Shivang, Nitesh set up title clash

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 26. ``Though, I was very tensed in the beginning, it is a nice feeling to see Shivang and Nishank, through to the final, '' said an elated father and coach, Rajeev Mishra as he failed to control his tears of joy.

It turned out to be a profitable outing for Mishra brothers, as both set up a title clash in the ITF junior circuit tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Friday.

Third-seeded Shivang exhibited finesse in his 6-2, 6-4 win over Amanjot Singh, while, Nishank pulverized Saurabh Singh's challenge with a 6-1, 6-3 verdict.

In comparison, Shivang was up against a tougher opponent in second-ranked Amanjot, who in his armoury has got a powerful serve and crisp forehand. At times, the Chandigarh-based Amanjot has led to his own downfall with a suspectible temperament and on Friday, it was no different.

Even as Shivang exerted pressure by breaking serve in the fifth game with his chip and charge tactics, Amanjot's antics not only saw him losing the first set but also his concentration. A rattled Amanjot had an opportunity to neutralise the advantage in the sixth game of the first set, but he failed on all three occasions as Shivang made judicious use of serves, which were followed by fine volleys at the net.

To Shivang's credit, the Delhi youngster demonstrated his ability to combat the pace. Amanjot did trouble him with low returns, but Shivang hung on and saved two more break points in the second game of the second set.

It was Shivang who again wrested the initiative with a break in the following game but Amanjot came back to level at 3-3 when he finally succeeded in forcing errors.

The slight hiccup did not ruffle Shivang as he continued with his strategy to charge, which again enabled him to surge ahead 5-4, this time set up by a forehand winner at 15-30. Much to his delight, Shivang closed out the match with a drop volley and reached his second ITF circuit final.

On the adjacent court, 13th seeded Nishank stopped the progress of Saurabh Singh in 67 minutes. Seventeen-year old Nishank may not have any potent weapon, but he thrives on his high first serve percentage and placements.

Though, Saurabh had done well in the earlier rounds, he failed to create an opening in long rallies, which Nishank managed to win with aplomb.

After losing his serve thrice in the first set, Saurabh tried to stage a comeback from 0-5 in the second, but Nishank proved a rung above in the end.

In the girls semifinals, third seed Megha Vakharia eased past Indonesian Sandy Gumulya 6-3, 6-0, and will face Thailand's Pichaya Laosirichon, who will be looking for her second successive title.

Left-handed Megha started on wrong note as she dropped her serve early but once she got into her groove, Sandy found it hard to keep the momentum. Fourteen-year old Sandy, who hails from Jakarta, could hold her serve just once throughout and went down tamely in the end.

Bangkok's Pichaya kept the foreign challenge alive when she quelled Sasha Abraham's hopes with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory. The frail-built Pichaya will look for a revenge on Saturday as she had lost to Megha in the ITF junior final last year.

The results:

Boys (semifinals) : Nishank Mishra bt Saurabh Singh 6-1, 6-3; Shivang Mishra bt Amanjot Singh 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles (semifinals) : Vinod Sewa and Chandrasekhar Mohanty bt Shivang Mishra and Nishank Mishra 6-4, 6-1; Arun R. Prakash and John Siefke (US) bt Vikramaditya Menon and Nipun Gupta 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).

Girls (semifinals) : Megha Vakharia bt Sandy Gumulya (Ina) 6-3, 6-0; Pichaya Laosirichon (Tha) bt Sasha Abraham 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Girls doubles (final) : Sania Mirza and Sasha Abraham bt Rattiya Hiranrat (Tha) and Pichaya Laosirichon (Tha) 6-1, 7-6 (7-2).

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