Wessels, Bahroozian advance

Dubai: The top two seeds were headed towards a possible run-in for the singles final at the Shaikh Zayed Cup 2011 being played at Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort Fujairah.

The top-seeded Peter Wessels, a former world number 72 from the Netherlands, dismissed Bahrain's Khalid Al Thawadi 6-4, 6-0, while at the lower end of the draw, second seed Omar Bahroozian, the UAE's top player, got the better of Qatar's Sultan Khalfan 6-0, 7-5 to ensure their spots in the semi-finals.

Wessels' opponent in the last four will be Sebastian Swierk of Australia after the big-serving player from Down Under accounted for the UAE's Mahmoud Nader Al Baloushi 6-3, 6-4.

Mohammad Al Nabhani will be Bahroozian's opponent in the last four stages after the Omani dug in deep for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Saudi Arabia's Fahad Al Sa'ad. In the doubles, the top two singles seeds set the stage for an engrossing match-up in the final with contrasting wins.

The top-seeded pairing of Wessels and Swierk got the better of the UAE duo of Al Baloushi and Hamad Abbas Al Janahi 6-2, 6-1, while Bahroozian teamed up with Al Sa'ad to battle past the Nabhani brothers from Oman, Mohammad and Khalid 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 10-6 in a match that nearly went close to midnight on Thursday. Both singles semi-finals were scheduled for last night followed by the doubles final.