Defending champion BR Nikshep got off to a strong start, registering a comfortable 6-1 6-1 win over Kunj Kotak in the boys under-16 first round of the 20th Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, here today.
Nikshep, the top seed, looked good with his serve and did not have to push himself too much to beat Gujarat boy Kotak.
Siddhant Banthia made it to the second round in both the boys under-16 and under-14 categories. In the under-16 category, Siddhant overwhelmed Amit Beniwal 6-0 6-0.
In the boys under-14 category, top seed Siddhant Banthia began his campaign with an easy first round clash with Deepak Senthil Kumar. Siddhant registered a comfortable 6-0 6-0 win over Tamil Nadu boy in just 50 minutes.
In the second round Siddhant will face Haryana boy Divesh Gahlot, who defeated Vaibhav Kundu 7-5 6-3 today.
Deepak always had an uphill task against top seed Siddhant. Deepak only managed to hold his serve in the second game of the first set and thereafter, Siddhant was always in control of the proceedings.
Karnataka boy Nikit M Reddy caused the first major upset of the day and broke fourth seed Amit Beniwal in straight sets. Amit could neither hold his serve nor managed to break Nikit in the entire match that lasted just 30 minutes.
Fifth seed Dhakshineswar Suresh recorded an easy 6-0 6-0 win over Nama Heman of Karnataka.
Sixth seed Saurav Kalkal will take on Bikramjeet Singh, in the second round of the under-14 category. Delhi boy Saurav dominated Pralok Ikkurthy with a 6-0 6-1 verdict in his favour while Rohan got the better of Roshan Kumar 6-1 6-1.
In the girls under-14, majority of seeded players were handed a bye in their first round. Top seed Prinkle Singh will face Maharashtra girl Kritika Chhabra who defeated Adrija Biswas 6-2 6-0.
Dedeepya Sai (second seed), Shivani Swarup (third), Shivani Amineni (fourth), Vaiedehi Chaudhari (fifth) and Sabhyata Nihalani were all handed a bye each into the second round.
