Pune: Siddhant Banthia from Pune came out with an ace performance to win the Indian leg of the Junior French Open Wild Card tournament, defeating Mann Maulik Shah 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) at RK Khanna Tennis Complex DLTA in Delhi.
Among girls, it was unseeded Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty who defeated Tanisha Kashyap 6-4, 6-4 to confirm the Paris ticket.
With these wins, Siddhant and Rashmikaa qualified for the final qualifying round of the Junior French Open Wild Card tournament where they will face the winners of China and Brazil to get an entry into the main draw of the Junior French Open.
“I will be participating in French Open Juniors wild card tournament for the second time. Last year I won in India but I could not participate in Paris due to injury,” Siddhant told to Sakal Times.
Siddhant started brilliantly taking the first set 6-4 in 40 minutes.
In the second set, Mann Maulik came out with a much-improved performance to take the set 6-2.In the decider, Mann Maulik started with a couple of aces to break Siddhant once and hold his service twice to open the set with a 3-0 lead.
Mann Maulik controlled the game nicely to take a comfortable 4-1 lead. From there onwards, Siddhant raised the tempo of his game and clawed back to force the set into tiebreaker.
Siddhant kept things tight in the tie-breaker and sealed the match with a 7-6 (7-3) win. “The final was pretty tough. This format is always tough. As the top eight from the country are participating, so every match is a new challenge,” added Siddhant.
Siddhant is a part of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association’s Vision 2020 program and he is sponsored by Lakshya Bharat Forge and JITO.
Flawless Rashmikaa
Rashmikaa made her intention clear right from the start of the tournament when she defeated top-seeded Vaidehi Chaudhari 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final.
In the semi-final as well Rashmikaa ousted Yubrani Banerjee 6-2, 6-4 who is much more experienced than her. In the final, Rashmikaa dominated from the start as she got into rhythm, hitting aces at will whereas Tanisha struggled to keep pace.
The second set was a bit difficult for Rashmikaa as Tanisha tried to look for an opening to make a comeback. But Rashmikaa’s performance towards the end made sure that she secured the victory in straight sets.
Results:
Boys: Final: 1-Siddhant J Banthia bt Mann Maulik Shah 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).
Semi-finals: 1-Siddhant J Banthia bt N Calvin Golmei 6-2, 6-0; Mann Maulik Shah bt Dev V Javia 6-1, 6-2.
Quarterfinals: 1-Siddhant J Banthia bt Arjun C Honnappa 2-6, 6-3, 7-5; 4-N Calvin Golmei bt Sandeep VM 6-3, 6-3; Mann Maulik Shah bt 3-Abhimanyu Vannemreddy 6-1, 6-3; Dev V Javia bt 2-Sacchitt Sharrma 6-4, 6-3.
Girls:Final: Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty bt Tanisha Kashyap 6-4, 6-4.
Semi-finals: Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty bt Yubrani Banerjee 6-2, 6-4;Tanisha Kashyap bt 2-Prinkle Singh 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Quarterfinals: Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty bt 1-Vaidehi Chaudhari 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Yubrani Banerjee bt 3-Kaavya Sawhney 6-4, 6-1; Tanisha Kashyap bt 4-Shivani Amineni 6-4, 6-2; 2-Prinkle Singh bt Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
