Arnav marches to final qualifying round, Anjali in second round

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 4

Top seed Indian contender Arnav Pathange easily sailed into the boys’ final qualifying round on the opening day of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (Grade-III), at Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (Sector 10), here today.

Pathange overpowered another Indian player Amaan Adil Tezabwala in straight sets 6-4 6-2. Second seed Sushant Dabas also move ahead by easily defeating Raghav Harsh 6-2 6-2 and in yet another one-sided match third seed Nikita Sidorov ousted Rishi Jalota 6-1 6-2. Fourth seed Karan Singh meanwhile faced some resistance before logging a 7-6(0) 5-7 [10-7] win over Rudra Himendu Bhatt. Sixth seed Heerak Vohra also won his match after a tie-break 2-6 7-5[10-6] finish over Kartik Saxena. Seventh seed Aman Dahiya blanked Aditya Balda 6-4 6-0 and unseeded Yuvan Nandal outplayed Bhupender Dahiya 6-0 7-5 in the last two matches of the category.

In the girls’ U-18 first qualifying round, Anjali Rathi registered a comeback 5-7 6-2[10-5] victory over Sanvi Ahluwalia. Vanya Arora also march into the second qualifying round by defeating Lehar Singh Tomar 6-0 6-1 and Akanksha Dileep Nitture ousted Sana Bhat 6-1 6-1. Hitkamya Singh Narwal overpowered Amarjot Kaur Bundhel from the United States of America 6-1 6-0, whereas Kavya Khriwar defeated Kashish Kant 6-0 6-2. Varda Anand was trailing 1-7 against seven seed Ananya Machandra, when the latter conceded the match following an injury. Rhea Vashishtha of the United States of America defeated Indian contender Anuradha Chopra 6-2 6-3. Hannah Nagpal won an easy tie against Vishita Jhorar 6-1 6-1 and Harleen Kaur Dhanda overpowered Sukhmani Bhandari 7-5 7-5. In the last match of the category, Kiran Rani Gnanavelu defeated Nandini Dixit 6-3 7-5.

Boys’ U-18 (2nd qualifying round)

Arnav Pathange bt Amaan Adil Tezabwala 6-4 6-2, Heerak Vohra bt Kartik Saxena 2-6 7-5 [10-6], Sushant Dabas bt Raghav Harsh 6-2 6-2, Aman Dahiya bt Aditya Balda 6-4 6-0, Nikita Sidorov bt Rishi Jalota 6-1 6-2, Karan Singh bt Rudra Himendu Bhatt 7-6(0) 5-7[10-7], Yuvan Nandal bt Bhupender Dahiya 6-0 7-5

Girls’ U-18 (1st qualifying round)

Anjali Rathi bt Sanvi Ahluwalia 5-7 6-2[10-5], Vanya Arora bt Lehar Singh Tomar 6-0 6-1, Akanksha Dileep Nitture bt Sana Bhat 6-1 6-1, Hitkamya Singh Narwal bt Amarjot Kaur Bundhel 6-1 6-0, Kavya Khriwar bt Kashish Kant 6-0 6-2, Varda Anand bt Ananya Machandra 1-2 (retired), Rhea Vashishtha bt Anuradha Chopra 6-2 6-3, Hannah Nagpal bt Vishita Jhorar 6-1 6-1, Harleen Kaur Dhanda bt Sukhmani Bhandari 7-5 7-5, Kiran Rani Gnanavelu bt Nandini Dixit 6-3 7-5.