Kadhe gets better of Anand, Faisal first seed to fall at Nationals

Top seed Arjun Kadhe made a confident start in his quest for National Championship, beating Kunal Anand in straight sets in the men's singles even as seventh seed Faisal Qamar was knocked out here on Monday.

Kadhe initially faced stiff competition from Delhi boy Anand but dominated as the match progressed, winning the opening round 6-3 6-1 in 65 minutes.

Anand hit the ball hard but Kadhe hit it harder. The Delhi lad's unforced errors on backhand let him down even as his solid returns did trouble Kadhe.

With a break up, Kadhe led 4-1 in the opening set but Anand broke back in the seventh. However, he lost the opportunity to claw his way back by dropping his serve at love in the next. All his errors came from backhand shots.

In the second set too, Kadhe broke as early as in the third game. He was serving much better and stroked fluently. There was no comeback for Anand, who could not hold his serve again.

"He is experienced but I did not have to worry about my strategy for him.

I knew how to play against him. I started feeling much better after the second set. His strength is his returns. I played more on his backhand, though, it is his better stroke. I was mixing it up, not giving him enough to play it effectively," Kadhe said.

The 24-year-old who was part of the Indian Davis Cup team, said he has warmed up for the tournament nicely, getting hang of the conditions.

"The courts are slower here and the balls just fly. It was a good start."