The success is in joining the race . . .

The National championship is in full swing, trying to keep pace with the aspirations of most of the young players. It is a big platform for the young talent , and some of the proven champions like Nitten Kirrtane and Rushmi Chakravarthi to emphasise their ability to compete at this level, despite lack of experience or the unbridled youthful energy.

For the No.1 seeded players like Mohit Mayur, with an explosive serve and an intimidating forehand, or the short-built Shweta Rana who tries to be swift on the court like the Japanese, it could be a launching pad for a better tennis career.

Most of the other leading players and a number of young ones, are around the world, trying to make the jump. Yuki Bhambri and company have had a mixed bag, as the week grinds to an end. Indian tennis has been busy over the week-ends which has been a good sign as the players have been able to go deep into the draw and win a few titles as well. Most of the times, they are successful in the doubles. However, the commitment the players, their parents and the coaches have shown to stick it out is commendable.

The success is in joining the race. You never know what is in store !

Prarthana loses in the  quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tournament in Lagos, Nigeria

Prarthana Thombare did very well to make the quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tournament in Lagos, Nigeria, before being beaten by the seventh-seeded Naomi Broady of Britain.

It was a bit of a disappointment for Prarthana as she had earlier beaten the third-seeded Eva Birnerova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 In the pre-quarterfinals.

The Indian players found the doubles surprising tough to crack as they lost the first round. Rishika Sunkara and Prarthana were beaten 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 by Margarita Lazareva of Russia and Jasmin Steinherr of Germany. Nidhi Chilumula in partnership with Michaela Frlicka of Germany was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by the third-seeded Fatima Al Nabhani of Oman and Cristina Dinu of Romania.

Natasha Palha in quarterfinals in Egypt

The fourth-seeded Natasha Palha cruised into the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Ella Leivo of Frinland.

The 19-year-old Goan was scheduled to face the seventh-seeded Valeria Prosperi of Italy in the quarterfinals.

In the doubles quarterfinals, Natasha and Sneha Padamata were beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Paulina Payet of France and Liudmila Vasilyeva of Russia. In another quarterfinal, Ashmitha Easwaramurthi in partnership with Katy Dunne of Britain was beaten 7-6(4), 6-1 by the second-seeded Ola Abou Zekry of Egypt and Karina Venditti of Brazil.

Vishnu Vardhan, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Mithun Murali lose quarterfinals

Vishnu Vardhan went down fighting 7-6(5), 2-6, 1-6 to the sixth-seeded Boma Coric of Croatia in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 + H men’s ITF Futures tennis tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.

It was a good run for Vishnu, returning to the circuit after a break, as he had beaten the fourth-seeded Dino Marcan of Croatia 6-2, 7-6(5) in the second round.

The two other Indians in the fray, the third-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and qualifier Mithun Murali also lost in the quarterfinals, understandably in contrasting fashion.

The results:

Singles (quarterfinals): Boma Coric (Cro) bt Vishnu Vardhan 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1; Andre Gaspar Murta (Por) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; Ante Pavic (Cro) bt Mithun Murali 6-1, 6-2.

Pre-quarterfinals: Vishnu Vardhan bt Dino Marcan (Cro) 6-2, 7-6(5); Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Sanni Adamu (Ngr) 6-2, 6-3; Mithun Murali bt Joseph Imeh Ubon (Ngr) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and V. M. Ranjeet bt Candy Idoko and Nonso Madueke (Ngr) 6-1, 6-2.; Hiroki Kondo (Jpn) and Vishnu Vardhan bt Henry Atseye (Ngr) and Eric Vehovec (Can) 6-2, 6-2.

Yuki Bhambri loses quarterfinals in Sydney

The top-seeded Yuki Bhambri was beaten 6-2, 7-5 by the sixth-seeded Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia.

Yuki, seeded third with Yasutaka Uchiyama, had to endure a 4-6, 3-6 loss in the doubles final as well, against the top-seeded Dane Propoggia of Australia and Jose Statham of New Zealand.

Sriram Balaji loses second round in Germany

The third-seeded Sriram Balaji went down fighting 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 to Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland in the pre-quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament in Essen, Germany.

As expected, Balaji and Miki Jankovic of Serbia made the doubles final, albeit with a walkover in the semifinal from Michel Dornbusch and Jonas Koenig of Germany.

The results:

Doubles (quarterfinals): Sriram Balaji and Miki Jankovic (Srb) bt Peter Torebko and Holger Zuehlsdorff-Pavlovic (Ger) 3-6, 6-3, 10-7; Pre-quarterfinals: Balaji and Jankovic bt Jan Oliver Sadlowski and Johann Willems (Ger) 6-3, 7-5.

Sanam Singh and Vijayant Malik lose first round in the US circuit

The third-seeded Sanam Singh went down fighting7-6(6), 2-6, 6-7(2) to the 809^th ranked Andrew Harris of Australia in the first round of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tournament in Mansfield, Texas, US.

The fifth-seeded Vijayant Malik also crashed to a 2-6, 3-6 defeat in the first round at the hands of qualifier Jakob Sude of Germany.

In the doubles pre-quarterfinals, Sanam and Vijayant were beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Mindaugas Celedinas of Lithuania and Marek Pesicka of the Czech Republic.

R. Ramkumar loses doubles semifinals in Spain

The second-seeded R. Ramkumar and David Perez Sanz of Spain were beaten 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 by the third-seeded Jordi Munoz-Abreu of Venezuela and Mark Vervoort of the Netherlands in the doubles semifinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tournament in El Prat De Liobregat, Spain.

In the quarterfinals, the Indo-Spanish duo had beaten Javier Fernandez and Sergio Martos Gornes of Spain 6-3, 6-1.