Unseeded Vinayak Sharma of Andhra Pradesh caused the biggest upset early in the competition when he shocked boys under-16 top seed Parul Verma of Chandigarh 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2), in the Xtra Premium National Series Tennis Championship in Mumbai on Tuesday.
In a pulsating second round match, Sharma endured anxious moments as he trailed 1-4 in the first set tie-break before rallying to take the opener.
Sharma then led 5-3 and 6-5 in the second set and was poised to seal victory as he enjoyed five match points. But Verma saved all to force the tie-breaker in dramatic fashion.
To Sharma's relief, Verma's challenge fizzled out in the tie-breaker and the former took a comfortable lead before sealing his second win over Verma this year.
"I had beaten him in three sets in the Super Series in Kolkata earlier this year, so I had a fair idea of his game," revealed Sharma. "I took it easy at 5-3 in the second set, which allowed him to come back. I was fortunate to enjoy a good lead in the tiebreak."
Results:
Boys U-14 (2nd Round): Ryoto Tachi (Mah) bt Rishabh Parikh (Guj) 6-3, 7-6 (4); Kunal Anand (Del) bt Hardarshan Singh (Raj) 6-2, 7-6 (5); Hans Parthasarthi (Ori) bt Vishal Passi (Mah) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; 7-Shahbaz Khan (Mah) bt Parth Shah (Mah) 6-1, 6-0; 3-Mohit Mayur (TN) bt Anirudh Darp 6-1, 6-0; Rakshay Thakkar (Mah) bt Maninder Singh (Har) 6-2, 6-3; Siddharth Rawat (UP) bt Shikhar Kapur (Del) 6-1, 6-3; 6-S. Siddharth (TN) bt Suraj Kanwar (Guj) 6-1, 6-4; Nishant Dikkala bt Rohit Bisht (Del) 6-1, 6-7 (2), 7-5; Tushal Thawani (Mah) bt Rohan Gaonkar (Kar) 7-5, 6-2; Vishwesh Sinha (Mah) bt Kaushik Reddy (AP) 6-2, 6-2; S.V. Abhishek (AP) bt Ronit Bisht (Del) 6-1, 6-3; Chetan Pandit (AP) bt Shiv Nikam (Mah) 6-0, 6-1; Vaidik Munshaw (Guj) bt Gautam Thakre (Mah) 6-1, 6-0; R. Ramkumar (TN) bt Vinod Gowda (Kar) 6-1, 6-2; Paladugu Saiteja (AP) bt Goghari Aashman (Mah) 6-2, 6-1.
Girls U-14 (1st round): Dhriti Manek (Mah) bt Tanaya Gosavi (Mah) 6-2, 6-2; Jenai Billimoria (Mah) bt Vanessa Palha (Goa) 6-3, 6-2; Shruti Archita (Mah) bt Nandini Singh (Raj) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Bhavana Suresh (AP) bt Pallavi Krishnaraj (AP) 6-2, 6-4; Baljinder Kaur (Har) bt Riddhi Hegde (Mah) 6-2, 6-2; Madhuri Patere (Mah) bt Saadgi Rajani (Guj) 6-0, 6-1; Natasha Palha (Goa) bt Vaidehi Bhagvat (Mah) 6-3, 6-2; Sindhu Lele (Mah) bt Supriya Sai (AP) 7-5, 3-0 (conc); R. Bhavani (TN) bt Prarthana Thombre (Mah) 6-3, 7-6 (5); Namita Bal (Mah) bt Avanee Gosavi (Mah) 6-1, 6-1; C.H. Niddhi (AP) bt Samruddhi Choutani 6-3, 6-2.
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