Sumit Nagal in action against Niki Poonacha during the men’s singles match on Friday in TPL6. |
Sumit Nagal of Gujarat Panthers eased past Niki Poonacha of Bengal Wizards in the men’s singles clash of the Tennis Premier League (TPL 6) Season 6 at Cricket Club of India tennis courts on Friday. Poonacha used his height and reach to take initial lead 4-1 and was lethal on serves but Nagal did well stay in the game. After trailing 6-7 at the changeover it was Nagal all the way. he found his way to break Poonacha’s bouncy serves and came up with forehand winners to take full control. His opponent also erred a couple of times and Nagal ran away with the game 16-9 giving his team seven points crucial lead.
Gujarat team had earlier won the women’s singles clash courtesy Ekaterina Kazionova who scored a thrilling 13-12 victory over Bengal’s Kamilla Rakhimova. Kamilia after conceding a couple of points roared back to 3-2 lead with a ravaging forehand but Ekaterina wrested back initiative and got comfortable 8-5 lead. However, change of ends worked for Kamilia as she came back in the contest with great play. She won a crucial point on challenge to leave 12-12 but Ekaterina had the last laugh by winning the deciding point and win 13-12.
The lead of eight points in the singles matches led by Nagal proved enough for Gujarat to prevail 51-49 despite Bengal team’s brilliant comeback in the doubles ties. In the Mixed Doubles category, Bengal Wizards duo of Kamilla and Sriram Balaji won 15–10 against Ekaterina and Siddhant Banthia. To conclude the action in the first game, Balaji and Poonacha won a thrilling game against Nagal and Banthia with a scoreline of 13-12.
Yash Mumbai Eagles prevailed over Chennai Smashers in the second match of the day. Zeynep Sonmez outclassed her opponent Conny Perrin in the Women’s Singles, winning 16-9 to give Yash Mumbai Eagles a head start. Talented youngster Karan Singh also won his game against Hugo Gaston with a scoreline of 14-11.
The Mixed Doubles encounter was a nail-biter. Yash Mumbai Eagles won that game too, courtesy Zeynep Sonmez and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan getting the better of Conny Perrin and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli by a scoreline of 13-12. Karan Singh and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan defeated Hugo Gaston Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli, 15-10 to complete the clean sweep for Yash Mumbai Eagles, giving them a dominant 58-42 win.
