Shashikant, Udit move ahead

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 30

Shashikant Rajput humbled Aryan Pandit in straight sets to move into the final qualifying round of the ITF Juniors Circuit World Ranking (Grade-3) Tennis Tournament at the CLTA Complex, Sector 10, here today. 

Rajput closed the opening set 6-2 and then beat Pandit 6-1 to seal a spot in the final qualifying round in the boys' U-18 competition.     

Udit Kamboj upset seventh seed VM Sandeep in a marathon three-setter. The CLTA trainee started off with a 6-4 win, but Sandeep came back strongly to pocket the second set 6-2 and level the scores. Kamboj, though, regained his composure to outplay Sandeep 6-1 in the final 

set and stay alive in the competition.    

Top seed Kushan Saha registered a 6-2 6-4 win over Abhimanyu Rozra, while Uddayvir Singh stunned second seed Aman Patel to advance to the next stage.    

Uddayvir won the first set 6-1, but Patel restored parity with a 7-5 victory in the following set. He, though, failed to carry the momentum into the final set and bowed 2-6 to Uddayvir to crash out of the tournament. 

Third seed Rithvik Choudhary Bollipalli recorded a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win over Ajay Malik in the second qualifying round match, while Fardeen Qamar surprised eighth seed Ayush Deswal 6-4 6-3.  

In the girls' second round qualifiers, seventh seed Sarah Dev dumped Himaanshika 6-1 6-4, while Renne Singla stunned top seed Maanya Viswanath 6-3 6-0. Kritika Chhabra surprised fifth seed Anjali Mogili of USA 6-0 6-4.

The final qualifying round matches will be played at the CLTA Tennis Stadium tomorrow, while the main draw matches will begin from January 1, the organisers said here today. 

Players from 18 countries, including India, are participating in the six-day-long event.  

2nd round qualifiers   

• Boys: Kushan Shah bt Abhimanyu Rozra 6-2 6-4, Udit Kamboj bt VM Sandeep 6-4 2-6 6-1, Uddayvir Singh bt Aman Patel 6-1 5-7 6-2, Shashikant Rajput bt Aryan Pandit 6-2 6-1, Rithvik Choudhary Bollipalli bt Ajay Malik 6-3 2-6 6-1, Fardeen Qamar bt Ayush Deswal 6-4 6-3
• Girls: Renne Singla bt Maanya Viswanath 6-3 6-0, Sarah Dev bt Himaanshika 6-1 6-4, Kritika Chhabra bt Anjali Mogili 6-0 6-4