Goveas storms into semi-finals
New Delhi, Oct. 3: Nikki Poonacha, the top seed, outgunned Prajval Dev in the men’s singles quarter-finals while second seed Aryan Goveas outlasted Suraj Prabodh 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 to enter the semi-finals of Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship.
“Today’s match was good. Tomorrow I am playing against the defending champion, Dalwinder which will be interesting since he is an aggressive player,” said Nikki.
Mumbai’s Goveas was happy with the way he played. “We played a really long match today and I knew he was very strong. The conditions were very tough though, with the weather being so hot and humid. But I’m happy with the way I played, that I pulled through. I’m looking forward to a good match tomorrow.”
Kunal Anand the fourth seed beat Nitin Kumar Sinha in a tough match 6-3, 7-6(5). The past national champion Dalwinder Singh had a close call as he beat Ishaque Eqbal 7-6(4), 7-5
In Women’s Singles, top seed Sowjanya Baviseti stayed on course for the title. In the quarter-finals, she whipped Salsa Aher 6-2, 6-2. Prerna Bhambri turned in a strong performance against Shreya Tatavarthy and won 6-2, 7-5.
“I am really happy to pull through today’s quarter finals, it was challenging in this weather and I am excited to play the semis tomorrow.” said Sowjanya.
While the upset in the Women’s Singles was the second seed Bhuvana Kalva being defeated by Jagmeet Kaur. The third seed Vaidehi Chaudhari had an easy win against Sravya Shivani 6-1,6-1.
Madhwin Kamath showed stage presence as he grabbed his chances to oust third seed Kabir Hans 6-3, 64 in the quarter-finals of the Boys Under-18 boys singles in the Fenesta Open tennis championship.
On a pleasant Thursday at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association, Madhwin showed that playing in a big match requires control over shots and also staying focussed.
Mann Maulik Shah pressed the cruise control button against Uddavir Singh in the Under-18 quarter-finals to win 6-2, 6-2. It was a regulation match for the top seed as he showed a fiery temperament on court.