Mumbai: Qualifier Aditya Gokhale played percentage tennis and knocked out his more fancied first round rival Nikhil Mannerpalli in the boys' singles of the CCI-ITF junior tennis tournament here today. Gokhale, who came through two qualifying rounds, won 7-5 3-6 6-2 in a tie that lasted almost two hours to move into the last 16 stage. He showed a lot of confidence, moved well on court and hit winners from the baselines to outfox his opponent. Two other qualifiers, Yash Yadav and Yugal Bansal, were, however, eliminated after putting up a good fight. Yadav lost to Sanil Jagtiani 6-3 6-7 (4) 3-6 in a long drawn battle and Bansal was beaten by Alex Solanki 7-5 5-7 6-3. In the girls' singles, Egyptian Nermeen Shawky taught a lesson or two to qualifier Nandini Sharma on fitness and court craft as she beat her 6-7 (6), 6-4,6-4 to advance into the pre-quarters.
Results: Boys singles (1st round): Chanudom Wiriyajanyong (Tha) bt Sachin Kumar 6-2, 7-5; Alex Solanki bt Yugal Bansal 7-5, 5-7, 6-3; Sanil Jagtiani bt Yash Yadav 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3; Aditya Gokhale bt Sai Nikhil Mannerpalli 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; Ravikumar Ballekere bt Manav Pondukule 6-1,6-0.
Girls singles (1st round): Simran Kaur Sethi bt Isha Budwal 6-0, 4-6, 6-2; Nermeen Shawky (FGY) bt Nandini Shama 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4, Avika Sagwal bt Sai Nikkitha Chillla 6-1, 6-1; Karman Kaur bt Rajshree Rathod 6-4, 6-1; Mihika Yadav bt Pareen Shivekar 6-4,6-2; Tansushree Vale bt Kanishka Chawla 6-1, 7-5; Yinklak Jittakoat (THA) bt Moulika Ram 6-1, 6-2.
Bhambri enters round 2, three seeds toppled at ITF women meet
Bhambri enters round 2, three seeds toppled at ITF women meet
Pune: Three seeded players bit the dust while Prerna Bhambri was the lone Indian to win her singles match of the day at USD 25,000 NECC-ITF women's event today.
Thai girls Nungnadda Wanasuk, Peangtarn Plipuech and Miyabi Inoue of Japan accounted for the seeds to make it to the singles second round of the event at Deccan Gymkhana here.
Wanasuk comfortably outplayed 5th seeded local girl Ankita Raina 6-2, 6-3. Wanasuk, with heavy groundstrokes from both flanks, broke Raina in the 5th and 7th games of the first set. She broke the Indian three times in the second set to win the contest in one hour and 22 minutes.
Wanasuk now meets the Indian wild-card Snehadevi Reddy for a place in the quarter-finals.
Inoue came back from a one set deficit to edge out 7th seeded British girl Jade Windley 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In the third upset, Plipuech played solid tennis to knock out eighth seed Denis Khazaniuk of Israel 6-4, 7-5 in a match that could have gone either way.
Bhambri justified her wild card entry in the tournament by beating Britain's Emily Webley-Smith 6-2, 6-3 in just 61 minutes. The Delhi player broke the British girl in the fourth and eighth games of the first set to win it easily.
Webley-Smith couldn't handle the pressure while serving to stay in the match in the eighth game of the second set, as the Indian girl got the break to enter the last 16. Results: Singles (1st Round): Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt Rishika Sunkara (IND) 6-1 6-1; Oksana Kalashnikova (GEO) [6] bt Ksenia Palkina (KGZ) 7-5 6-2; Nungnadda Wannasuk (THA) bt Ankita Raina (IND) [5] 6-2 6-3; Miyabi Inoue (JPN) bt Jade Windley (GBR) [7] 4-6 6-4 6-4; Keren Shlomo (ISR) bt Kamonwan Buayam (THA) 6-3 6-3; Anna Shkudun (UKR) bt Janina Toljan (AUT) 3-6 6-1 7-6(4). Gioia Barbieri (ITA) [4] bt Natasha Palha (IND) 6-2 6-1; Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) bt Deniz Khazaniuk (ISR) [8] 6-4 7-5; Prerna Bhambri (IND) bt Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) 6-2 6-3; Kamila Kerimbayeva (KAZ) bt Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND) 6-1 6-2; Nicha Lertpitaksinchai (THA) bt Melanie Klaffner (AUT) [2] 6-7(7) 6-2 6-4.
