Fourth seed Pooja toppled

The top four seeds through to the semi-finals in the boys singles.

MUMBAI: Unseeded Vaidehi Bhagwat of Maharashtra spoiled the seeds’ party when she upset no. 4 Pooja Patel of Gujarat in the Tata Consultancy Services-Bombay Gymkhana All India national ranking championship series junior tennis tournament here on Wednesday.

After enduring an opening set scare, Vaidehi fashioned an impressive 7-5 6-2 win in the girls quarter-finals, to ensure the title remains in Maharashtra. Vaidehi was joined by three other state players, top seed Shraddha Dali, second seed Sayali Bhilare of Pune and unseeded Madhuri Patare, in the semi-finals.

The top four boys’ seeds lived up to their reputations after easing into the last four. The top seed Himanshu Mali of Maharashtra led the way with a clinical 6-2 7-5 decimation of Rakshay Thakkar of Pune. Only second seed Suraj Desai of Gujarat threatening to spoil the Maharashtra party, after scoring a relatively easy 6-3 6-4 win over statemate Urvaksh Anklesaria, the seventh seed. Suraj also remained on course for a double after advancing to the doubles semi-finals, alongside Urvaksh, with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 win over S Thakkar and S Arora.

Results
Girls Singles QF:
1-Shraddha Dali bt Mitali Utekar 6-1 6-0; Madhuri Patare bt 6-Estelle Mehta 6-4 6-3; Vaidehi Bhagwat bt 4-Pooja Patel 7-5 6-2; 2-Sayali Bhilare bt Dhriti Manek 6-1 6-3
Girls Doubles SF: 1-K Dalal / S Dali bt Nandita Bal / Estelle Mehta 6-2 6-2; 2-Sayali Bhilare / Pooja Patel vs Anuja Makan / Madhuri Patare 6-4 7-5.