Rehman Romps Through To Salzburg Semis
11 Mar 2006
In addition to his duties as tournament director, unseeded Austrian Aqeel Rehman was able to pull off a series of impressive of upsets to reach the semi-finals of the first Salzburg Open in Austria.
After overcoming top-seeded Englishman Sam Miller in a five-game first round match, the 20-year-old from Salzburg beat Germany's fifth seed Friedrich Scheel 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
Rehman will face Jonathan Harford after the Englishman beat fellow qualifier Michael Fiteni 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (3-1), 10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 8-5 when the Australian-born 29-year-old - who now represents Malta - retired with cramp after 78 minutes.
Fresh from his triumph in last week's Swiss Open, Egypt's Omar Abdel Aziz became the only player expected to reach the last four when he beat England's Chris Ryder 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5. The fourth seed will face Germany's sixth seed Andre Haschker who upset Italy's second seed Luca Mastrostefano 11-4, 11-6, 11-4.
Quarter-finals:
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [5] Friedrich Scheel (GER) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (33m)
[Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG) bt [Q] Michael Fiteni (MLT) 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (3-1), 10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 8-5 ret. (78m)
[4] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt [7] Chris Ryder (ENG) 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (62m)
[6] Andre Haschker (GER) bt [2] Luca Mastrostefano (ITA) 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (35m)