Third Dr KL Garg All India Prize Money Tennis Tournament
Lucknow: Top seed Jatin Nain of Haryana staged a strong comeback to enter the quarter-finals of the Third Dr KL Garg All India Men’s Prize Money Tennis Tournament on Tuesday.
Second seed Suraj Kumar of Karnataka, fifth seed Sunil Kumar of Haryana and seventh seed Aditya Kumar of Punjab also secured places in the last eight. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh players Omesh and Rishi kept the hosts’ challenge alive by advancing to the doubles quarter-finals with their respective partners.
Organised by SDS Tennis Academy at the La Martiniere Lawn Tennis Facility at La Martiniere College, the tournament witnessed a series of closely contested pre-quarter-final singles matches on Tuesday. Mayank Tiwari, Udit Gogoi and Ricky, who had registered upset victories in the previous round, continued their winning runs to book quarter-final berths.
In the opening singles pre-quarter-final, top seed Jatin Nain defeated fellow Haryana player Prashant 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Prashant made an impressive start by taking the opening set, but Jatin fought back with a strong serving performance to win the next two sets and seal the match.
Fifth seed Sunil Kumar was also pushed hard before overcoming Gujarat’s Megh Bhargava 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Seventh seed Aditya Kumar of Punjab registered a straight-set victory over Haryana’s Aarav Chawla, winning 6-2, 6-4.
Second seed Suraj Kumar defeated Telangana’s Devarapalli Akhil 7-6(3), 6-3. The opening set went down to a tense tie-break, which Suraj won before taking the second set 6-3.
Assam’s Udit Gogoi, who had caused an upset in the opening round, continued his impressive campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tamil Nadu’s Pagalavan. West Bengal’s Mayank Tiwari defeated Delhi’s Sagar 6-3, 6-3, while Delhi’s Ricky produced a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Haryana’s Shiva.
Sixth seed Aditya Mor of Haryana also advanced after overcoming Telangana’s Devharshit in a three-set battle, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Omesh and Rishi Advance in Doubles
The hosts also made their presence felt in the men’s doubles competition, with Uttar Pradesh’s Omesh and Rishi advancing to the quarter-finals alongside their respective partners.
In the doubles pre-quarter-finals, the pairs of Aditya Mor-Udit Gogoi, Omesh-Imon, Rishi Yadav-Shiva Sharma, Kanishk-Ricky and Harsh-Prashant secured victories.
Aditya Mor of Haryana and Assam’s Udit Gogoi defeated Uttar Pradesh’s Anshuman and West Bengal’s Wyatt Rowan 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in a three-set contest.
Uttar Pradesh’s Omesh and Chhattisgarh’s Imon overcame Uttar Pradesh’s Vansh Yadav and Maharashtra’s Parth R 6-2, 7-5.
Uttar Pradesh’s Rishi Yadav and Haryana’s Shiva Sharma survived a tough challenge from Uttar Pradesh’s Deepak and Uttarakhand’s Arnav Harsh, winning 7-5, 4-6, 10-6.
Gujarat’s Kanishk and Delhi’s Ricky defeated Haryana’s Vansh Nandal and Punjab’s Aditya Kumar 7-6(4), 7-5. The opening set was decided in a tie-break before Kanishk and Ricky secured the second set 7-5.
In another encounter, Haryana’s Harsh and Prashant defeated Uttar Pradesh’s Anuj and Anuruddh 6-3, 6-2 to complete the quarter-final line-up.
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