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All India ranking u-18 tennis: Adkar, Dalvi conquer titles
Winner gets 50 All India Tennis Association (AITA) points, while runners-up add 40 AITA points to their ranking
Pune: Yashraj Dalvi and Vaishnavi Adkar came out with their ace game to clinch titles in the 11th edition of Om Dalvi Memorial trophy all India ranking u-18 tennis tournament at the Maharashtra Police Gymkhana, Aundh, on Friday.
The tournament saw a number of rain interruptions during all days and schedule of final matches schedule had to be delayed as clay courts were wet early in the morning.
Fifth seeded Dalvi, who loves to play on court surface, started slow, but controlled the game later on to score 7-6(12-10), 6-3 victory over Daksh Agarwal.
“The quarterfinal match against Sahil Tambat was the toughest as the third set (6-1, 2-6, 6-2) was a stretch, while other matches were not difficult,” said Dalvi.
With rain interruptions in the first few days, matches were played in short sets (4 games per set) instead of regular set and it made the contest tricky.
“It becomes tough when you are playing short sets (4 games per set) because once you make mistake it is hard to overcome in a four-games set,” said Dalvi who will be going to Ahmedabad to participate in the u-18 Super Series tennis tournament.
Adkar had a tough time in the tournament as she played three set matches in first and second round and overcame Sania Deshpande 4-5 (4-7), 4-1, 4-1 and Ishita Jadhav 3-5, 5-4 (10-8), 4-0.
In the final, it was a familiar opponent, Bela Tamhankar, whom she rallied from one set down to set up a 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory.
“It was a good tournament. I was not in a good form in the first three matches. The toughest match was the finals against Bela. In the semi-final against Akansha, I made a slow start and lost the first (set), but I was confident and pulled it off from there,” said Adkar.
“I am uncomfortable with playing short sets and prefer to play full sets as we get a bit more time to decide the strategy according to the situation, whereas in short sets we don’t have much time,” said Adkar.
The winners got 50 All India Tennis Association (AITA), while runners-up added 40 AITA points to their ranking.
Road to victory:
Girls winner: 4-Vaishnavi Adkar
First round: beat Sania Deshpande 4-5 (4-7), 4-1, 4-1
Second round: beat Ishita Jadhav 3-5, 5-4 (10-8), 4-0
Quarter-final: beat Apurva Vemuri 7-5, 6-3
Semi-final: beat 1-Akanksha Nitture 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Final: beat 3-Bela Tamhankar 0-6, 6-2, 7-5
Boys winner: 5-Yashraj Dalvi
First round: beat Girish Chougule 4-2, 4-2
Second round: beat Sarvesh Birmane 4-1, 4-0
Quarter-final: beat Sahil Tambat 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Semi-final: beat 1-Bhupender Dahiya 6-1, 6-2
Final: beat Daksh Agarwal 7-6 (12-10), 6-3
