Abdul Rasheed Abdullah
progressed into the semi-finals of
the Brunei Darussalam Tennis
Association Open Singles 3rd Leg
with a win over Gilles Laporte last
night.Picture: BT file

Top seed Abdul Rasheed Abdullah (pic) fought his way to a place in the semi-finals of the Brunei Darussalam Tennis Association (BDTA) Open Singles 3rd Leg with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Gilles Laporte last night.

The tournament secretary's result over the No 10 Frenchman at the National Tennis Centre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas sets him up a date with the Philippines' Jonathan Manacap in the last four today.

No 7 Manacap upset No 3 Harin Saraw of Thailand 7-6(6), 6-4 in another second round (quarter-final) tie at the same venue.

Beaten finalist along with Mohd Dhani Hj Asia during July's BDTA Open Mens Doubles 2nd leg, Manacap is now just one step away from another shot at a victory in a championship match.

Harin knows all about losing in the final too though, tasting defeat in the 1st leg of the event in January.

No 4 Mohd Serudin Salleh joins Abdul Rasheed as the other Bruneian in the last four after disposing No 11 Chua Peng Wei 7-5, 6-4.

Mohd Serudin will face No 8 Sebistian Payne of the United Kingdom for a berth in the final after the latter won his match against No 2 Muhaimin Awang due to a walkover.

Both semi-finals will be played today at 7pm, while the final is slated for 4pm on Friday.

Abdul Rasheed and Mohd Serudin were given byes into the second round because of their high seeds, and yesterday's games were the first time the pair took to the court.

The most notable exclusion from the list of 11 players is defending champion Mohd Aiman Abdullah, the country's top ranked player.

The reigning Open Singles and Men's Doubles champion is currently in Kuching to compete at the Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Junior Championships.

Aiman forced Abd Rasheed to retire in the second set of the Open Singles 2nd leg final in May when he was trailing 3-1. Aiman had earlier won the first set 6-2.

Matthew Foo was crowned champion of the 1st leg in January in similar circumstances when he took the first set 6-3 and was leading 5-0 in the second against Harin before his opponent conceded the game because of an eye problem.

Courtesy from Brunei Times