Shantanu, Mikhail reach U-10 final

MUSCAT: Fancied Shantanu Sriram and Mikhail Sair reached the final of the boys under-10 singles at the Arabia Falcon Insurance-sponsored Annual Tennis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club.

Shantanu and Mik justified their top billing when they marched into the summit clash with impressive victories in their semifinals. Shantanu played a consistent all-round game and gave nothing away on the way to a 8-1 victory over Mahi Rohit. In the other semifinal, Mikhail Sarit was equally impressive to post a convincing 8-2 win over Arjun Suresh.

Meanwhile, top seed Praneet Raj and Arya Deshpande progressed to the finals of the boys under-12 singles event. Praneet was his confident self as he unleased an array of brilliant ground-storkes and winners to outplay Shantanu Sriram 8-1. In the second semifinal, third seed Arya Deshpande upset second seed Rohan Sebastian 8-2 to earn a shot at the title. Arya showed positive intent and played within his limits to gain the upperhand.

In the first round of the boys under-16 singles, Shlok Ail progressed after registering a 8-1 win over Varun Deepak and Surya Mariappan blanked Achyut Kappil 8-0.

Third seed Prithvi Raj advanced to the last-four stage of the boys under-14 singles after coasting to a 8-1 victory over Achyut Kappil and second seed Sanskar Dubey proved too strong for Praneet Raj whom he handed a 8-0 defeat.