New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) The 31-year-old Suraj Prabodh caused a sensational upset at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, rallying from a set down to defeat No. 2 seed Aditya Balsekar 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Tuesday.
After losing the opening set, Prabodh adopted a more aggressive approach, a strategy that eventually paid dividends. “Everybody knows he is a great player,” he told the media after his win. “I was just trying to hang in there, and especially after the first set, I thought he was too consistent, and he was just everywhere. I thought I should just try to be a little more aggressive and get into the points or start the points a little more aggressively. Somehow I got through it, and it was well planned, and the execution was also perhaps better.”
Fifth seed Oges Jaya was also knocked out in the first round, losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to big-serving Raghav Jaisinghani. Fourth seed Udit Kamboj, however, avoided an upset with a 6-1, 7-5 win over rising youngster Aditya Mor.
In the women’s singles draw, fifth seed Aditi Rawat, seventh seed Laxmi Siri Dandu and eighth seed Sohini Mohanty registered wins. Rawat was made to work hard before prevailing 6-3, 7-5 over L Arunkumar. “In the last game, honestly, I was just focusing on myself,” she told the media after her match. “I was trying to just go for my shots. I wasn’t really concerned about the scoreboard or the score. I just try to give my best in the match.”
The doubles competitions also got underway, with top seeds Manish Sureshkumar/Nitin Sinha advancing to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Raghav Jaisinghani/Lakshit Sood. “It was a pretty good match,” Sureshkumar said after the win. “I think there are a lot of good points. Hopefully our combination works going forward and let’s see how it goes.”
Sinha credited his partner, who is also the top seed in the men’s singles draw, for the win. “He covered everything, and it’s always fun playing with him, and we are looking forward to the next rounds.”
There was another big upset in the men’s doubles draw, with Aryan Chauhan/Karan Singh combining to knock out second seeds Madhwin Kamath/Rohan Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.
In the boys’ U-18 draw, top seed Praneel Sharma scored a 6-0, 6-3 win over Sarthak Gaikwad to reach the round of 16. Third seed Harsh Malik was upset in the second round, while fourth seed Om Patel and fifth seed Mor also advanced to the last 16.
In the girls’ U-18 draw, top seed S Bhuvaneswaran and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury scored comfortable wins to reach the third round.
Results:
Men’s singles First Round (Round of 32): Suraj R. Prabodh def. Aditya Balsekar [2] 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4); Udit Kamboj [4] def. Aditya Mor 6-1, 7-5; Raghav Jaisinghani def. Oges Jaya [5] 7-5, 2-6, 6-4; Deep Munim vs Prajwal Tewari 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4; Rohith Gobinath def. Sunil Malik 6-0, 6-4; Ajay Malik def. Dhiraj Vennapusa 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (3-7), 6-1; Prakaash Sarran def. Jatin Nain 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Jagmeet Singh def. Pranav Korade 6-3, 7-6 (4);
Women’s Singles First Round (Round of 32): Aditi Rawat [5] def. L Arunkumar 6-3, 7-5; Laxmi Siri Dandu [7] def. A Khorakiwala 6-2, 6-1; Sohini Mohanty [8] def. Joell Nichole 7-5, 6-3; Aahan Aahan def. Danica Fernando 6-4, 6-0; A Sonkusare def. Sai Varanasi 6-1, 6-0; A Jadhav def. Ananya Jain 6-2, 6-1; Bela Tamhankar def. Jasmine Rawat 6-4, 6-2
Men’s Doubles First Round (Round of 16): M. Sureshkumar [1] / Nitin Sinha [1] (WB) def. R Jaisinghani/ Lakshit Sood 7-5, 6-2; Aryan Chauhan / Karan Singh def. Madhwin Kamath [2] / Rohan Mehra [2] 6-3, 3-6, 10-7; Aditya Balsekar [3] / Pranav Karthik [3] def. Vansh Bisht / Ajay Malik 6-4, 6-4; Rohith Gobinath / Srikar Doni def. Gagan Vimal / Irfan Husain 6-4, 3-6, 10-5; D Vennapusa/ Suhith Lanka def. Deep Munim / Pranav Korade 6-2, 6-2
Women’s Doubles First Round (Round of 16): Sonal Patil [3] / Pooja Ingale [3] def. Dedeepya Yedulla / Arthi Muniyan 6-2, 6-3; Divya Bhardwaj / Jasmine Rawat def. A Shibasini / Rubani Sidhu 6-0, 5-7, 10-6
Boys U-18 Singles Second Round (Round of 32): Praneel Sharma [1] def. Sarthak Gaikwad 6-0, 6-3; Srivaant Mummadi def. Harsh Malik [3] 6-0, 6-2; Om Ramesh Patel [4] def. Mehul Jothish 6-2, 6-3; Aditya Mor [5] def. Rishi Yadav 6-4, 6-3; Srikar Doni def. Kushagra Arora [8] 6-2, 6-1; Ribhav Saroha [10] def. Aarush Mandora 6-0, 6-1; Sharan Somasi [11] def. Sangram Bhadury 6-3, 6-4; Raghav Sarode [12] def. Fazal Ali Meer 7-5, 6-4; N Badrinarayanan def. Paranjay Siwach [13] 6-4, 6-0; Yashwin Dahiya [15] def. Tejas Ravi 6-3, 6-0; Lakshya Chukka [16] def. Aryaveer Sharma 6-1, 6-1; Veer Jiten Madam def. C Yale 6-2, 6-4; Govardan Suresh def. Prateek Sheoran 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; N Kirbakaran def. Divey Malik 7-5, 6-4
Girls U-18 Singles Second Round (Round of 32): S. Bhuvaneswaran [1] def. Sarena Gahlot 6-1, 6-1; Shreeniti Chowdhury [3] def. Paavani Bisht 6-1, 6-0; Harsha Oruganti def. Vaishnavi Singh [4] 6-2, 6-0; Iha Joshi def. Sree Velmanikandan [5] 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3; Anjhalle Meka def. Tanusshri Sathesh [6] 6-2, 6-4; Aahan Aahan [7] def. Aniha Gavinolla 6-1, 6-2; Riddhi Shinde def. Priyanshi Katial [8] 6-1, 7-5; Aaradhya Meena [9] def. Tejaswi Manneni 6-1, 6-1; Shibani Gupte [10] def. Diya Chaudhary 6-3, 6-4; Manvi Gupta def. Dhani Dhani [11] 6-2, 6-1; Aashi Kashyap [12] def. Mehul Malik 7-6 (8), 6-2; Ranjhana Sangram [13] def. Sanidya Karantoth 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; Aahida Singh [14] def. Pooja Nagaraj 6-2, 6-3; Miraya Agrawal def. Kabyanjali Hazarika [15] 6-0, 6-0; Heera V [16] def. Thatiparthy Hemaza 6-4, 6-1
Boys U-18 Doubles First Round (Round of 16): Praneel Sharma / Aditya Mor [1] def. Ryan Mehta / Ritvik Dutt 6-2, 6-3; Raghav Sarode / Om Ramesh Patel [3] def. Parjanya Adury / Chandra Kopparapu 6-3, 6-2; Ribhav Saroha / Veer Jiten Madam def. Sangram Bhadury / Gaurish Madaan 6-2, 6-4; Aryaveer Sharma / Vivaan Mirdha def. Kshitij Sinha / Raunak Gilra 6-4, 6-4
Girls U-18 Doubles First Round (Round of 16): Sanmitha Harini / S Bhuvaneswaran [3] def. Akshita Antil / Priyanshi Katial 6-2, 6-2; Ranjhana Sangram / Sarena Gahlot def. Kabyanjali Hazarika / Mahi Raulji 7-5, 6-1; Heera V / Sree Sasthayini Velmanikandan def. Mehr Muralidass / Ruhin Kaushal 6-2, 6-0; Manvi Rathi / Paavani Bisht def. Mehul Malik / Vani Bansal 7-6 (12-10), 6-1; Aashi Kashyap / Vrandika Raput def. Tejaswi Manneni / Anarva Shyamraj 6-2, 6-2
–IANS
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