Impressive Isha eyes double

Isha scored a similar 7-5, 6-4 victory in the under-16 semis, later in the afternoon, this time over fourth seed Jitisha Shelarkha.

She now meets top seed Megha Vakharia in the u-14 final and Sonal Phadke, also the top seed, for the u-16 title.

In the boys u-16 semi-final match, Pratim Parikh overcame a one set deficit with a clever switch in tactics to upstage second seed Sunil Kumar of Chandigarh.

Unable to cope with Sunil’s attacking play in the first set which he lost 3-6, Parikh slowed down the pace and begane looping to Sunil’s backhands.

This worked as Sunil was not able to hit hard or keep a length. Parikh pounced on the short returns to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-2.

Nishant Mishrastopped second seed Vikrant Sane in the boys u-14 semi-final. Mishra, seeded third here, looked totally in command of the match even as Sane struggled.

ROSHNI SHINES: Eight-year-old Roshni Luthra toppled top seed Monisha Siddique to clinch the girls under-10 title at the Sil-State Ranking Tennis Tournament being held concurrently.

The Practennis protege studying at Arya Vidya Mandir, Juhu, delivered her best performance when it mattered the most, to score a thumping 6-4, 6-0 win for her maiden title.

Results (National Ranking)

Boys U-16 (SF): Benjamin Xavier bt Amanjyot Singh 6-2, 6-0; Pratim Parikh bt Sunil Kumar 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. U-14 (SF): 1-Amanjyot Singh bt 4-Rohan Gajjar 6-4, 6-4; 3-Nishant Mishra bt 2-Vikrant Sane 6-1, 6-1.

Girls U-16 (SF): Sonal Phadke bt Liza Perreira 6-1, 6-3; Isha Lakhani bt Jitisha Shelarkha 7-5, 6-4. U-14 (SF): Megha Vakharia bt Saania Mirza 6-2, 6-1; Isha Lakhani bt Medini Sharma 7-5, 6-0.

State Ranking: Boys U-12 (SF): 1-KeshavNarsimhan bt Ayush Wadhwan 6-3, 6-1; 2-Akshay Chellappa bt Krishank Shah 6-4, 6-2. U-10 (SF): 1-Arnav Jain bt 4-Agnel Gladwin 6-4, 6-2; 6-Bhavik Shelarkha bt 7-Tejeswi Rao 7-5, 6-2.

Girls U-12 (SF): 1-Karthiki Bhat bt 3-Nidhi Shah 2-0 (match conceded); 2-Lizanka Perreira bt Aditi Vasant 6-1, 6-1. U-10 (Final): 2-Roshni Luthra bt 1-Monisha Siddique 6-4, 6-0.