Sowjanya Bavisetti, Niki Poonacha prove No.1 status

Niki Poonacha and Sowjanya Bavisetti asserted themselves as the No.1 seeds in winning the men’s and women’s titles in the Fenesta National tennis championship at the DLTA Complex on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Poonacha, tall and wiry, rode on his better athleticism and forceful game to beat the second seed Aryan Goveas 6-2, 7-6(4), while Sowjanya beat the four-time champion Prerna Bhambri 6-4, 6-2. It was high quality entertainment for the tennis enthusiasts who had assembled in strength.

Poonacha did drop serve in the first game, but got back into the driver’s seat and ran away with the first set with an all-court game. Aryan who has a big game did show signs of making a fight of it when he broke early and took a 3-1 lead in the second set.

However, Poonacha broke back in the sixth game with some rousing winners, including a crisp volley. Thereafter, Aryan did save a match point to force the tie-break in the 12th game, but Poonacha came up the big serves at the crunch to clinch the show.

‘’It is a dream for me to win the National championship’’, said Poonacha, as he congratulated Aryan for a memorable match and thanked Rohan Bopanna and coach Sujith Sachidanand for supporting him.

‘’Niki has a big game. The national title should give him the confidence to what I have been constantly telling him that he has the game to win big’’, said Rohan Bopanna, who watched the final through ‘’live streaming’’ on the web.

Poonacha has been training at the Rohan Bopanna Academy in Bengaluru for the last two years, and Bopanna hoped to get the financial support to make Poonacha, who had won an ITF Futures title last year, play the professional circuit regularly.

For Sowjanya, it was a confirmation of her ability to stroke with intelligence and punch, win a series of matches against quality players.

Prerna did make a fight of it, by twice breaking back in the first set, but Sowjanya was at a different level to let the fight linger for long. The key to the contest was winning the first set, and Sowjanya did that at 6-4, scotching the revival, after having led 5-1.

In the second set, the lack of serve rhythm saw Sowjanya drop serve after having taken a 2-1 lead, but she stepped up the intensity to win the last four games.

Both the champions made it a point to thank physio Anand Dubey for making it possible for them to play and win. Poonacha was being treated for a lower back strain through the week, while Sowjanya had to address a sprained neck every day.

The champions collected Rs.300,000 each and the runners-up were presented Rs.200,000 each.

The Chairman and Managing Director of DCM Shriram group, Ajay Shriram, congratulated the champions and thanked the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and its life president Anil Khanna, for the bond spanning more than 25 years.

On the occasion, a special book, commemorating the 25 editions hosted by DCM Shriram Group, was launched by Sania Mirza who had herself competed in the event and had won the women’s doubles title as a 14-year-old with Ankita Bhambri and had also won the mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna.

Madhwin Kamath and Rashmikaa Shrivalli Bhamidipaty won the junior boys and girls titles respectively, in emphasising their strong game, and the fine grooming done at the Altevol Waske Academy in Ahmedabad and the Sajid Lodi centre in Indore.

The results (finals):

Men: Niki Poonacha bt Aryan Goveas 6-2, 7-6(4).

Women: Sowjanya Bavisetti bt Prerna Bhambri 6-4, 6-2.

Under-18 boys: Madhwin Kamath bt Udit Gogoi 6-2, 7-6(1).

Under-18 girls: Rashmikaa Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Sandeepti Singh Rao 6-0, 6-4.

(Courtesy: The Hindu)