Anjali Rathi, Veda Raju Prapurna book ticket to Wimbledon
Anjali Rathi pulled the rug from under the feet of Pari Singh by beating her 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 for a ticket to London in the Road to Wimbledon under-14 tennis tournament, on the grass courts of the Gymkhana Club here on Friday.
Having lost to the top seeded Pari in the last league match on Thrusday, and having withstood a three-setter against Suhitha Maruri in the quarterfinals in the morning, the free-stroking Anjali was well prepared for the key clash.
Unlike the league match against Pari, when she did not handle the climax well in a three setter, Anjali was in control this time and cruised to a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory.
Veda Raju Prapurna, in contrast, won her two knock-out matches in straight sets against Amish Shukla and Kundana Sri Bandaru to book the other berth for Wimbledon.
The final between Anjali and Veda will only be of academic interest, as both the players have qualified to compete in the UK under-14 championship in Wimbledon in August.
In the boys event in Chandigarh, Ayushmaan Arjeria and Bushan Haobam won the super tie-break in their semifinals against Aditya Rathi and Yuvan Nandal respectively in confirming their trip to Wimbledon.
The day started with the sad news from London, about the death of, the erstwhile tournament director of Road to Wimbledon and the former British Davis Cup captain, Paul Hutchins. He was 73. He was associated with the programme till last year, and always ensured that the Indian players, coaches and officials felt at home in London.
The results:
Boys (semifinals): Ayushmaan Arjeria bt Aditya Rathi 7-5, 0-6, [11-9]; Bushan Haobam bt Yuvan Nandal 6-4, 5-7, [10-8].
Quarterfinals: Aditya Rathi bt Dhananjay Athreya 7-5, 6-2; Ayushmaan Arjeria bt Manas Manoj Dhamne 6-3, 6-3; Bushan Haobam bt Skandha Prasanna Rao 6-1, 6-1; Yuvan Nandal bt Agriya Yadav 6-3, 6-3.
Girls (semifinals): Anjali Rathi bt Pari Singh 7-5, 2-6, 6-1; Veda Raju Prapurna bt Kundana Sri Bandaru 6-3, 6-1.
Quarterfinals: Pari Singh bt Abhaya Vemuri 6-2, 6-1; Anjali Rathi bt Suhitha Maruri 1-6, 6-3, 6-3; Veda Raju Prapurna bt Amishi Shukla 6-3, 6-2; Kundana Sri Bandaru bt Apurva Vemuri 6-3, 6-2.