Krishan pips Laaroussi, enters pre-quarters

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 7  

Local trainee Krishan Hooda stormed in the boys' U-18 pre-quarterfinals by registering a stunning comeback win against third seed Moroccan Laaroussi Lala in the ongoing ITF Juniors Circuit (Grade-III) Championship, at the CLTA Complex, Sector 10, on Monday.

Krishan fought well in the first set but went down 4-6. He learnt a quick lesson to return with a 6-3 verdict in the next set. In the final set, he was trailing 3-5, however by improving his selection of shots he returned to log 7-6(4) tie-break win for sailing into the pre-quarters. 

Meanwhile, top seed Sacchitt Sharma outplayed Yair Sarouk of Israel in straight sets 6-2 7-6(4). Second seed Stijn Pel of Netherlands came from one set down to defeat Indian contender Sushant Dabas 4-6 6-2 6-2.

Fourth seed Indian contender Dev Javia defeated Tim Thomas Gauntlett of Hong Kong 6-1 6-2 to move ahead in the championship, while fifth seed Israel's Alexander Gaponenko struggled a bit before confirming a 6-4 4-6 6-2 victory against Fons Vain Sambeek of Netherlands. Seven seed Dutch player Guy Den Ouden however confirmed his place in the pre-quarter by defeating India's Nishant Dabas 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 in a neck to neck clash. 

Eighth seed Roi Ginat of Israel defeated Bikramjeet Singh Chawla of the USA in straight sets 6-0 6-4, while Hen Chih Lin of Chinese Taipei stunned sixth seed Sahar Simon of Israel without any difficulty 6-1 6-4.

There was another major upset, in the girls' U-18, as Indian challenger Sandeepti Singh Rao marched into the pre-quarters by defeating top seed Poland's Weronika Baszak. Sandeepti lost the first set 2-6, however returned with a 6-2 6-3 verdict in the next two sets to log a stunning win.   

Second seed Mai Napatt Nirundorn of Thailand defeated Sarah Dev 6-2 6-2, while third seed Lunda Kumhom of Thailand came from one set down to defeat Tanisha Kashyap 3-6 7-6(7) 6-1. Fourth seed Melissa Boyden of Netherlands also had an easy day as she defeated Indian qualifier Archita Mahalwal 7-5 6-3 and fifth seed Anastasia Astakhova of Kazakhstan also logged an easy 6-3 6-2 win against Bhakti Parwani. Unranked Indian contender Nikita Vishwase remained in title hope as he defeated seventh seed Chinese player Jiagi Huang 3-6 6-3 6-3.  

Another Indian player Jagmeet Kaur Grewal confirmed her berth in the next round by defeating Meshkatolzahra Safi 6-0 6-1.

Results 

Boys' U-18 

Sacchitt Sharrma bt Yair Sarouk 6-2 7-6(4), Adit Sinha bt Thomas George Brun 6-2 6-1, Raphael Collignon bt Ajay Malik 7-5 6-3, Guy Den Ouden bt Nishant Dabas 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3, Krishan Hooda bt Laaroussi Lala 4-6 6-3 7-6(4), Michael Francis Eala bt Denim Yadav 6-3 6-2, Madhwin Kamath bt Credit Chatyarin 1-6 6-3 6-3, Alexander Gaponenko bt Fons Vain Sambeek 6-4 4-6 6-2, Roi Ginat bt Bikramjeet Singh Chawla 6-0 6-4, Niels Visker bt Fardeen Qamar 6-3 6-1, Ethan Kai Xin Lye bt Krish Patel 6-3 6-1, Dev Javia bt Tim Thomas Gauntlett 6-1 6-2, Hen Chih Lin bt Sahar Simon 6-1 6-4, Natthayut Nithithananont bt Shashikant Rajput 3-6 6-1 6-1, Xiaofei Wang bt Kabir Hans 7-6(3) 6-2, Stijn Pel bt Sushant Dabas 4-6 6-2 6-2

Girls' U-18  

Sandeepti Singh Rao bt Weronika Baszak 2-6 6-2 6-3, Farhat Aleen Qamar bt Shuoran Wang 3-6 7-5 6-4, Malaika Rapolu bt Raina Zaffar 6-1 6-0, Kaavya Sawhney bt Prinkle Singh 6-3 6-1, Lunda Kumhom bt Tanisha Kashyap 3-6 7-6(7) 6-1, Xinyue Hu bt Simran Pritam 6-0 6-0, Yu-Yun Li bt Malikaa Marathe 6-4 6-3, Holly Fescher bt Priyanshi Bhandari 7-6(5) 6-0, Nikita Vishwase bt Jiagi Huang 3-6 6-3 6-3, Tilwith Di Girolami bt Gauri Bhagia 6-7(5) 6-1 6-1, Sevil Yuldasheva bt Harleen Kaur 6-2 6-3, Melissa Boyden bt Archita Mahalwal 7-5 6-3, Anastasia Astakhova bt Bhakti Parwani 6-3 6-2, Yijia Jiao bt Malvika Shukla 6-3 6-2, Jagmeet Kaur Grewal bt Meshkatolzahra Safi 6-0 6-1, Mai Napatt Nirundorn bt Sarah Dev 6-2 6-2