Harpal Singh Bedi

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New Delhi:  Top seeds  Nikki K Poonacha and Zeel Desai  put it across their  rivals in  style to cruise into the semi-finals of the men and women’s singles  of  the Fenesta Open tennis championship at DLTA here  on Thursday  In quarter-finals Poonacha, ousted  Prithvi Sekhar   6-4, 6-2 while Zeel Desai beat fifth seed Rashmikaa Shrivalli Bhamidpaty, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

“The first set was a little bit tight like yesterday but successfully pulled through. In the second set, I was feeling confident and was going for my shots. I hope to do the same in the semi-finals.” said Poonacha after winning the match 

 “It was a good game. In the first set, (Rashmikaa) was playing really a big game. Her serve and forehands were strong, so sometimes I had to play defensive and win the points with a defensive approach. Overall, I am happy and looking forward to Friday’s match,” commented  Zeel after her win.

In other quarter-final matches in the men section, 3rd seed Nitin Kumar Sinha,  beat Prajwal S D Dev  6-4, 6-4; Paras Dahiya shut out Rishi Reddy 7-6(6),6-3 and Digvijay Pratap Singh outslugged Siddharth Vishwakarma 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3 to complete the last four line up.“It was a pretty tough match. I lost to Siddharth in the last few matches so I knew this one was going to be a tough fight. I just had to believe in myself and give it my shot and wait for the opportunities,” said Digvijay Pratap Singh after his marathon contest.

In the women’s section, second seed Vaidehi Chaudhari had to wage a grim battle to overcome determined  Akanksha Nitture  4-6, 6-2, 6-3 for her passage into the last four stage.

 Vaidehi showed better skills and fitness to pull through.“It was a tough day today for me, I have played against her twice. This was a great match which was a tough one. I played good and pulled through,” the winner said.

In another quarter-final, 4th seed Samhitha Sai Chamarthi, was too good against Vanshita Pathania and won 6-4, 6-0. “It was really great, I was down 0-4 and she played tremendous tennis in the first set. After that, I took 12 games in a row to beat her. I appreciate the way she played today and I also played really aggressive after that,” said Samhitha.

Qualifier Sharmada Balu recorded a straight-set 6-0,6-3 win against Reshma Maruri“I feel really good. I think I played some good tennis today and I’m happy to be playing the semi-finals. I am looking forward to the match tomorrow,” said Sharmada.

HSB