Manish and Keerthivassan to battle for crown

The stage is set for a gripping conclusion to the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship as Tamil Nadu’s Manish Sureshkumar and Keerthivassan Suresh booked their spots in the men’s singles final here on Friday. In the women’s draw, Maharashtra’s Vaishnavi Adkar and Akanksha Nitture will battle for the top prize after commanding semifinal victories.

Manish, recovering from a shaky start, staged a strong comeback against West Bengal’s fourth seed Ishaque Eqbal, dropping the first set 1-6 before dominating the next two 6-1, 6-1. After losing early rallies and twice being broken, Manish quickly adapted his baseline game, breaking Eqbal’s serve early in the second set and maintaining momentum to close out the match convincingly.

Keerthivassan, meanwhile, emerged victorious in a marathon contest against Madwin Kamath, winning 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 after over four hours on court. He edged the first set in a tie-break with consistent back-court play, weathered Kamath’s strong second-set fightback, and clinched the decider with a crucial break at 4-4.

In the women’s singles, top seed Vaishnavi Adkar showed no mercy, dispatching fourth seed Soha Sadiq of Karnataka 6-1, 6-0 in just one hour. The Maharashtra star dominated rallies, broke serve immediately, and allowed her opponent only a single game. Second seed Akanksha Nitture staged an impressive comeback against Manipur’s Jennifer Luikham, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 by improving her serve and returning aggressively to control the last two sets.

The U-18 semifinals also saw exciting action. Karnataka’s seventh seed Snigdha Kanta defeated Shreeniti Chowdhury 7-6, 6-0 in the girls’ singles, while Haryana’s fourth seed Tavish Pawa overcame fifth seed Gandharv Gourav of Karnataka 6-2, 6-2 in the boys’ singles, setting up the finals in both categories.

With four thrilling finals lined up, the Fenesta Open promises high-octane tennis and intense battles for national glory.