Sahaja Yamalapalli overcame a tough start to win her singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches as she helped Bangalore Challengers to a 96-89 victory over Stag Babolat Yoddhas in a group-B match of the Pro Tennis League at the DLTA Complex on Friday.
One of the brightest prospects in Indian women’s tennis, the 22-year-old Sahaja, training with coach Cesar Morales in Bengaluru, was pretty quick on her feet, had a bristling forehand that brooked little resistance and an enviable net game with lightning volleys, in an entertaining performance.
Sahaja beat Kashish Bhatia 11-9 in singles, combined with Sachi Sharma to overwhelm Riya Sachdeva and Kashish 10-5 and partnered Rishi Kapur to beat Kashish and Punar Bhasin 8-7.
Rishi Reddy and Ramkumar Ramanathan won their matches for Bangalore, while Vijay Prashanth, Denim Yadav, Arjun Kadhe and Ajay Malik did their part well for Yoddhas.
With points deciding the progress of teams, Yoddhas were in a comfortable position, along with Paramount Proec Tigers in the group.
Paramount was beaten 94-91 by Sankara, but was still in a good position in the race for semifinals. Divij Sharan and Parikshit Somani won two doubles matches to help Sankara’s cause. Yashaswini Panwar, Sathwika Sama and Ashish Khanna also played their role well. Sidharth Rawat beat Digvijay Pratap Singh 18-12 to bridge the gap for Tigers.
In group-A, DMG Delhi Crusaders was in the driver’s seat, as it beat Proveri Super Smashers with a resounding 105-80 margin for its second victory. Neeraj Yashpaul, Anirudh Chandrashekhar, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Kavya Khirwar, Jennifer Luikham and Swarandeep Singh played a winning role for Delhi, while Niki Poonacha also added crucial points to sustain the lead.
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