Mohit, Arjun win doubles title, enter singles final

New Delhi : Top seed Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash and Arjun Kadhe Friday clinched the men’s doubles title and also reached the singles final of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championships here.

The duo were a game down in the first set but turned the match around thereafter to beat P.C. Vignesh and Fariz Mohammed 6-4, 6-4 at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Complex.

Earlier, Chennai’s Mohit overcame former national champion and third seed Nitten Kirrtane of Maharashtra 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 to enter the singles title round while last year’s runner-up Arjun had an easy outing against fourth seed Chandril Sood, winning 6-2, 6-1.

The big-serving Mohit started the day with his intentions clear and broke Nitten in the fourth and sixth games of the opening set to finish the set in barely 30 minutes. However, Nitten brought his experience into play and broke his rival twice in the second to take the match into the decider. But Nitten could not cause an upset in the third set and Mohit sealed the issue to enter the final.

It will be an all-Delhi clash in the women’s singles final as second seed Prerna Bhambri will look to defend her title against top seed Shweta Rana, both of whom recorded contrasting wins in their respective semi-finals.

While Shweta was pushed to three sets by Kerala’s fifth seed Sharmada Balu before the former edged past with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win, Prerna knocked out Tamil Nadu’s sixth seed C. Sai Samhitha easily, winning 6-2, 6-1.

Prerna remained on course to defend her title as she went past Samitha with relative ease, converting the breakpoints she earned, never allowing the game slip away. She broke Samitha twice in the opening set and the sixth seed just couldn’t hold her serve in the second. Samitha broke Prerna in the fourth game which didn’t help her cause as she failed to hold on to her serve even once in the set.

Earlier, Deepak Vishwakarma and Aditya Deswal got the better of Alex Solanki and B.R. Nikshep 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s Under-18 doubles final while Snehal Mane and Nandini Sharma were crowned women’s Under-18 doubles champions with a 6-0, 4-6, 10-7 victory over Vanshika Sawhney and Himani Mor.

Results:
Mens singles semifinals: Mohit M. Jayaprakash bt Nitten Kirrtane 6-1, 2-6, 6-2; Arjun Kadhe bt Chandril Sood 6-2, 6-1.

Women’s singles semifinals: Shweta Rana bt Sharmada Balu 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Prerna Bhambri bt C. Sai Samitha 6-2, 6-1.

U-18 men’s singles semifinals: Mukund Sasikumar bt Dalwinder Singh 6-2, 6-3; Hardeep S. Sandhu bt Udayan Bhakar 6-2, 6-2.

U-18 women’s singles semifinals: C. Sai Samhitha bt Teertha Iska 6-3, 6-0; Simran K. Sethi bt Karma K. Thandi 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Men’s doubles final: Arjun Kadhe/Mohit M. Jayaprakash bt P.C. Vignesh/Fariz Mohammed 6-4, 6-4.

U-18 men’s doubles final: Deepak Vishwakarma/Aditya Deswal bt Alex Solanki/B.R. Nikshep 6-3, 6-4.

U-18 women’s doubles final: Snehal Mane/Nandini Sharma bt Vanshika Sawhney/Himani Mor 6-0, 4-6, 10-7.