Manas, Daksh steal victory in style
PUNE: Pune boys Daksh Agarwal and Manas Dhamne put out with a brave face in crucial situations to beat Shivan Kadam and Nithis Nallusamy to win the boys doubles title in the MSLTA KPIT Arun Wakankar Memorial ATF Asian Under-14 Series tennis tournament at the MSLTA School of Tennis at the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Friday.
In a battle of equals, the momentum swung like pendulum right from the first game and the tussle continued for two hours and 20 minutes before the contest was decided in super tiebreaker in which Manas and Daksh held their nerves to lift the trophy with 7-5 (7-4), 5-7, 10-6 win.
“We were 2-5 down in the first set so the first thing was to keep the ball inside the court that’s what we had discussed and we managed to execute it,” said Manas, fifth-grader from The Bishop’s School, Camp.
Shivan and Nitish, who have been playing together for last one year, started on a good note breaking Pune pair in the first game and held the second to go 2-0 up.
“With 5-2 up in the first set we got a bit relaxed and gave a few easy points which cost us badly. Same happened in the super tie-breaker wherein we were 5-3 up but gave away the match,” explained Shivan.
Manas and Daksh changed their technique when they were down 2-5 and that helped them to make it 5-all after breaking the opponents in the 8th and 10th games.
“It was important to first neutralise the match and then play our shots. We changed our strategy to come back into the set and then played our shots which helped us to the take the first set,” added Daksh who is coached by Nandan Bal at Fergusson College.
In the second set, both the pair came out with attacking tennis to break each other thrice and move ahead with the 4-all scoreline.
Manas was good with his quick returns, while Daksh executed smash shots neatly to keep contest in balance.
In super tie-breaker, Shivan and Nitish started well to take the 5-3 lead before Manas and Daksh, who will play each other in singles final, brought their act together to wrap up the match with the 10-6 victory.
SHRUTI, VEDA WIN
Girls title went to second-seeded Shruti Ahlawat and Veda Prapurna, who defeated top-seeded Hetvee Chaudhari and Pari Sigh, 6-2, 4-6, 10-7.
“We started nicely to take the first set but the second set did not go well for us. In the super-tiebreaker we played with a plan and it helped us to score a victory,” said Haryana girl Shruti, who will face Veda in the girls final.
RESULTS: (Finals)
Doubles:
Boys: 3-Daksh Agarwal and Manas Dhamne bt 1-Shivan Kadam and Nithis Nallusamy 7-5, 5-7, 10-6.
Girls: 2-Shruti Ahlawat and Veda Prapurna bt 1-Hetvee Chaudhari and Pari Singh 6-2, 4-6, 10-7.
