Maya Rajeswaran defeated fourth seed Lakshmi Prabha

Maiya Rajeswaran Photo Courtesy: Kamesh Srinivasan

Maya Rajeswaran gave further proof of her potential by defeating fourth seed Lakshmi Prabha 6-1, 6-1 in the women’s first round of the Fenesta National Tennis Championships at the DLTA Complex on Tuesday.

After negotiating three rounds of the qualifying event, Maya, the 15-year-old girl from Coimbatore, who was coached by Manoj Kumar, served with authority to make it to the pre-quarterfinals against another qualifier Soumya Ronde.

In the women’s event, another young qualifier, Lakshmi Siri Dandu had to spend a lot of time on the court to defeat Chevika Reddy 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).

Sejal Bhutada was equally impressive, defeating a tough opponent Vidhi Jani in three sets to reach the second round against Humera Baharmas.

In the men’s event, lucky loser Rethin Pranav, another of Tamil Nadu’s finest talents, also showcased his high quality play as he pipped Neeraj Yashpaul despite losing three games. Rethin will next challenge Ajay Malik who had ousted fifth seed Parth Agarwal.

Bhikki Sagolsheim, who defeated Rethin in the third and final qualifying round, displayed their athleticism and clever play to subdue experienced Suraj Prabodh despite a five-game losing streak.

Bhikki will challenge top seed and former champion Vishnu Vardhan. Another bright talent from Manipur, qualifier Bushan Haobam advanced to the second round against another former champion VM Ranjit.

Four other qualifiers Shashank Tirtha, Kirtivasan Suresh, Dheeraj Srinivasan and Yash Chaurasia also reached the second round.

Result (First Round):

men: Bhikki Sagolshem bt Suraj Prabodh 6-1, 6-4; Bushan Haobam beats Amritjay Mohanty 6-1,7-5; Shashank Tirtha defeated Shivank Bhatnagar 6-4, 6-2; Kirtivasan Suresh beats Maan Kesharwani 1-6, 7-6(7), 2-0 (retired); Dheeraj Srinivasan beats Manish Ganesh 6-3, 6-4; Rethin Pranaav beats Neeraj Yashpaul 6-2, 6-1; Yash Chawrasia beats Faisal Qamar 6-3, 6-4; Manish Sureshkumar defeated Jagmeet Singh 7-6(4), 6-0.

women: Medhavi Singh beats Shatakshi Chaudhary 6-2, 7-5; Pooja Ingle beats Nirali Padania 6-3, 6-1; Sejal Bhutada bt Vidhi Jani 6-0, 3-6, 7-5; Humera Baharmas bt Divya Bhardwaj 6-4,2 -6, 7-5; Saumya Ronde beats Apoorva Vemuri 6-4, 7-6(4); Maya Rajeswaran beats Lakshmi Prabha 6-1, 6-1; Lakshmi Siri Dandu defeated Chevika Reddy 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).