New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): Boys U-14 top seed Aarav Challani was knocked out of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Complex in New Delhi on Thursday, losing to Satya Chintagunta 4-6, 6-4, 1-6 in the quarterfinals. Chintagunta fought back after losing the opening set to secure his place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh’s Ribhav Saroha continued his bid for a double crown, advancing to the boys U-16 semifinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over P. Nallagundla in a rain-interrupted quarterfinal. Having won the boys U-18 singles title last week, Saroha is now two wins away from completing a double triumph at the tournament. In the other boys U-16 semifinal, No. 8 seed Vivaan Mirdha will face Yashwin Dahiya after both players recorded straight-sets quarterfinal victories.
“First, it was a very exhausting match. We played for three hours. I am very happy to play with him. It was a good experience,” Chintagunta said after the win as per a press release from DLTA. Reflecting on the match, he added, “In the second set, I was fully exhausted. I didn’t know what to do. He started giving nice high balls. I found it very difficult. In the third set, I fought myself. I tried my best.”
Asked if he felt pressure playing against the tournament’s top seed, Chintagunta said, “I decided that I am going to win. Last time I played, I won. This time, I was sure that I am going to win.”
On the other hand, Ribhav said, “It was 1-1 in the first set, 15-0 on my serve. And then we had the rain delay for I think, 4 or 5 hours maybe,” Saroha said about dealing with the lengthy rain break. “I slept during that break, and I was able to regain the focus and energy. Then I was doing deep breathing exercises before the match so that I could just get back straight into the rhythm. I came back and I was playing really good today. My strategy was to be more patient on the court and make him move and not make mistakes before him. And whenever I have a chance, to just commit fully and come in on the volley.”
Second seed Siddhi Pandey advanced to the girls U-14 semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Saatvi Mardaniya. No. 10 seed Aaradhana Tehlan also reached the last four, rallying to beat No. 8 seed Purvi Patwa 1-6, 6-3, 6-0.
“I was playing against the sixth seed. She played excellent,” Pandey said after her win. “She recently won an ITF title. I was nervous going into the match, but I managed to pull it off. Nothing changed in the second set. I was able to use my brain more and I am happy to be in the semis. I just want to go with the flow and am looking forward to my next matches.”
In the boys U-14 event, second seed Puneeth Manohar and No. 9 seed Sujai Pothula also advanced to the semifinals. Manohar defeated eighth seed Adeshbir Ghuman 6-3, 6-1, while Pothula beat third seed Nibras Hussain 6-3, 6-4.
“I am pretty pumped about it, I am happy with the way I was able to play,” Manohar said after his win. “It was a dominant win for me. I was able to come out of it comfortably. My opponent did give a good fight, but he had some problems which helped me,” he added.
In the girls U-16 event, No. 14 seed Khushi Kadian produced one of the day’s standout performances, beating Aahida Singh 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) in a marathon to reach the semifinals. Kadian was also scheduled to play her girls U-14 quarterfinal later Thursday.
Kadian was joined in the girls U-16 semifinals by third seed Aaradhya Meena, fifth seed Akshita Antil and seventh seed Ranjhana Sangram.
*Results as of 6:15 PM. Several matches of the day are still underway and yet to be completed
-Boys U-16 Singles Quarter-Finals
Ribhav Saroha [1] def. P. Nallagundla 6-2, 6-2
Yashwin Dahiya def. Yaj Malik [6] 6-3, 6-1
Vivaan Mirdha [8] def. Harsh Marwaha 6-4, 6-4
Kushagra Arora def. Monodip Dey [12] 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
-Girls U-16 Singles Quarter-Finals
Aaradhya Meena [3] def. Shravee Deore 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Akshita Antil [5] def. Pooja Nagaraj 6-4, 1-0 (retd.)
Ranjhana Sangram [7] def. Rishita Yadav 7-5, 6-3
Khushi Kadian [14] def. Aahida Singh 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2)
-Boys U-14 Singles Quarter-Finals
S. Chintagunta def. Aarav Challani [1] 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Puneeth Manohar [2] def. Adeshbir Ghuman [8] 6-3, 6-1
Sujai Pothula [9] def. Nibras Hussain [3] 6-3, 6-4
Sparsh Patil [4] vs. Taanish Nanda [10]
-Girls U-14 Singles Quarter-Finals
Siddhi Pandey [2] def. Saatvi Mardaniya [6] 6-4, 6-1
Zoha Qureshi [3] vs. Khushi Kadian [5]
Aaradhana Tehlan [10] def. Purvi Patwa [8] 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
Rishita Yadav vs. Saanvi Mohan
-Boys Doubles U-16 Semi-Finals
Ashwin Kabilan / Hemdev Mahesh vs. Kushagra Arora / Yash Sharma [4]
Vivaan Mirdha / Harsh Marwaha vs. Arjun Manikandan / Jeevith Sathish
-Girls Doubles U-16 Semi-Finals
Deepthi Venkatesan / Tanusshri Sathesh [1] vs. Purvi Patwa / Ranjhana Sangram [4]
Akshita Antil / Sarena Gahlot [2] vs. Sanmitha Harini / Khushi Kadian [3]
-Boys Doubles U-14 Semi-Finals
Aarav Challani / Puneeth Manohar vs. Taanish Nanda / Nibras Hussain [3]
Adeshbir Ghuman / Sparsh Patil [2] vs. Pranav Gaikwad / Devansh Kamboj [4]
-Girls Doubles U-14 Semi-Finals
Siddhi Pandey / P. Vattaprambil [1] vs. Sara Fengse / Trisha Bhosale [3]
Myra Shaikh / Zoha Qureshi [2] vs. Janhavi Sawant / Rishita Yadav [4]. (ANI)
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