Top seed Dev Javia gave ample proof of his fighting qualities as he battled his way past Ekansh Kumar of the US 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the boys’ semifinals of the ITF grade-4 junior tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Friday.
Not to be left behind, Sanjana Sirimalla, the lone Indian girl left in the field, was also quite forceful in forcing her way past fifth seed Salakthip Ounmuang of Thailand in three sets.
The fleet-footed Ekansh was serving 6-3, 4-3, 30-15 before wiry left-hander Dev Javia staged his comeback. After many impressive rallies when both players gave glimpses of their craft and court coverage, Dev asserted himself in a gripping climax.
In the final, he will play second seed Rostislav Galfinger of Kazakhstan, who needed three sets to get past seventh seed Daisuke Inagawa of Japan.
Sanjana was not moving as well as she would have wanted but stroked with such punch that she gave very little scope for the Thai in the first and third sets. In the final, Sanjana will challenge third seed Lanlana Taratudee of Thailand.
The results: Under-18: Boys: Semifinals: Dev Javia bt Ekansh Kumar (US) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Rostislav Galfinger (Kaz) bt Daisuke Inagawa (Jpn) 6-7(0), 6-4, 6-0.
Doubles: Final: Samir Banerjee & Ekansh bt Jack Loutit (Nzl) & Jaishvin Sidana 6-3, 6-3.
Girls: Semifinals: Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Mei Hasegawa (Jpn) 6-3, 6-4; Sanjana Sirimalla bt Salakthip Ounmuang (Tha) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
Doubles: Final: Zijun Jiang & Xiaoyan Xue (Chn) bt Kirara Morioka (Jpn) & Maria Sholokhova (Rus) 6-1, 3-6, [10-7].
