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Under-14 super series: Pune’s Sonal Patil grits it to secure final berth
Ample of unforced errors delayed Sonal Patil’s victory as she beat Pavitra Parikh in semi-final
The habit of playing loose shots and not closing the game even after leading the match would have made Pune’s Sonal Patil dearly in the semi-finals where she defeated Pavitra Parikh (Ahmedabad) 6-4, 7-5 in the under-14 super series tennis tournament in Panchgani on Thursday.
Playing on court no 2 at Ravine hotel tennis courts, Pune player Patil did start well and took a 5-2 lead in the first set but an unforced error in tandem allowed Parikh to stay in the match.
Parikh saved two set points with breaking Patil’s serve in the eighth game and hold her serve in ninth.
In the tenth game, a double fault and couple of misplaced shots by Parikh allowed Patil to wrap up the first set 6-4.
“I was not able to close the games and she (Parikh) was hitting winners very nicely which made things little difficult for me,” said Patil.
In the second set, Parikh infused more energy into her game and made Patil work hard to get the points.
“I was not able to keep the ball within the courts. She was mixing her shots nicely due to which I was finding difficulty to place the ball within the courts,” added Patil.
“Few balls did not go as I wanted due to which errors occurred. I will work hard on controlling the balls in coming matches,” said Parikh.
In the twelfth game, Patil kept things in her control and wrapped up the match with winning set 7-5.
Patil will be up against, top seed player Lakshmi Prabha of Tamil Nadu in the final. Lakshmi defeated third-seeded Saumya Ronde of Telangana 6-3, 6-1.
Boys final: Dhamne vs Prasad
Top-seeded Manas Dhamne delivered top class performance to oust giant killer Azmeer Shaikh of Mumbai 6-3, 6-4. Shaikh who was enjoying a good run in the tournament so far failed to overcome Dhamne in the semi-final.
“The match was tough. Shaikh is a very good player. I just kept mixing my shots which allowed me to seal a victory,” added Dhamne. In the second boys’ semi-final, Veer Prasad of Mumbai upset third-seeded Deveharshith Neelam of Telangana 7-5, 6-3.
“I was 4-0 down before rallying back and scoring a victory. His (Neelam) forehand was strong so I attacked more on his forehand and slowed down my game. My tricks helped me to overcome him,” said Veer Prasad.
Results:
Boys:
Semi-finals: 1-Manas Dhamne (Mah) bt Azmeer Shaikh (Mah) 6-3, 6-4; Veer Prasad (Mah) bt 3-Deveharshith Neelam (Tel) 7-5, 6-3.
Doubles, Final: Cahir Warik (Mah) and Manas Dhamne (Mah) bt Azmeer Shaikh (Mah) and Veer Prasad (Mah) 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 11-9.
Girls:
Semi finals: 1-Lakshmi Prabha (TN) bt 3-Saumya Ronde (Tel) 6-3, 6-1; 4-Sonal Patil (Mah) bt Pavitra Parikh (Guj) 6-4, 7-5.
Doubles, Final: Lakshmi Prabha (TN) and Saumya Ronde (Tel) bt Pavitra Parikh (Guj) and Sonal Patil (Mah) 3-6, 6-2, 10-6.
State’s Dhamne-Warik need tie-break to win doubles’ title
Understanding each other’s game helped Cahir Warik and Manas Dhamne to clinch the doubles title defeating Azmeer Shaikh and Veer Prasad 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 11-9 in the under-14 super series tennis tournament on Thursday.
Warik and Dhamne were 5-1 down in the first set and 40-15 down in the seventh game from there onwards duo not only saved set points but also took the first set in the tie-breaker.
“We are playing together since the last three years as doubles partner so we know each other’s game. When we were down we just decided to play in an attacking format. We did not worry about anything as we were on the verge of losing the set but match changed after we broke them in the seventh game,” said Warik.
Shaikh and Prasad who were playing as a pair for the first time played some quality of tennis in the second set to force the match in the super tie-breaker.
“Both the players (Shaikh and Prasad) are really good and they were brilliant in the second set which we lost 4-6,” said Dhamne.
In the super tiebreaker, Dhamne and Warik played shots with a lot of variations and completed the victory with winning the super tiebreaker 11-9.
“We play with different angles which help us to add varieties of shots in our game plan. Today we did the same thing and it worked for us,” explained Warik.
Shaikh was disappointed with the way the match progressed towards the conclusion.
“We should have won the first set from 5-1 up. It could have changed the results. Anyways such things happen. We will improve,” added Shaikh.
