New Delhi: Pune’s young sensation Rutuja Bhosale grabbed everybody’s attention by beating third seeded Rushmi Chakravarthy 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Fenesta Open Nationals Tennis Championships at DLTA complex here on Friday. In another semi-final, Isha Lakhani got the better of Soujana Bavishetti 6-4, 6-2.
The tournament, which has seen many surprises from the day one, earlier saw Rutuja defeat Prerna Bhambri in straight sets. The Asian junior champion has been working on her strokes and has come up with a confident approach so far by showing some of the better seeded player the door.
“I have been working on by backhand strokes and played with a confident approach because I had nothing to lose against Rushmi Chakarvarthy. Initially I was really nervous but then thought of playing my natural game and not to hold back.” said the 15-year-old finalist.
Working hard with the coach Sandeep Kirtane in Pune, Rutuja has invested good time on her strokes and basics. “I am over whelmed. I was not expecting to be here, having the top seeds around but now that I have reached the finals, I am happy and will give my best.” she added
In the men’s singles, it will be a clash of top seeds, Yuki Bhambri and Vishnu Vardhan for the men’s singles title.
Second seeded Yuki beat Saketh Myneni. Today’s match had put Yuki on a real test. Even loosing on the second set, he managed to keep his cool and beat Saketh with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Andhra Pradesh player, Saketh put up a tough fight against the Delhi boy, but Yuki made good of his experience of his home courts.
In the second semi-final, Vishnu Vardhan beat Mohit Mayur (6-3, 6-3).Vishnu,who has been playing consistently well throughout the week, is high on fitness level. He has been following a good game plan every time he steps on the court and he has proved that experience matters.
“He didn’t follow any particular game plan for today’s match and was only concentrating on hitting straight shots. I was more on the defensive and then an offensive game thereafter. I was intentionally approaching the net to defend well on his shots,” said Vishnu.
Talking about the tomorrow’s game plan as he faces former ITF junior champion Yuki Bhambri, he said, “We played in 2007 for the first time and had played plenty of matches thereafter. We share a healthy rivalry and generally push each other. We belong to the different playing generations and I’m going to follow my natural game plan as always and I’m hoping for a tough match tomorrow.”
By Akshi Aggarwal
Indian Sports News
