At the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship held at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association Complex in New Delhi, top seed Aarav Challani was eliminated in the boys under-14 quarterfinals on October 15. He was defeated by Satya Chintagunta 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, with Chintagunta recovering from an initial set loss to reach the semifinals.
Chintagunta reflected on the match, stating, “First, it was a very exhausting match. We played for three hours. I am very happy to play with him. It was a good experience.” He added, “In the second set, I was fully exhausted. I didn’t know what to do. He started giving nice high balls. I found it very difficult. In the third set, I fought myself. I tried my best.” When asked about playing against the tournament’s top seed, he said, “I decided that I am going to win. Last time I played, I won. This time, I was sure that I am going to win.”
Meanwhile, Chandigarh’s Ribhav Saroha continued his pursuit of a double crown by advancing to the boys under-16 semifinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over P. Nallagundla in a rain-interrupted quarterfinal. Having won the boys under-18 singles title last week, Saroha is now two victories away from completing a double triumph at the tournament.
Commenting on the rain delay, Saroha said, “It was 1-1 in the first set, 15-0 on my serve. And then we had the rain delay for I think, 4 or 5 hours maybe.” He added, “I slept during that break, and I was able to regain the focus and energy. Then I was doing deep breathing exercises before the match so that I could just get back straight into the rhythm. I came back and I was playing really good today. My strategy was to be more patient on the court and make him move and not make mistakes before him. And whenever I have a chance, to just commit fully and come in on the volley.”
In the other boys under-16 semifinal, number eight seed Vivaan Mirdha will face Yashwin Dahiya, both having won their quarterfinal matches in straight sets.
In the girls under-14 category, second seed Siddhi Pandey reached the semifinals after a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Saatvi Mardaniya. Number ten seed Aaradhana Tehlan also advanced by overcoming eighth seed Purvi Patwa 1-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Reflecting on her match, Pandey said, “I was playing against the sixth seed. She played excellent.” She added, “She recently won an ITF title. I was nervous going into the match, but I managed to pull it off. Nothing changed in the second set. I was able to use my brain more and I am happy to be in the semis. I just want to go with the flow and am looking forward to my next matches.”
In the boys under-14 event, second seed Puneeth Manohar and ninth seed Sujai Pothula progressed to the semifinals. Manohar defeated eighth seed Adeshbir Ghuman 6-3, 6-1, while Pothula defeated third seed Nibras Hussain 6-3, 6-4.
After his victory, Manohar commented, “I am pretty pumped about it, I am happy with the way I was able to play.” He added, “It was a dominant win for me. I was able to come out of it comfortably. My opponent did give a good fight, but he had some problems which helped me.”
In the girls under-16 event, number 14 seed Khushi Kadian delivered one of the day’s standout performances by defeating Aahida Singh 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) in a marathon match to reach the semifinals. Kadian was also scheduled to play her girls under-14 quarterfinal later on the same day.
Kadian will be joined in the girls under-16 semifinals by third seed Aaradhya Meena, fifth seed Akshita Antil, and seventh seed Ranjhana Sangram.
Results as of 6:15 PM indicate several matches are still ongoing.
Boys under-16 singles quarterfinals:
Ribhav Saroha [1] def. P. Nallagundla 6-2, 6-2
Yashwin Dahiya def. Yaj Malik [6] 6-3, 6-1
Vivaan Mirdha [8] def. Harsh Marwaha 6-4, 6-4
Kushagra Arora def. Monodip Dey [12] 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Girls under-16 singles quarterfinals:
Aaradhya Meena [3] def. Shravee Deore 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Akshita Antil [5] def. Pooja Nagaraj 6-4, 1-0 (retired)
Ranjhana Sangram [7] def. Rishita Yadav 7-5, 6-3
Khushi Kadian [14] def. Aahida Singh 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2)
Boys under-14 singles quarterfinals:
S. Chintagunta def. Aarav Challani [1] 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Puneeth Manohar [2] def. Adeshbir Ghuman [8] 6-3, 6-1
Sujai Pothula [9] def. Nibras Hussain [3] 6-3, 6-4
Sparsh Patil [4] vs. Taanish Nanda [10]
Girls under-14 singles quarterfinals:
Siddhi Pandey [2] def. Saatvi Mardaniya [6] 6-4, 6-1
Zoha Qureshi [3] vs. Khushi Kadian [5]
Aaradhana Tehlan [10] def. Purvi Patwa [8] 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
Rishita Yadav vs. Saanvi Mohan
Boys doubles under-16 semifinals:
Ashwin Kabilan / Hemdev Mahesh vs. Kushagra Arora / Yash Sharma [4]
Vivaan Mirdha / Harsh Marwaha vs. Arjun Manikandan / Jeevith Sathish
Girls doubles under-16 semifinals:
Deepthi Venkatesan / Tanusshri Sathesh [1] vs. Purvi Patwa / Ranjhana Sangram [4]
Akshita Antil / Sarena Gahlot [2] vs. Sanmitha Harini / Khushi Kadian [3]
Boys doubles under-14 semifinals:
Aarav Challani / Puneeth Manohar vs. Taanish Nanda / Nibras Hussain [3]
Adeshbir Ghuman / Sparsh Patil [2] vs. Pranav Gaikwad / Devansh Kamboj [4]
Girls doubles under-14 semifinals:
Siddhi Pandey / P. Vattaprambil [1] vs. Sara Fengse / Trisha Bhosale [3]
Myra Shaikh / Zoha Qureshi [2] vs. Janhavi Sawant / Rishita Yadav [4]