Fazal struggles to down Ismail

MARCH 9: Top seeds Syed Fazaluddin Bengal and Sai Jayalakshmi Tamil Nadu scored contrasting wins to enter the quarter-finals of the me...

MARCH 9: Top seeds Syed Fazaluddin Bengal and Sai Jayalakshmi Tamil Nadu scored contrasting wins to enter the quarter-finals of the men8217;s and women8217;s singles respectively in the Senior National Grasscourt Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Fazaluddin rallied from a set down to edge past Asif Ismail Maharashtra 6-7 6-8 6-4 6-3. Fazal, who committed a number of unforced errors in the first set, served and volleyed well in the subsequent sets to put it across Ismail after a 142-minute fight.

Sai survived a late charge from statemate Sandhya Kanury before carving out a 6-2 7-6 win in a second round encounter.

Second-seeded Nitin Kirtane Maharashtra also reached the last eight, breezing past qualifier A Jagnani Bengal 6-1 6-3. Kirtane will take on eighth seed Sourav Panja Bengal, who kept his cool at crucial junctures to overcome a strong challenge from Rohan Bopanna Maharashtra 3-6 7-5 6-3.

Seventh seed Vasudeva Reddy AP also had an easy second round, outclassing R Narendran TN 6-4, 6-3 to settle for a quarter-final clash with Fazaluddin.

Sixth seed Vijay Kannan Delhi also made it to the quarter-finals, getting past qualifier P Ravishankar 6-1, 6-1.

In the women8217;s singles, second-seeded Rushmi Chakravarthi TN beat Sai Sapna TN 6-2 6-1 while sixth seed Radhika Tulpule breezed past Punjab8217;s Jasleen Randhawa 6-1 6-2.

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Eighth seed Liza Pereira Mah also stormed into the quarters brushing aside Oindrilla Mazumdar 6-2, 6-2.

Results 2nd round: Men8217;s singles: S Fazaluddin WB bt Asif Ismail Mah 6-7, 8-6 6-4, 6-3; Vasudev Reddy AP bt R Narendran TN 6-4, 6-3; Mushatafa Ghouse Mah bt Anupam Minda Mah 6-2, 6-4; Vishal Uppal Del bt Manoj Mahadevan Mah 6-3, 6-1; Vijay Khanna Del bt P Ravishankar TN 6-1, 6-1; Rashi Sridhar TN bt Vinod Sridhar TN 6-3, 6-4; Suman Panja WB bt Rohan Bopamma Mah 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; Nitin Kirtane Mah bt Abhishck Jagnari WB 6/1, 6-3.

Women8217;s singles 2nd round: Sai Jailakshmi TN bt Sandhya Kanury TN 6-2, 7-6; Kaushma Patel Guj bt Sonali Phadke Mah 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 3; V Arthi Kar bt Ragini Vinal WB 6-3, 6-3; Liza Pereira Mah bt Onirudh Majumder WB 6-2, 6-2; V Archana Kar bt Phyankah Parchli WB 6-0, 6-1; Radhika Tulpule Mah bt Justeen Randhawa Punjab 6-1, 6-2; Kusum Chakrabarti TN bt Swapan Sair TN 6-2, 6-1.