Ravi Krishna, Nandita claim titles

Fifth seeded Nandita scored a 6-2, 6-3 win over third seed Isha Lakhani of Maharashtra to claim the U-16 singles title in the girls’ category. Isha enjoyed a 6-0 record before today’s match.

Ravi Krishna, a trainee at Hyderabad’s Ace Tennis Academy, caught his much famed rival Sunil Kumar on the wrong foot in the opening set in which the latter’s score remained blank.

However in the second, Sunil Kumar played in full spate and broke his opponent in the first game and cruisedto a 3-1 lead. Ravi broke Sunil in the eighth game to daw level at 4-4. But Sunil, displaying good reflex and presence of mind, broke back in the next game and held his serve in the next to take the set.

The decider which witnessed long rallies, went neck and neck till the sixth game. But Ravi allowed no more liberty to his rival and clinched a memorable title when Sunil sent out a backhand volley.

Nandita defeated left-handed Isha Lakhani by an identical 6-4 margin. Nandita, practising at Classic Advanced Tennis Academy in Chennai, got the better of Isha in the first set. In the second, Nandita made her intentions clear by breaking her rival in the very first game.

Nandita was quick on her feet, while Isha committed crucial errors which proved costly to her.

Karnataka girls lose

The unseeded Karnataka pair of Shereen Yousuf and Radha Devendrappa caved in meekly 1-6, 3-6 to unseeded Delhi sisters Ankita and Sanaa Bhambri in the final of the U-16 girls’ doubles.

The diminutive Delhi girlsnever allowed their rivals to settle in the first set. Shereen and Radha offered some resistance in the second but were eclipsed by the all court movement and better coordination of Ankita and Sanaa.

Earlier, unseeded Radha Devendrappa put up a brave fight against third seed Sasha Abraham of Andhra Pradesh before going down 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 in the U-14 girls’ singles title clash.

Rohan Gajjar overcame a first set deficit to bag the U-14 boys’ singles title. Top seeded Rohan, who is training under Davis Cupper Gaurav Natekar at Mumbai’s MSLTA courts, defeated Vikrant Sane 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in an all-Maharashtra encounter.

RESULTS (ALL FINALS)

Boys Singles
(U-16): P Ravi Krishna (AP) bt Sunil Kumar (Chd) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4. (U-14): Rohan Gajjar (Mah) bt Vikrant Sane (Mah) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Girls Singles
(U-16): Nandita Chandrashekar (TN) bt Isha Lakhani (Mah) 6-2, 6-3. (U-14): Sasha Abraham (AP) bt Radha Devendrappa (Kar) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Doubles
(U-16): AnkitaBhambri/Sanaa Bhambri (Del) bt Shereen Yousuf/Radha Devendrappa (Kar) 6-1, 6-3.