To say "disappointed" will be an understatement ... Yuck!

Jay

[PKBasu]

Rahil and Vivek Shokeen?? Big surprise from those two. Thank god someone advanced...
Our guys seem to take a week or two to warm up at the Satellites!!

[jayakris]

The Indian's results today (asctually the official draw has updated only two QF matche scores today - whatabout the other two?):

[QF] (Q) Vivek Shokeen (IND,NR) d. (3) Tomasso Sanna (ITA,734), 46 76(3) 63
[QF] (Q) Rahil Syed (IND,1271) l. Cheung-Eui Kim (KOR), 36 16
[SF] Vik.Punna/ Vis.Punna l. T.Cafferata/ T.Sanna, 57 26

Vivek Shoeekn ?? ... We have to take this kid seriously, I suppose? Vivek only turned 17 only a few days back, and is ranked #275 in the juniors (actually had some pretty decent results last year and may have been injured early this year to show much .. reached an ITF semi in Uzbekistan in June though) .. Go Vivek!!

The Korean, Kim, is listed as a 14 year old by ITF. There must be some mistake. The news from Pakstan says he is Cheon-Eul Kim. No such player in the ITF database, so their page for the Pakistan satellite says it is Cheong-Eui Kim. A 14 year old playing the pros, going all the way to Pakistan? .. ITF has him to have played three futures qualies in Spain this May too. I have to suspect it is some name confusion and ITF is listing a Cheon-Eul and a Cheong-Eui as the same guy ..

Jay