New Delhi, October 10, 2024: Third seed Samarth Sahita and Aishwarya Jadhav of Maharashtra advanced to the semifinals of the 29th Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in their respective categories during the ongoing junior week of the tournament at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Thursday.

Maharashtra’s Samarth continued his unbeaten run in the boys singles Under-16 category and dominated the quarter-final match against Delhi’s Ojas Mehlawat from the beginning. He blanked Ojas in the first set before winning the second to cinch victory by 6-0, 6-3 in straight sets.

In the girls singles Under-16 category, eighth seed Aishwarya halted the dream run of Tamil Nadu’s Deepshikha Vinayagamurthy as she won the contest by 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets to enter the last four of the tournament. Odisha’s Aahan produced a big upset by 6-1, 6-1 against sixth seed Parthsarthi Mundhe of Maharashtra.

India’s largest domestic tennis tournament — supported by DCM Shriram Ltd., a leading business conglomerate, under the aegis of All India Tennis Association and Delhi Lawn Tennis Association, is witnessing the participation of exciting talents from various parts of the country fighting for the coveted crowns. The tournament has seen the participation of some of India’s top tennis stars in the past editions including Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Sania Mirza and Rutuja Bhosale among many others.

Meanwhile, top seed Prateek Sheoran (Haryana) played a three-set thriller against Punjab’s Sumukh Marya and registered a hard-fought victory by 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to move into the semis. Karan Thapa also continued his unbeaten run to beat Aradhya Mhasde 6-0, 6-2 in straight sets.

Third seed Tamil Nadu’s Fazal Meer beat Telangana’s Praneeth Doragari 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 in the quarters of the boys singles Under-14 category, while the girls singles Under-14 category saw Odisha’s Vipsha Dehury defeating fifth seed Harsha Runganti 7-6 (3), 6-1 in straight sets.

Besides the prestigious titles, the winners are awarded with prize money with a total prize pool of over Rs 21.55 Lakh and Kit Allowance in the junior categories up for grabs. The winners and runners-up in the U16 and U14 singles events will also receive a Tennis scholarship of ₹25,000 each.

The Boys and Girls Under-16 & Under-14 category qualifying and main draw matches will go on till October 12.