NISHANT DABAS PUTS OUT AJAY MALIK ON THE ROAD TO JAPAN

Nishant Dabas served well and retrieved better to beat fourth seed Ajay Malik 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the boys quarterfinals of the Road to Japan National series under-16 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Thursday.

On a hot day, Nishant, who is trained by Davis Cupper Vivek Shokeen, revealed the strength of his legs and the fighting spirit to beat that 15-year-old Ajay Malik who has fast risen to be No.33 among the men in the country.

Ajay recovered from being down 0-5 in the decider to win three games, but NIshant scotched any further drama with a clinical fare in the ninth game.

In the semifinals, Nishant will play second seed, but no relative, Sushant Dabas, while top seed Krishan Hooda will play third seed Divesh Gahlot.

In the girls section, top seed Sanya Singh continued to assert her strong game and a cool temperament by setting up a semifinal against Sandeepti Singh Rao.

Sharannya Gaware stopped the dream run of Yana Dhamija with a 6-4, 6-4 victory and will play Sudipta Senthillkumar.

The results:
Boys (quarterfinals): Krishan Hooda bt Sarvesh Birmane 6-0, 6-3; Divesh Gahlot bt Naresh Badgujar 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; NIshant Dabas bt Ajay Malik 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Sushant Dabas bt Sammr Raina 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles (semifinals): Dhruv Tangri & Uddayvir Singh bt Ajay Malik & Krishan Hooda 6-2, 6-1; Divesh Gahlot & Sushant Dabas bt Dhanya Shah & Heerak Vora 6-4, 6-2.

Girls (quarterfinals): Sanya Singh bt Ishita Singh 6-2, 7-5; Sandeepti Singh Rao bt Jagmeet Kaur 6-4, 6-3; Sudipta Senthilkumar bt Gauri Bhagia 6-2, 6-1; Sharannya Gaware bt Yana Dhamija 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles (semifinals): Sanya Singh & Srujana Rayarala bt Gargi Pawar & Hrudaya Shah 6-3,3-6, [10-8]; Chandrika Joshi & Kashish Bhatia bt Avi Shah & Divya Bhardwaj 6-2, 7-6(8).