Tambat thumps Jadli in all-India ranking under-16 tennis championship

Playing furious backhand cross-court shots in tandem helped Tambat stay ahead in the match

Top-seeded Sahil Tambat, for the first time in his career, looked all set for a convincing win before his opponent Siddharth Jadli conceded the match due to fatigue.

Sahil Tambat in action in the finals of u-16 boys singles category of Ravetkar Solaris cup, Mayur colony, on Monday. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)

Tamabt was leading the match 6-2, 3-0 when his opponent quit.

“I was all set to play the full match and I had never thought that he (Siddharth) will concede the match,” said Tambat.

A Class 9 student of Kamal Nayan Bajaj school, Chinchwad, Tambat broke his opponent in the third, fifth and seventh game to clinch the first set 6-2.

Playing furious backhand cross-court shots in tandem helped Tambat stay ahead in the match.

“It was difficult to play back-to-back matches (semifinal and final) it affected my body. After the first set, I thought I will overcome it, but my body was not able to, so I decided to give up,” explained Jadli, who studies at MIT College.

In the second set, it was all Tambat’s show as he was 3-0 up when Jadli conceded the match.

“I am happy to win my first title. Overall the tournament was good. The quarterfinal against Daksh Agarwal was the toughest,” explained Tambat who trains at PCLTA, Nigdi, under the coach Nandu Rokade.

Tambat said: “I was hitting ball low to his backhand. I stood two feet away from the baseline which allowed me to return his (Jadli) shots nicely.”