New Delhi: Top seed Vishnu Vardhan ended the dream run of local boy Kunal Anand to enter his third consecutive final at the Fenesta Open national tennis championship here on Friday.
Vishnu, the former Davis Cupper and Asian Games medallist, demolished Kunal 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals at the DLTA complex. “I am happy to be back playing the Fenesta nationals, which has always been one of my favourite tournaments. Kunal is a talented and hard working player and nice to get a convincing victory against him,” said Vishnu.
In Saturday’s title clash Vishnu will take on S.Vishwakarma, who beat Bava Haadin 6-3, 6-3 in the second semi-final.
In the women’s singles semifinals, top seed Riya Bhatia fought tooth and nail on the dusty hard court against the more seasoned Sharrmadaa Balu. Riya used her groundstrokes and good temperament to outslug Sharrmadaa 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5).
Riya faces Eetee Maheta in the summit clash, who beat Pranjali Yadlapalli 6-4, 6-3. The girls final will be contested between Akansha Bhan and Humera Shaik. Akansha eased past Lalitha Devarakonda 6-2, 6-1 while Humera pipped Y. Sai Dedeepya 4-6, 6- 3, 6-2 in a see-saw match.
The results
Men’s singles: Vishnu Vardhan bt Kunal Anand 6-3, 6-1; S. Vishwakarma bt Hadin Bava 6-3, 6-3.
Women’s singles: Eetee Maheta bt Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-4, 6-3; Riya Bhatia bt Sharrmadaa Balu 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5).
Girls U-18: Akanksha Bhan bt Lalita Devarakonda 6-2, 6-1; Humera Shaik bt Y. Sai Depeepya 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
