Chelsea, Arjun wear crown

 Third-seeded Arjun Mariyappa and top seed Chelsea Stephen, both from Karnataka, emerged boys’ and girls’ champions respectively in the BTA-AITA under-14 Talent Series tennis championship, at the BTA Courts here on Wednesday.

Arjun didn’t have to sweat much as he demolished his unseeded rival V Praneet 6-2, 6-0 in under 90 minutes, thus completing a back-to-back victory in the past two weeks. Last week, Arjun had won the under-14 title in the Talent Series in Mysore. 

Praneet, who struggled to get his first serves in besides being erratic with his returns, was no match for Arjun, who combined his strong serve with a solid forehand to great effect.

For Chelsea, the title came at the expense of an indisposed Aadhya Chala, who was running a fever and nursed an upset stomach.

The results (all finals): Boys’ singles: Arjun M bt Praneet V 6-2, 6-0. Girls’ singles: Chelsea Stephen bt Aadhya Chala 3-1 (Aadhya conceded).