Nikit shocks Pralok to enter summit tie

Unseeded Nikit M Reddy of Karnataka stormed into the boys’ singles final of the AITA Under-14 Super Series tennis championship at the SAT Courts here on Thursday.

Nikit, who posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Pralok S Ikkruthy of Andhra Pradesh in the semifinals, will take on Andhra Pradesh’s Rithvik B Choudhry, who got the better of Karnataka’s Nama Heman 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-5 in a hard-fought last-four tie. Nikit set himself for a double later in the day as he partnered Rohan K Reddy to down the pair of Pralok and Rithvik B Choudhry 6-2, 6-2 in the doubles final.

In the girls’ section, Karnataka’s Prarthana Prabhakar entered singles final after Tamil Nadu’s Megha Muthukumaran retired midway through the second set with an injured wrist. Prarthana will face Lathika Premkumar, who defeated Sonashe Bhatnagar 6-2, 7-5 in the other semis.

Sonashe and Lathika won the doubles crown, defeating AP’s Dhriti Kapoor and Karnataka’s Parvvi Pail 1-6, 6-1, 10-6 in the final.

Results: Boys’ singles (semifinals): Nikit M Reddy (Kar) bt Pralok S Ikkruthy (AP) 6-1, 6-3; Ritvik B Choudhry (AP) bt Nama Heman (Kar) 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-5. Doubles (final): Nikit M Reddy (Kar)/ Rohan K Reddy (AP) bt Pralok S Ikkruthy/ Rithvik B Choudhry (AP) 6-2, 6-2.

Girls’ singles (semifinals): Lathika Premkumar (TN) bt Sonashe Bhatnagar (Kar) 6-2, 7-5; Prarthana Prabhakar (Kar) bt Megha Muthukmaran (TN) 6-3, 3-1 (retd). Doubles (final): Sonashe Bhatnagar (Kar)/ Lathika Premkumar (TN) bt Dhriti Kapoor (AP)/ Parvvi Pail (Kar) 1-6, 6-1, 10-6.