Sanaa, Isha in final

CHENNAI, AUG 27: It was a year ago, at the same venue Sanaa Bhambri showed immense potential against a stronger opponent during the sub-j...

CHENNAI, AUG 27: It was a year ago, at the same venue Sanaa Bhambri showed immense potential against a stronger opponent during the sub-juniors nationals. In today8217;s semifinal encounter, she went one step further, outlasting top seed Sania Mirza of AP in the under-14 girls of the Tex-Dec AITA-Mini Sub-Junior Tennis Championship at the SAF Stadium here on Friday. The fourth seed prevailed 7-6 2, 3-6, 6-4.

For the 11-year-old girl from Delhi, reaching the under-14 final is indeed praiseworthy. She runs into second seed Isha Lakhani Maharashtra, who walked through Priyanka Parekh WB 6-2, 6-2.

There were three phases in the under-16 boys semifinal between second seed Chandrasekar Mohanty and Jaco T Mathew. After the initial period in the first set, Mohanty romped through.

After being 2-2 in the second set, Mohanty was invisible and lost four games in-a-row. Mathew after promising a lot in the second set got erratic, overhitting in the decider to give Mohanty an easy ticket to the final. Mohanty8217;sbackhand slice was effective today. Mohanty took the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. He will meet seventh seed Vivek Jhaveri Maharashtra in the final. Jhaveri continued his good run bouncing fourth seed and statemate Rohan Gajjar 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Unseeded Preethi Rao TN entered the under-16 girls final, prevailing over third seed T Yamini TN in a bizarre match 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. She will fight it out for the title with top seed Megha Vakharia Maharashtra, who squeezed through with two tie-breaks against Isha Lakhani Maharashtra 7-6 5, 7-6 5.

Top seed Vikrant Sane made it to the under-14 boys final, defeating V Vignesh AP 6-0, 2-6, 6-2. Chatwinder Singh Chandigarh had a bit of revenge over Arun Prakash TN 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the other semifinal. Chatwinder had earlier lost from a winning position against Arun in the under-16 section.

RESULTS SEMI-FINALS

Seedings in prefix

Boys: Under-16: 7-Vivek Jhaveri Mah bt 4-Rohan Gajjar Mah 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; 2-CS Mohanty Del bt Jaco TMathew TN 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Under-14: 1-Vikrant Sane Mah bt 3-V Vignesh AP 6-0, 2-6, 6-2; 4-Chatwinder Singh Chd bt 2-R Arun Prakash TN 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Story continues below this ad

Girls: Under-16: 1-Megha Vakharia Maharashtra bt 8-Isha Lakhani Maharashtra 7-6 5, 7-6 5, Preethi Rao TN bt 3-T Yamini TN 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. Under-14: 4-Sanaa Bhambri Delhi bt 1-Sania Mirza AP 7-6 2, 3-6, 6-4; 2-Isha Lakhani bt Priyanka Parekh WB 6-2, 6-2.