Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan continued their impressive run at the ITF Masters World Individual Championships, advancing to the semifinals of the Men’s 45+ Doubles after a thrilling victory over the dangerous Spanish pairing of Francisco Javier Martínez Baena and Pedro Nieto Orellana.

In a dramatic quarterfinal played on Court 1 at the famous Jamor Tennis Center, the Pakistani duo prevailed 6-7, 7-6, [10-2] in front of a sizeable gathering of tennis enthusiasts.

Aisam and Aqeel appeared to be heading for defeat after dropping a tightly contested opening set and then falling a break behind in the second. The Spaniards subsequently held two match points, but the experienced Pakistani pair produced their best tennis under pressure, saving both and forcing the set into a tiebreak.

After taking the second set 7-6, Aisam and Aqeel completely seized the momentum in the deciding match tiebreak, racing away to a commanding 10-2 victory to seal a memorable comeback and a place in the World Championship semifinals.

Earlier in the tournament, the Pakistani pair had overcome the leading Japanese combination of **Hayato Otsubo and **Manabu Tsujimoto in 3 sets, further underlining their strong form in Lisbon. They will now face a Ukrainian duo in the semifinals as they attempt to secure a place in the championship match.

On Tuesday, Pakistan also enjoyed an outstanding day in the 40+ Mixed Doubles, with both Aisam and Aqeel reaching the semifinals with their respective partners.

Aqeel, partnering Eileen Aranas-Roth of Germany, fought back from a set down to defeat the Portuguese pairing of Caterina and Joao Ferreira 4-6, 7-6, [10-4]. Like his men’s doubles quarterfinal, the contest required a determined comeback before Aqeel and Aranas-Roth dominated the deciding match tiebreak.

Aisam, meanwhile, partnered Nina Hermann of Austria and produced a more straightforward quarterfinal victory, defeating the German combination of Katherina Rath and Thomas Bergmeister 6-2, 6-4 to book their place in the last four.

The results mean that Pakistan’s two leading players have now reached the semifinals in both Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles, continuing a remarkable World Championships campaign in Lisbon following Pakistan’s silver-medal performance in the Men’s 45+ World Team Championships.