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Top seed Nautiyal makes an early exit
With the seniors’ events over, it is time for the juniors to take centrestage at the DLTA hard courts. The second week of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship began with an upset of Monday.
With the seniors’ events over, it is time for the juniors to take centrestage at the DLTA hard courts. The second week of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship began with an upset of Monday.
Top-seeded junior Shashank Nautiyal was shown the door by Dhruv Pal after a terrific battle in a boys’ U-16 first round match. Unable to settle down after winning the first set, the local lad was ousted 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The second seed, Fatehdeep Singh, was also tested but managed to make it to the next round after getting the better of Dheer A Singh 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Fatehdeep, who represented India in Junior Davis Cup recently, cut down on unforced errors after losing the first set, to win the next two easily. Another seed, Jude Raymond, was also stretched to three sets before he could wrap up the match.
The third seed from Andhra Pradesh won 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 against Allen Johnson Kund. Barring the ouster of Nautiyal, there were no other upsets in the boys’ U-16 category. In boys’ U-14, top-seeded Sachin Kumar thrashed Nishant Kumar 6-1, 6-0 to set up a second round clash with Rishabh Dahiya.
The girls’ singles events gets underway from Tuesday.
