Date:23/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/23/stories/2008052353432200.htm

Sport - Tennis

Double delight for Jude Raymonds

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Jude Raymonds did not waste much time on the court winning both the boys’ under-12 singles title and doubles title partnering Jayant in the Century Club-AITA Super Series junior tennis championship at the Century Club courts here on Friday.

Raymonds defeated Sumeet Nagal of Delhi with consummate ease 6-3, 6-3 and along with Jayant, humbled Prajwal Dev and Sumeet Nagal in the doubles final 7-5, 6-3.

It was his sensible baseline play and the ability to seize chances at the net, with some well timed volleys that marked Raymonds approach.

He raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set and won it 6-3 and replicated that effort in the second set to wrap up the match.

It was a tough outing for the top seed Shabaz Khan of Maharashtra in the boys’ under-16 semifinal.In the girls’ under-16 singles final, Likitha Devaraj of Karnataka will meet K.B. Sowjanya of A.P. while in the under-12 singles, Dhruti Venugopal of Karnataka will take on Amren Sheikh of A.P.

The results: Boys: U-16: Semifinals: Shabaz Khan (Mah) bt Vishwesh Sinha (Mah) 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4; Suraj Konawar (Guj) bt Surya Pawan (AP) 6-3, 6-1. Quarterfinals: Shabaz Khan bt Vinod Gowda (Kar) 6-3, 6-0; Vishwesh Sinha bt S. Karan (Kar) 6-4, 6-1; Surya Pawan bt Manab Kumar Chakma (Asm) 7-5, 6-4; Suraj Konawar bt Ajya Yadav (Har) 6-3, 6-1.

U-12: Final: Jude Raymonds (A.P.) bt Sumeet Nagal (Del) 6-3, 6-3. Doubles final: Jayant Raman (TN) & Jude Raymonds bt Prajwal Dev (Kar) & Sumeet Nagal 6-3, 7-5.

Girls: U-16: Semifinals: Likitha Devaraj (Kar) bt K. Bhuvana (TN) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1; B. Sowjanya (AP) bt Anushka Bhargava (AP) 6-2, 6-2.

Quarterfinals: K. Bhuvana bt Zainab Ali Sajjad (AP) 7-5, 6-1; Anushka Bhargava bt Surya Tejeswini (AP) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; B. Sowjanya bt Ch.Nidhi (AP) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Likitha Devaraj bt Padmapriya (Kar) 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: Final: Anushka Bhargava & Ch. Nidhit bt Zainab Ali Sajjad & Likitha Shetty 6-4,6-2.

U-12: Semifinals: Dhruthi Venugopal (Kar) bt Ojasvinee Singh (MP) 6-1, 6-2; Amreen Sheikh (AP) bt Sneha Reddy (Mah) 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles: Final: Dhruthi Venugopal & Sneha Reddy bt Ojasvinee Singh & P. Sudheera 6-3, 6-2.