Sort the serves and volleys: The Weekly Puzzle by Dilip D’Souza

See if you can match the tennis player to their style of racket, play and court.

I’m a sucker for watching tennis. (Playing too, but this is about watching). I’ll stop and watch nearly anyone playing the game.

One recent evening, I watched three talented youngsters — Farhan, Surabhi and Yuvraj — practising at the local gym. One was on the court to my left, one to my right, and one in the middle. With a few clues that involve the stroke each was practicing and the brand of the racquet each was using, can you answer a question or two?

* Yuvraj’s court was to the left of Surabhi’s court.

* Neither Farhan nor the kid using a Yonex racquet were practicing serves.

* Yuvraj was playing with a Head racquet.

* The kid on the right-hand court was working on his backhand.

Questions: Who used a Wilson racquet? In which court did I see a steady dose of forehands?

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How you solve such a puzzle?

Draw a grid with three columns, one for each court (L, M, R). Group the rows three at a time, one group for the racquet brands, one for the three kids, and one for each stroke.

Use the clues one at a time to put ticks or crosses into the appropriate cells in your grid. Clue #4, for example, puts a tick in one cell and crosses in some others (how many?).

Farhan used a Wilson. The middle court featured Surabhi, practicing her forehands.