Road to Wimbledon: Anjali Rathi, Veda Raju Prapurna win ticket to London

Anjali Rathi defeated Pari Singh 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 for a ticket to London in the Road to Wimbledon U-14 tennis tourney, on the grass courts of the Gymkhana Club here on Friday.

Having lost to the top seeded Pari in the last league match on Thursday, and having withstood a three-set clash against Suhitha Maruri in the quarterfinals in the morning, the free-stroking Anjali was well-prepared for the key clash. Unlike the league match against Pari, when she did not handle the climax well in a three-setter, Anjali was in control this time, cruising to victory.

Veda Raju Prapurna, in contrast, won her two knockout matches in straight sets against Amish Shukla and Kundana Sri Bandaru to book the other berth for Wimbledon.

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The final between Anjali and Veda will only be of academic interest, as both the players have qualified to compete in the U.K. U-14 championship in Wimbledon in August.

Ayushmaan, Bushan win

In the boys event in Chandigarh, Ayushmaan Arjeria and Bushan Haobam won the super tie-break in their semifinals against Aditya Rathi and Yuvan Nandal respectively, confirming their trip to Wimbledon.

The day started on a sad note, as Paul Hutchins, the erstwhile tournament director of Road to Wimbledon and the former British Davis Cup captain, died. He was 73. He was associated with the scheme till last year, and always ensured that the Indian players, coaches and officials were at home in London.