Kabir Hans, Reshma Maruri wins national series under-18 titles

Kabir Hans fought his way to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Mohit Bondre in the under-18 boys final of the AITA National series junior tennis tournament at the Ahmedabad Racket Academy on Saturday.

It was a commendable effort by the No.1 seed Kabir, who trains with coach Todd Clark, as he was dominant through the tournament. No other player before the final managed to take a set off Kabir in a draw of 64.

Reshma Maruri, who train with the Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali in Bengaluru, beat Vaishnavi Adkar 6-4, 6-2 for the girls title. The second seeded Reshma was quite authoritative through the event, and did not drop a set, in winning five matches after a bye in the first round.

Reshma was denied a double crown, as she in partnership with her sister Suhitha, was beaten 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in the doubles final by Bhakti Shah and Riya Uboveja.

The results:

Under-18 boys: Kabir Hans bt Mohit Bondre 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; Semifinals: Kabir Hans bt Himendu Rudra Bhatt 7-5, 6-0; Mohit Bondre bt Dhruv Tangri 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Doubles (final): Nishant Dabas & Deepender Grewal bt Suvrat Mall & Hritesh Balmiki 6-1, 6-2.

Under-18 girls (final): Reshma Maruri bt Vaishnavi Adkar 6-4, 6-2; Semifinals: Vaishnavi Adkar bt Renee Singh 6-7(1), 7-5, 6-1; Reshma Maruri bt Bhakti Shah 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles (final): Bhakti Shah & Riya Uboveja bt Suhitha Maruri & Reshma Maruri 6-3, 4-6, [10-8].

(Courtesy: The Hindu)