The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Prateek steamrollers Shiva to take crown

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 14, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Prateek steamrollers Shiva to take crown

Special Correspondent

Ratnika Batra asserts supremacy, captures two titles

Photo: S. Subramanium

MOMENT TO CHERISH: Ratnika Batra, who bagged a double, Prateek Bhambri (centre) and Mohit Mayur with their trophies. —

NEW DELHI: Prateek Bhambri provided a sneak preview of the brilliant career lying ahead as he overpowered Shiva Sangwan in the final of the DSCL National sub-junior tennis championship at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.

On a day when Ratnika Batra captured both the under-16 and under-14 girls’ titles to assert her supremacy, it was Prateek’s explosive game, executed with a calm demeanour, which captured the imagination of the sparse gathering.

Of course, the bespectacled Mohit Mayur pulled it past the top-seeded Rohit Bisht in a dramatic under-14 final, but for sheer quality there was nothing to match what Prateek played.

Serving big and stroking with authority, Prateek, a student of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, and a trainee of coach Aditya Sachdeva at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, made his opponent from Chandigarh look like a novice.

Big serves

The strongly-built Prateek, cousin of the more famous Yuki Bhambri, won 10 games in a row after 2-2 to race to the finish. He did face a couple of breakpoints but came up with the big serves to bail himself out of trouble. He was so good that Prateek dropped only six points to his opponent in the last five games.

Prateek is a player with a big game. He needs to gain mental maturity to do justice to his potential.

He has to learn to maintain a certain standard the way he did today, said coach Sachdeva, quite pleased with his wards clinical efficiency in a title round.

Another trainee of Sachdeva, Ratnika Batra perspired her way past Ankita Raina and Natasha Palha in that order to put her hands around two trophies that would do her confidence a world of good.

For a 13-year-old, Ratnika has done very well in getting past quality players including the National under-18 champion Prerna Bhambri.

Mohit Mayur displayed his fighting qualities in ample measure yet again by saving four setpoints at 2-6 in the first set tie-break to put it past the gutsy Rohit Bisht who impressed with his strong legs and a single-minded approach.

Gaining control

Mohit had missed a setpoint in the tenth game on Rohit’s serve, but converted the third setpoint in the tie-break to gain a firm grip over the match.

The Chennai lad was unable to serve it out in the ninth game of the second set after breaking Rohit in the eighth game, but converted the third matchpoint in the tenth game for a well-deserved title.

The chairman of DSCL, Ajay Shriram, presented the prizes.

The results (finals): Boys U-16: Prateek Bhambri bt Shiva Sangwan 6-2, 6-0. U-14: Mohit Mayur bt Rohit Bisht 7-6(7), 6-4.

Girls U-16: Ratnika Batra bt Ankita Raina 6-4, 6-3. U-14: Ratnika Batra bt Natasha Palha 6-4, 6-4.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail