Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 5 : Top seed Snigha Kanta booked her place in the Girls' Singles final of the KSLTA ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors with a hard-fought win over fourth seed Aleena Farid 6-3, 7-6 (4) at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium on Friday.
The 16-year-old will now take on eighth seed Deepshika Vinayagamurthy, who advanced with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Aahan Aahan, as per a release from KSLTA.
Deepshika recovered strongly after dropping the first set, tightening her game from the baseline to level the contest before dominating the decider.
In the Boys' Singles, Rohit Gobinath continued his strong run, ousting fifth seed Ojash Mehlawat 6-4, 6-2 to claim his third win over a seeded opponent this week. The other semifinal saw Om Verma secure a comprehensive victory against sixth seed Adhiraj Thakur, 6-1, 6-0, to set up a title clash with Gobinath.
Shaurya Bharadwaj and Prakaash Sarran clinched the boys' doubles title with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over second seeds Yashwin Dahiya and Aditya Mor. In the girls' doubles final, top seeds Aleena Farid and Angel Patel lived up to their billing, overcoming the pairing of Aahan Aahan and Divya Ungrish 6-4, 6-1 to secure the crown.
Rohit Gobinath had faced early resistance from Ojas Mehlawat before breaking through at 4-4 in the opening set. From there, the unseeded player took control and eventually closed out the second set comfortably to seal the win.
Following the victory, Gobinath said, "My body condition was not at its peak today, so I had to really push myself. I was able to get to the deeper balls and covered the court well. I have been serving well and returning strongly with my backhand too."
Looking ahead to the final against Om Verma, whom he has not faced before, he added, "The key for the final will be to stay focused. While I need to make sure I don't lose points easily, it is also important that I attack every point."
Meanwhile, Snigda added, "There is pressure when you are the top seed, you are playing well, and you are expected to keep that up. But once you're on the court, it goes away and you just need to focus on the game."
Snigda had conceded the first two games in the first set and was broken twice before broke back to clinch the set. The second set also pushed her to the limit. Reflecting on her gruelling semifinal encounter that lasted over two hours, she said, "I was feeling quite rusty and was not serving my best today. Aleena fought very hard in both sets, I just stayed in the points longer to take the win."
Rohith Hari Balaji Gobina Gobinath bt [5] Ojas Mehlawat 6-4, 6-2; Om Verma bt [6] Adhiraj Tkakur 6-1, 6-0
Snigha Kanta bt [4] Aleena Farid 6-3, 7-6 (4); [8] Deepshika Vinayagamurthy bt [5] Aahan Aahan 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Shaurya Bharadwaj/ Prakaash Sarran bt [2] Yashwin Dahiya/ Aditya Mor 6-3, 6-1
Aleena Farid/ Angel Patel bt Aahan Aahan/ Divya Ungrish 6-4, 6-1.