Keshavan tames gritty Mehul

But finally, the experience of playing throughout the year helped Keshavan prevail over a livewire Mehul. After three marathon sets played over two hours, Mehul eventually seemed to have run out of stamina and end up a 5-7, 7-5, 4-6 loser, in an under-12 semi-final tie of the Hero Honda-MSLTA Masters junior tennis tournament at PYC Gymkhana.

Mehul began well to lead 5-3 in the first set. But Keshavan’s sudden comeback, winning four games in-a-row, brought his efforts to nought. The second set was a close battle with both holding serves upto the tenth game. However, with a lesson learnt earlier, Mehul turned tables, breaking Keshavan in the 12th to win the set.

Mehul was well on mark to repeat what he had achieved at the Nashik State meet final, being 4-3 up in the decider. However, the dry sunny day took the toll of Mehul as his stamina was found wanting and the cool Keshavan bounced back, winning three games on the trot.

Despite Mehul’s run being curtailed, the tournament continued to surface new talents, hailing from outside Pune and Mumbai. Making most of the opportunity provided, Sangli’s Bhushan Sardesai knocked out No.4 Hryday Chheda (Mumbai) 6-3, 6-2 to advance into the under-10 finals. He will take on the top-seed Mumbai’s Arnav Jain for the title. Pune’s Vrushali Gawhankar also scored an upset win, defeating No.2 Kalpita Raje (Mumbai) 6-2, 6-3 in the under-16 quarter-final.