Tembe progresses untroubled

CHENNAI, AUG 4: Top seed Kedar Tembe Maharashtra cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arun Prakash Tamil Nadu in the pre-quarterfinals ...

CHENNAI, AUG 4: Top seed Kedar Tembe Maharashtra cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arun Prakash Tamil Nadu in the pre-quarterfinals of the IOB-MCC National Junior Hard Court Tennis Championship at the MCC courts today.

Third seed Aloke Bhide was in trouble early on against Siddharth Sudhakar, who looked impressive at the start and broke Bhide8217;s serve. The Maharashtra teenager broke back and the first set hinged on the tie-break. It was Sudhakar all the way in the tie-break which he won 7-1.

Sudhakar8217;s game nose-dived in the second set. With frustration creeping into Sudhakar8217;s game, he gave the match on a platter in the third set. Bhide8217;s solidity and no-nonsense approach won him the day.

Sixth seed N Mukundan TN had his hands full against Ashutosh Singh of Chandigarh. After losing the first set, Mukundan, clawed back taking the second set and surged ahead in the decider. But Ashutosh broke back immediately. Mukundan lost his cool when a call went against him and played a few poor points. Luckily, he got back his bearings and took the match after getting the vital break in the 11th game.

Tamil Nadu boys have been doing well in this tournament. Half of the quarter-finalists are from the host State. Kamalakannan, Velmurugan and Vimal Keerthi were the other TN youngsters to advance.

Kamalakannan, who knocked off second seed in the first round, got through against state-mate Arvind Prakash 6-3, 6-2 to set up an interesting contest with eighth seed Ravi Kiran Bhat Karnataka, who dispatched Anant Sitaram 6-3, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Xavier of Maharashtra breezed his way into the quarters, defeating Vinod K Sewa WB 6-2, 7-5.

RESULTS

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Boys8217; Pre-quarter-finals: 1-Kedar Tembe Maharashtra bt R Arun Prakash TN 6-2, 6-4; Vel Murugan TN bt Gurmehar Singh Delhi 6-3, 6-2; Benjamin Xavier Maharashtra bt Vinod K Sewa WB 6-2, 7-5; Punna Vishal AP bt Vimal Keerthi TN 5-7, 7-6 8, 7-6 2; 6-N Mukundan TN bt Ashutosh Singh Chandigarh 1-6, 6-4, 7-5; 3-Aloke Bhide Maharashtra bt Siddharth Sudhakar Karnataka 6-7 1 6-3, 6-1; 8-Ravi Kiran Bhat Karnataka bt Anant Sitaram AP 6-3, 6-3; V Kamalakannan TN bt K Arvind Prakash TN 6-3, 6-2.