Hyderabad’s high at national tennis
Dhakkshneshwar was in fluent form as he toyed with Fahad Mohammed and won 6-2, 6-1.
Hyderabad: Players from Hyderabad began well at the Fenesta National tennis tournament being played in New Delhi as Shrivalli Rashmikaa and Y. Sai Dedeepya won their first round matches while Ganta Sai Karteek Reddy made it to the main draw of the event.
Wild card entrant Rashmikaa beat sixth seeded Chamarthi Samhita Sai of Tamil Nadu in straight sets at 7-5, 6-3 while Dedeepya defeated Pratibha of Karnataka 6-3, 6-1 in the women’s singles first round.
On the men’s side, Karteek punched above his weight to qualify for the main draw with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Anwit Bendre of Maharashtra in the final qualifying round. In the earlier rounds, Karteek beat former junior national champion Digvijay Pratap Singh of Chandigarh 9-5 and Akash Nandwal of Madhya Pradesh 9-3.
On a pleasant day, when the weather was ideal for tennis on the hard courts, Rashmikaa dug well into her reserves and won the first set tenaciously. In the second set, Rashmikaa was on song and got an early break of serve to post an upset win.
“I took a wild card into the tournament and I played the qualifiers. This being my first women’s nationals, this was a great experience for me. My opponent has a wonderful slice and moves well on court. I am happy I could match her and produce good shots,” said Rashmikaa.
In the men’s singles, Kunal Anand, the fourth seed, had an easy passage against Lakshya Anand and won 6-2, 6-4. By his own standards, he won in a breeze.
Third seed Ishaque Eqbal had it easier than expected as he lost the first set but his opponent Mohit Mayur conceded with an injury. Eqbal agreed he was lucky.
Dhakkshneshwar was in fluent form as he toyed with Fahad Mohammed and won 6-2, 6-1.
The other results in women’s singles proceeded on expected lines.
In boys under-18, top seed Dev V. Javia kept his reputation intact as he overcame Aman Dahiya in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.