Date:16/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/16/stories/2008101651002100.htm

Sport - Tennis

Mohit packs off Saurabh

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Mohit Mayur knocked out the fourth-seeded Saurabh Singh 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 in the pre-quarterfinals of the DSCL National junior tennis championship at the DLTA Complex here on Wednesday.

It was an entertaining exhibition of tennis against a tough opponent by the bespectacled Mohit, a member of the Tamil Nadu Academy of Tennis Excellence (TATE) from Chennai.

After racing to a 4-1 lead, Mohit lost some ground before clinging on to win the tie-breaker. Saurabh bounced back to lead 3-0 in the second set and wrapped it up without fuss.

In the decider, after an exchange of four breaks in the first six games, Mohit broke Saurabh in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and that proved decisive.

Erratic

Saurabh, a trainee of the Mahesh Bhupathi Academy, tried to hit his way out of trouble but was far too erratic to stage a revival. Mohit will face qualifier Ronit Bisht, the current National under-14 champion, in the quarterfinals.

The results: Under-18 boys (pre-quarterfinals): Chandril Sood bt K. Pradeep Reddy 6-1, 6-4; Nihal Kapoor bt Rohit Bisht 6-4, 6-3; Mohit Mayur bt Saurabh Singh 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4; Ronit Bisht bt Lakshit Sood 6-4, 6-0; Prateek Bhambri b Shahbaaz Khan 6-2, 6-2; Christopher Marquis bt M.A. Navin 6-2, 6-3; Irfan Hussain bt Vedant Kapoor 6-2, 6-4; Abhijeet iwari bt S. Kamal 6-1, 6-3.

Under-18 girls (second round): Sweta Kumari Solanki bt Rachita Sarda 6-1, 6-1; Anushka Bhargava bt Arushi Sharma 6-2, 6-1; Tarrannum Handa bt Susuta Das 7-5, 3-6, 6-1; Prerna Bhambri bt Neha Purohit 6-2, 6-1; Sharmada Balu bt Jeni Patel 6-0, 6-2; B. Sowjanya bt Nidhi Chilumula 6-1, 6-3; Arantxa Andrady bt Manuela Gomes 6-1, 6-3; Soniya Dayal bt Nehal Sahani 6-1, 6-2; Shweta Chandra Rana bt Renuka Keswani 6-1, 6-3; Nimisha Mohan bt U.M. Shalaka 6-3, 6-0; Sayali Bhilare bt A.K. Padmapriya 6-2, 7-6(7); Ankita Raina bt Prarthana Thombare 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; Garima Vatwani bt Likitha Shetty 1-6, 6-2, 6-4; Ravnoor Kaur bt Dipti Srivastava 1-6, 6-3, 6-3; Vania Dangwal bt Manya Nagpal 6-2, 6-2; Rishika Sunkara bt Eetee Mehta 6-2, 6-2.