<p>Young Haadin Bava weathered a spirited fightback from former national champion and Davis Cupper Nitten Kirrtane before eking out a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 victory in the men’s singles first round of the Fenesta National tennis championships at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association on Monday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Under hot and humid conditions, Kirrtane blew hot and cold during the two-hour and 40-minute contest. The 42-year-old squandered 1-4 lead to lose the opening set to 21-year-old Bava. And just when the Kerala player, coached by Chandigarh based Birbal Wadhera, had seized control with a 4-2 advantage in the second set, Kirrtane, with all his histrionics intact, clawed his way back to draw level.<br /><br />The left-handed veteran then slid to 0-5 deficit in the decider before storming back into the match by making it 5-5. However, Bava with better fitness, held strong and advanced to the second round after Kirrtane dropped his serve in the 12th game.<br /><br />“It is a great honour to play sir (Kirrtane). Even at this age, he is giving fight to all of us, which in a way is not good. My game was very up and down today but I rode on my fitness today. I hope to do better,” said Bava, who has been going to Spain for training stints and began working with Wadhera only recently.<br /><br />In the other men’s singles matches, Sai Saran Byreddy beat Vilaser Khate 6-2, 6-1 while Ansu Kumar Bhuyan overcame mid-match slump, to beat Ankit Chopra 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1.<br /><br />In the women’s singles, there were no such upsets. Fourth-seeded Pranjala Yadlapalli swept aside Aastha Dargude 6-2, 6-1 while fifth-seeded Sai Samhitha Chamarthi barely broke sweat against lucky loser Prakriti Bhanwani 6-2, 6-1. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Sharrmadaa Balu had an easy outing against Amrita Mukherjee, she recorded a 6-4, 6-0 win, while Neeru Rapria defeated Teertha Iska 6-4, 6-3.<br /><br />Results: First round: Men’s singles: Haadin Bava bt 4-Nitten Kirrtane 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, Sai Saran Byreddy bt Vilaser Khate 6-2, 6-1, Ansu Kumar Bhuyan bt Ankit Chopra 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, Faisal Qamar bt Bhavesh Gour 6-2, 7-5.<br /><br />Women’s singles: 4-Pranjala Yadlapalli bt Aastha Dargude 6-2, 6-1, Jennifer Luikham bt Muskan Gupta 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1, Sai Samhitha Chamarthi bt Prakriti Bhanwani 6-2, 6-1, Harsha Sai Challa bt Yurbani Banerjee 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-0, Samriti Punyani bt GS Vasavi 6-2, 6-4, Sharrmadaa Balu bt Amrita Mukherjee 6-4, 6-0, Neeru Rapria bt Teertha Iska 6-4, 6-3.<br /></p>
<p>Young Haadin Bava weathered a spirited fightback from former national champion and Davis Cupper Nitten Kirrtane before eking out a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 victory in the men’s singles first round of the Fenesta National tennis championships at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association on Monday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Under hot and humid conditions, Kirrtane blew hot and cold during the two-hour and 40-minute contest. The 42-year-old squandered 1-4 lead to lose the opening set to 21-year-old Bava. And just when the Kerala player, coached by Chandigarh based Birbal Wadhera, had seized control with a 4-2 advantage in the second set, Kirrtane, with all his histrionics intact, clawed his way back to draw level.<br /><br />The left-handed veteran then slid to 0-5 deficit in the decider before storming back into the match by making it 5-5. However, Bava with better fitness, held strong and advanced to the second round after Kirrtane dropped his serve in the 12th game.<br /><br />“It is a great honour to play sir (Kirrtane). Even at this age, he is giving fight to all of us, which in a way is not good. My game was very up and down today but I rode on my fitness today. I hope to do better,” said Bava, who has been going to Spain for training stints and began working with Wadhera only recently.<br /><br />In the other men’s singles matches, Sai Saran Byreddy beat Vilaser Khate 6-2, 6-1 while Ansu Kumar Bhuyan overcame mid-match slump, to beat Ankit Chopra 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1.<br /><br />In the women’s singles, there were no such upsets. Fourth-seeded Pranjala Yadlapalli swept aside Aastha Dargude 6-2, 6-1 while fifth-seeded Sai Samhitha Chamarthi barely broke sweat against lucky loser Prakriti Bhanwani 6-2, 6-1. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Sharrmadaa Balu had an easy outing against Amrita Mukherjee, she recorded a 6-4, 6-0 win, while Neeru Rapria defeated Teertha Iska 6-4, 6-3.<br /><br />Results: First round: Men’s singles: Haadin Bava bt 4-Nitten Kirrtane 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, Sai Saran Byreddy bt Vilaser Khate 6-2, 6-1, Ansu Kumar Bhuyan bt Ankit Chopra 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, Faisal Qamar bt Bhavesh Gour 6-2, 7-5.<br /><br />Women’s singles: 4-Pranjala Yadlapalli bt Aastha Dargude 6-2, 6-1, Jennifer Luikham bt Muskan Gupta 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1, Sai Samhitha Chamarthi bt Prakriti Bhanwani 6-2, 6-1, Harsha Sai Challa bt Yurbani Banerjee 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-0, Samriti Punyani bt GS Vasavi 6-2, 6-4, Sharrmadaa Balu bt Amrita Mukherjee 6-4, 6-0, Neeru Rapria bt Teertha Iska 6-4, 6-3.<br /></p>
